‘Common game plan’ needed to address DR Congo displacement crisis: A Resident Coordinator blog |

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the largest number of internal migrants on the African continent: 5.9 million, including 700,000 newly displaced this year. The DRC is also accepting more than 500,000 refugees and asylum seekers (mainly from Burundi, Central African Republic and South Sudan).

The factors driving internal displacement are often complex and interconnected, ranging from conflict, climate-related shocks, to disasters, to rising rates of violent crime.

During the DRC, protracted conflicts in the provinces of East Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as rising tensions in the south-central regions of Kasai and Tanganyika, were the main source of internal displacement, forcing millions of people out of their homes, often on a variety of occasions.

As conflicts between communes in the Eastern Provinces enter their second decade, and tensions and violence over land use and natural resource exploitation continue, including through various armed groups, When operating in these areas, more displaced families are forced to depend on humanitarian assistance to survive.

© UNICEF / Roger LeMoyne

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) at the Loda IDP camp in Fataki, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Untie the ‘Gordian knots’

As we know, humanitarian assistance – although necessary to alleviate suffering in the short term – is not sufficient to address the deep, structural challenges driving internal displacement.
The need to find long-term and sustainable solutions to the problem of internal displacement in the DRC could not be more urgent.

Finding coherence and striking a balance between humanitarian action, peace-building and development is crucial, and the first of many steps needed to build more lasting solutions to displacement. internally displaced and meet the needs of millions of people trapped at IDP sites.

Over the past few years, we – the UN country team at the DRC as well as the humanitarian country team – have worked closely with the DRC Government and provincial authorities, along with development, humanitarian partners and other peace-building, to realize the humanitarian-development-peace relationship.

By working collaboratively with national and international partners, this relationship-based strategy moves away from a project-focused approach to address the key structural causes of external displacement. in – what I call the ‘Gordian knot’.

Building on my recent experience in Haiti as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, I also recognize the importance of working with the authorities. countries to scale up and implement existing public policies to promote the country’s development trajectory.

© FAO / Frank Ribas

Women and children displaced by violence work in their vegetable garden in Kalemie, Tanganyika, where FAO provides seeds and tools so displaced families and locals can grow vegetables.

Sow the seeds of growth

Central to this approach is the recognition that after 20 years of relying on the humanitarian community and the presence of United Nations peacekeeping forces (MONUSCO), playing an essential role in protecting civilians, we need to open more space for stakeholders in the DRC – and work in a more balanced way to address both the symptoms and causes of migration. move.

Even in this time of crisis and escalating violence, I’ve come to see the importance of seeding growth and addressing the underlying vulnerabilities that uprooted so many families across the country in the first place. .

During my several visits to Tanganyika province, where IDP levels are high, I was influenced by a variety of factors – both symptoms and causes of displacement – at play, including the degree of loss of life. high food insecurity, difficult access to services, competition for the wealth of the region’s natural resources, and increased violence against civilians. ]

I spoke with many IDPs during these visits to Tanganyika province, each of whom shared their own moving story and explained the difficult conditions they currently live in. Here are some of the things they told me.

‘What we want most in the world is to come back home, to farm our land, but the security conditions are not there yet – and so we have to continue to live in these difficult conditions.’

‘We want peace back because only lasting peace can allow us to return to our village.’

Finding a lasting solution to forced displacement in this part of the country clearly requires the involvement of many different parties – peacebuilders, humanitarians, development partners, and others. development and local government – all working towards a common game plan and common outcomes.

Development can have an important exponential impact, helping to strengthen local actors and systems, promote local economic development, and support the return of state authority.

Working with local organizations, including NGOs and civil society organizations, is key. We must continue to discuss localization

In the eastern DRC, an area formerly dependent on humanitarian organizations to provide social services and public infrastructure, empowering local public institutions is an important step to building more sustainable solutions for displacement, and one that we at the UN national team will continue to prioritize in the years to come.

© UNOCHA

During a visit to Tanganyika in March 2022, the Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator met with colleagues from FAO and WFP who are assisting internally displaced people living in the area.

The road full of hope ahead

The UN Secretary-General’s Program of Action on Internal Substitutionmarks an important step in this direction.

Building on the recommendations of the High Council on Internal Mobility by the end of 2019, the Action Agenda sets out a set of commitments for the UN system to promote participation and develop more lasting solutions to the problem. inner displacement, by containment, protection and local partnerships at the center.

The challenges ahead for the DRC are enormous, but I hope that the new Agenda, coupled with a relationship-based approach, will ensure that displaced communities are further protected, Local rights are strengthened and development agents elevated”.