Opinion: Congo is like a sleeping volcano, puts UN peacekeeping in jeopardy

No one talks about it openly but it stares point blank at everyone’s face in Congo. It is a reality but has not been addressed head-on. There are primary and secondary reasons for this development but it is making UN look partisan in Congo.

The robust peace-keeping programme in Congo has started to take a toll on its own forces. As UN forces actively engage militants, the UN, in turn, ends up becoming enemies of those who are opposed to the present regime. They end up becoming a party. This development is reflected in an increased attack on UN forces by the militant groups.

Added to this is the fact that Congolese Army is non-functional. The Congolese Army neither prevents cross-border terrorists from entering the country nor has the capacity to plug a vast open border. It is an open secret that they are neither paid well nor on time.

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The joke is that they have a different avatar every evening. The UN is trying to professionalise them but this association makes UN a suspect in the eyes of those who prefer an unprofessional and an oppressive Army.

Local population feels the UN has become partisan because of their association with the Congolese Army. The Congolese Army is considered as part of the problem and not the solution. This association, largely misinterpreted by the locals, makes the UN's work tougher.

On top of it, the delay in elections has created a rift in the civil society where a section has started to believe that UN supports the incumbent government. So again, there is anger in people. But an aggressive agitation is absent.

But what it does is that it affects the functioning of various missions of UN in Congo. The impact is silent but present. Officers who are part of the deployment say that one has to be extra careful these days. One does not only have to be neutral, one is being forced to look neutral.

Officers keep this in mind all times during public out-reach programme. Indian Army’s out-reach programme stems primarily from its experience of the Sadhbhava mission which it continues to run in parts of India which are disturbed.

Lastly, United Nations footprint is receding from many parts of Congo, giving enough advantage to local actors to create areas of influence. It is coming together of all these factors which makes the situation in Congo precarious. The only way to describe it as a sleeping volcano. One never knows, when it will burst.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)