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FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6788
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 001043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV KPKO EAID CG
SUBJECT: CODEL FEINGOLD VISIT TO KINSHASA AND EASTERN DRC 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: In a three-day visit to Kinshasa and the 
eastern cities of Goma and Bunia, CODEL Feingold assessed the 
DRC's progress towards democratization and good governance, 
efforts to resolve ongoing tensions in the eastern provinces, 
MONUC's programs contributing to peace and security, and 
examples of USG assistance. The delegation met with President 
Kabila, members of the National Assembly and Senate, MONUC 
military and political officials, and humanitarian agencies. 
Accompanied by SRSG Swing to the East, the CODEL received a 
comprehensive overview of the current political and security 
environments nearly a year after voters participated in the 
country's first free elections in 40 years. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) CODEL Feingold (Senator Russell Feingold; his 
daughter, Ellen; and staffers Sarah Margon and Evan 
Gottesman) met with President Joseph Kabila at the 
presidential offices in Kinshasa August 24. In a 45-minute 
session, the president and the CODEL discussed a wide range 
of issues, including government reform efforts, security in 
the East, and the status of the political opposition. Kabila 
said his government has made some progress on good governance 
and anti-corruption initiatives, but a number of other 
reforms must be enacted, including a restructuring of the 
justice system. On security in the eastern provinces, Kabila 
said much had changed in the DRC since the Senator's last 
visit in 1999 and characterized the situation in Ituri 
District and South Kivu as much improved. Kabila admitted 
tensions were rising in North Kivu due to a variety of 
factors, such as the increased activities of dissident 
General Laurent Nkunda and FDLR fighters. (Note: A read-out 
of the meeting will be reported septel. End note.) 
 
¶3. (U) The delegation later met with four Congolese 
parliamentarians representing both the pro-Kabila Alliance 
for the Presidential Majority (AMP) and the political 
opposition. The group provided their assessment of the 2006 
elections, with all agreeing the process was well run and 
democratic, albeit with some minor technical problems that 
could easily be resolved before the next round of national 
elections in 2011. The two deputies and two senators were 
also unanimously positive in their views about the role of 
the political opposition. Members from both camps agreed the 
opposition does have a voice in the government and has not 
been excluded from political process. Opinions were divided, 
however, over the future of Jean-Pierre Bemba, who remains in 
self-imposed exile in Portugal. All members agreed Bemba 
should return, though some argued Bemba must be brought to 
justice for his role in the August 2006 and March 2007 
fighting in Kinshasa, while others contended Bemba should be 
allowed to lead a constructive opposition without fear of 
prosecution. 
 
¶4. (U) CODEL traveled with SRSG Swing August 25 to the North 
Kivu capital of Goma to review the region's security and 
humanitarian situations. The delegation first flew to an 
internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in the town of 
Nyanzale in Masisi territory about 50 miles northwest of 
Goma. Accompanied by North Kivu Governor Julien Paluku and 
the Congolese military's regional commander General Vainqueur 
Mayala, the group toured the camps, which currently hold some 
1,600 people, many of whom have been displaced since January 
¶2007. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
(OCHA)-North Kivu Director Patrick Lavand'homme explained the 
camp was nearing its maximum capacity, and any further 
insecurity could severely strain the humanitarian community's 
ability to protect civilians. MONUC peacekeepers had 
established a mobile operating base in Nyanzale in June to 
provide additional security. Speaking to IDPs in the camp, 
Senator Feingold said he wanted to see everyone returned 
safely to their homes. He further promised to work to 
establish the peace the population of North Kivu deserved. 
 
¶5. (U) MONUC civilian and military staff in Goma subsequently 
briefed the delegation on provincial political and security 
developments. Officials said the provincial government faces 
an array of challenges, including a lack of resources, but 
has made efforts to resolve continuing ethnic tensions and 
give a voice to the population's concerns. MONUC military 
personnel described the current situation as "extremely 
volatile," due particularly to the failure of the 
government's "mixage" process to combine pro-Nkunda and 
pro-government forces into new brigades. Officials explained 
stability was further threatened by the increased activities 
-- including abductions and murders -- of the FDLR in 
Rutshuru territory and fighting between rival militia groups. 
 
¶6. (U) The delegation visited the USAID-financed Dian Fossey 
 
KINSHASA 00001043  002 OF 003 
 
 
Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) rescue center in Goma to 
view two rescued baby mountain gorillas and receive a 
briefing on the conservation situation in the Congo River 
basin from USAID implementing partners. Seven mountain 
gorillas have been shot and killed in nearby Virunga National 
Park in 2007, representing about two percent of the gorilla 
population in the area. The two babies at the rescue center 
were orphaned when their mothers were killed in July. DFGFI 
is a partner with Conservation International (CI), an 
implementing partner of USAID's Central Africa Regional 
Program for the Environment (CARPE), which supports the 
conservation of the biodiversity and forests in the second 
largest tropical rainforest in the world. In addition to 
threats against the gorilla populations, the delegation 
discussed efforts to manage the region's ecosystem. CI's 
Central Africa director Patrick Mehlman stressed that a lack 
of coherent governance directly contributes to the loss of 
biodiversity. 
 
¶7. (U) CODEL Feingold also had the opportunity to meet with a 
variety of international humanitarian agencies and 
USAID-funded NGOs supporting democratic institution-building, 
responding to sexual and gender-based violence against women 
and girls, and promoting conflict management. Representatives 
all agreed the work in their respective sectors was having an 
impact, particularly in supporting grass-roots participation 
in governance and in providing emergency health services to 
vulnerable groups. 
 
