According to ehistorylib, in 2005, the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was estimated to be around 66 million people. The majority of the population was of African descent with a large minority of Pygmies and other ethnic minorities. The economy was largely dependent on natural resources, with mining and agriculture being important contributors as well. Foreign relations were generally strained due to the country’s ongoing civil war and its failure to join the African Union. Politically, the Democratic Republic of Congo was a semi-presidential republic with President Joseph Kabila at the helm. Kabila had been elected in 2006 after a period of political instability under his predecessor Laurent Kabila. Kabila’s government focused on restoring peace and security within the country by negotiating with rebel groups as well as improving economic development through foreign investment. His policies were generally met with mixed reactions from citizens due to his reliance on foreign aid and his inability to end violence in certain areas of the country.
Yearbook 2005
Congo. A referendum in December approved a new constitution, which lowers the minimum age for a presidential candidate to 30 years. It allows 34-year-old current President Joseph Kabila to stand for re-election. Government work is to be led by a prime minister, but both the EU and the UN have expressed concern that the constitution gives the president too much power to dismiss the prime minister, dissolve parliament and govern through decrees. Especially strong popular support was the constitution in the mineral-rich eastern regions, where the charter of increased economic self-government for the provinces gave hope for a better future. The political transition process in accordance with the 2003 peace agreement was already greatly delayed, and the general elections estimated to cost K. and the US $ 400 million aid were postponed until 2006. The MSF raised alarms that less than half of the population in Democratic Republic of the Congo have access to even basic health care, saying that upgrading health care should take precedence over political choices. MSF, which at the beginning of the year described militia groups’ rape in the Northeast Ituri region as a crime against humanity, was forced in August to interrupt their work there except in the central city of Bunia. In the first two months of the year alone, more than 50,000 people were reported to have been forced to flee the area from militia violence. was forced in August to interrupt his work there for safety reasons except in the central town of Bunia. In the first two months of the year alone, more than 50,000 people were reported to have been forced to flee the area from militia violence. was forced in August to interrupt his work there for safety reasons except in the central town of Bunia. In the first two months of the year alone, more than 50,000 people were reported to have been forced to flee the area from militia violence.
According to countryaah, Kinshasa is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Democratic Republic of the Congo. UN forces MONUC’s attempt to disarm the militia in Ituri has long had limited success, and nine UN troops from Bangladesh were killed in an ambush in February. Also, the arrest of several militia leaders had no restraining effect. The governments of K., Rwanda and Uganda agreed in April that all militia in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo threatening the three countries should be disarmed and disbanded, and the UN Security Council tightened weapons sanctions against all irregular armed forces in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Only in late autumn did the Congolese army in cooperation with MONUC major offensives in the eastern regions since the militias have signaled an ultimatum from President Kabila to lay down the weapons. In the autumn, some 300 members of the Ugandan rebel movement (Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)), who were driven away from their bases in southern Sudan, joined the local militia and Rwandan Hutur bells, which for years harassed the civilian population in the east. Uganda’s threat to invade Democratic Republic of the Congo accelerated the Congolese offensive.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym CG stands for the country of Democratic Republic of the Congo and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
Congo was supported in December by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which found that Uganda violated Democratic Republic of the Congo’s sovereignty through the occupation of Ituri in 1998–2003. The court ruled that Ugandan troops plundered, scandalized and violated human rights and that Uganda had to pay damages to Democratic Republic of the Congo of between SEK 50 and 80 billion.
August
Death threats are made against Denis Mukwege
August 28th
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warns that the life of doctor Denis Mukvege could be in danger. This since Mukwege, who in 2018 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to help raped women at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu in South Kivu, and his family has received several death threats via phone calls and on social media. Mukwege has openly criticized the widespread violence against women and other human rights violations in Congo-Kinshasa.
ADF is suspected of new acts of violence in Beni
August 26th
At least 24 civilians were killed in two villages, Mapasana and Mabuo, in the Beni area of eastern Congo-Kinshasa by the ADF militia. The ADF, a Muslim movement rooted in Uganda, is believed to have killed more than a thousand people in Congo-Kinshasa since 2014. Violence has escalated since the fall of 2019 when the government army launched an offensive against the ADF. According to a local NGO, Cepadho, 40 people have been killed by the ADF in Beni in the last ten days.
The measles outbreak is over, according to authorities
August 26th
The largest outbreak of measles in Congo-Kinshasa is now over, Congolese authorities say. More than 7,000 children are estimated to have died of the disease in 14 months. However, many health experts believe that the number of deaths from viral disease during the epidemic may be significantly higher than that. Lack of resources, miserable roads, armed conflicts, mismanagement have made it more difficult to combat measles, but in 2019 18 million children were vaccinated. In recent years, Congo-Kinshasa has simultaneously fought outbreaks of Ebola, cholera, bubonic plague and covid-19. However, measles is the disease that has claimed the most lives.
Lendumilis agrees to a ceasefire
August 23
A militia group, Codeco, in Ituri in the eastern part of the country, has agreed to call a ceasefire following an appeal by President Félix Tshisekedi. Several former warlords in Ituri are said to have mediated in the conflict. The Codeco militia, whose members belong to the farming Lendu people, has since last autumn escalated the violence against the cattle-raising native people. According to the UN, the group has carried out a series of massacres that can be described as ” crimes against humanity “. Since 2017, nearly a thousand people have been killed and half a million people have been forced to flee, according to data from the International Crisis Group. According to UN investigators, 636 people have been killed since the turn of the year. By August 9, 19 civilians had been killed in attacks on three villages in Ituri, an act for which Codeco is suspected.
Military agreement concluded with the United States
22 August
A new agreement on military cooperation is concluded between Congo-Kinshasa and the United States. This means, among other things, that Congolese officers will be able to receive training in the United States. Relations between the countries have improved significantly since Félix Tshisekedi took office as president in 2019. Tshisekedi has backed US President Donald Trump’s plan to achieve peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, the United States has raised its profile in Congo-Kinshasa following the change of presidency.
43 deaths in Ebola in Equateur
21th of August
The Ebola epidemic in the Equatorial province of northwestern Congo-Kinshasa has now claimed 43 lives since early June 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) is now warning that there is a lack of money for efforts against the disease, and the number of infections has now doubled to 100 in five weeks. The situation is exacerbated by the disease, which mainly affected small and difficult-to-access areas and is spread along a 300-kilometer stretch.
Violence from armed groups is increasing rapidly
5 August
1,315 people have been killed by various armed groups in Congo-Kinshasa during the first half of 2020, according to a report by the UN judicial body UNJHRO. That is three times as many as during the same period in 2019. Of the victims, 267 of the victims were women and 165 children. Most vulnerable are conflict-affected areas such as Ituri, North and South Kivu and Tanganyika. The government army and other government agencies have also committed serious abuses, the report states. These have accounted for 43 percent of all documented human rights violations. These include extrajudicial executions of 225 people, including 33 women and 18 children.