¶8. (U) Assessing the current situation in North Kivu, 
participants expressed their unanimous concern over the 
province's precarious environment. They argued that military 
solutions to the FDLR and Nkunda problems would certainly 
create worse conditions for civilians, but admitted efforts 
to craft political or diplomatic alternatives were at an 
impasse. In addition, there was a general consensus that 
abuses of human rights were common in the province, 
particularly among the military. 
 
¶9. (U) All agreed that the USG could play a determining role 
to end the violence by facilitating discussions between GDRC 
and Rwandan officials, as well as providing additional 
support to democratic institutions such as the provincial 
assembly. The NGO representatives and USAID partners said 
they would all like to do more to resolve the region's 
problems. One particular need identified was the 
establishment of the rule of law through an independent and 
effective judicial system. 
 
¶10. (U) On August 26, the delegation and SRSG Swing flew to 
Bunia in the DRC's northeastern Ituri District. A region long 
plagued by militia and ethnic violence, security conditions 
in Ituri have markedly improved following a series of 
disarmament programs and a ceasefire accord between the 
government and remaining militia groups. 
 
¶11. (U) The CODEL first visited MONUC's training facility for 
the Congolese military (FARDC) in nearby Rwampara, where 
troops undergo a 12-week course focusing on basic soldering, 
human rights, unit cohesion, and health and hygiene. The 
program, authorized in MONUC's recent mandate renewal, will 
provide basic training to eleven FARDC integrated brigades in 
eastern DRC. At the Rwampara site, MONUC trainers from the 
Pakistani battalion said the 750 soldiers being trained there 
have improved their skills and shown greater unit cohesion. 
Congolese commanders said they believed the training had thus 
far produced very positive results. During its visit, the 
delegation was able to see soldiers receiving instruction in 
tactics, drill, group maneuvering, and weapons assembly. 
 
¶12. (U) The delegation next visited UNDP's transit site for 
its current disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion (DDR) 
program for Ituri militia members. This third phase of DDR in 
Ituri, to which USAID contributed USD 500,000, was launched 
in July 2007 and aims to demobilize some 4,500 combatants. 
This program builds on another USAID-funded activity not 
implemented by UNDP that supports the reintegration of an 
additional 10,600 ex-combatants in Ituri. At the time of the 
CODEL's visit, militia leaders had submitted lists of 3,505 
members who wished to disarm, and nearly 700 had already 
surrendered at ten DDR points throughout Ituri. UNDP has 
requested an additional USD 2 million in support for the 
program to complete the reintegration of all remaining 
militia groups in Ituri. This request is under consideration 
for support through ESF supplemental funding for the DRC. 
 
¶13. (U) UNDP officials explained the current program was 
 
KINSHASA 00001043  003 OF 003 
 
 
proving more successful than their previous efforts, as 
organizers had learned from earlier mistakes. Organizers said 
this initiative has a well-defined calendar and clear 
milestones to measure progress. Payments and other benefits 
to ex-combatants are also being better managed, with specific 
programs targeting assistance to communities who will be 
receiving the demobilized fighters. DDR authorities said the 
current phase should help establish a durable security 
environment in Ituri as the last of the hardcore militias 
surrender. 
 
¶14. (U) The MONUC-Bunia Head of Office and the MONUC Ituri 
Brigade Commander briefed the Senator on the UN's 
peacekeeping efforts in Ituri, progress made in stabilizing 
the region, and programs aimed at removing child soldiers 
from militia ranks. Officials reported that more than 10,000 
children have been removed from various militia groups since 
2003, but their reinsertion into local communities remains a 
challenge. Discussion also focused on MONUC's investigations 
into past allegations that Pakistani peacekeepers facilitated 
gold smuggling by militia combatants, as well as the UN's 
ongoing efforts to combat sexual exploitation and abuse by 
peacekeepers deployed in the area. MONUC officials stressed 
that such abuses are not widespread and are clearly not 
tolerated by commanders. 
 
¶15. (U) The CODEL made its final visit to a center for 
victims of sexual violence in Bunia. The program, run by the 
Italian NGO Cooperazione Internationale (COOPI) and supported 
with USAID funds, provides assistance to young girls who were 
abducted by armed groups in Ituri and forced to serve as sex 
slaves, soldiers or porters. The center opened in 2003 and 
has since provided shelter, medical care, counseling and 
family mediation services to more than 800 girls, most 
between the ages of 14 and 17 but including many as young as 
eight years. COOPI staff said that thanks to training 
provided by their program, more communities are carrying out 
counseling activities with their own girls, allowing COOPI to 
expand its operations in other parts of the District. 
 
¶16. (U) Senator Feingold held several press interviews during 
his three-day visit. He delivered a consistent message that 
the USG and the international community must remain engaged 
to help the people of eastern DRC improve their lives. He 
pledged to advocate for more USG assistance to programs in 
the security sector, particularly for DDR efforts in Ituri 
and elsewhere. While encouraged with the progress made since 
his last visit in 1999, Feingold said that as valuable as the 
2006 elections were, they were only the beginning and would 
mean little without lasting peace and security. 
 
¶17. (U) Comment: The visit provided CODEL members with a 
thorough review of the immediate challenges facing the DRC 
but also highlighted the significant progress GDRC officials 
and MONUC have made in reconstructing and securing the 
country after years of conflict. The delegation saw that much 
work remains in nearly every sector -- health, education, 
security, development, and democracy, to name but a few. USG 
partners and international donors made clear they are ready 
and able to assist these needs. CODEL Feingold also received 
a comprehensive look at what the USG is doing to advance the 
goals of democratization, human rights, regional stability, 
and humanitarian assistance in the DRC. End comment. 
 
¶18. (U) Senator Feingold did not/not review this cable. 
BROCK