[AfricaWatch] U.S. Will Broaden Sanctions to Deter Violence in Congo

World

WASHINGTON — The United States will expand sanctions on groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it easier to target those who are trying to instigate violence and disrupt peacekeeping efforts in that country, the White House announced on Tuesday.

"The United States continues to be deeply concerned about the situation in the D.R.C., which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security and stability of the country," the White House said in a statement.

The announcement is a quiet signal that the United States is trying to stay engaged in a troubled region that the administration is often accused of forgetting. It comes a week after the administration placed sanctions on the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan militant group that operates in eastern Congo, and brings the United States in line with United Nations sanctions that are already in place. Those targeted by the sanctions could be subject to travel bans or have their assets frozen.

Both the United States and United Nations measures are broad, and the United States announcement noted that they would be applied to those who are "directly or indirectly" involved in the recruitment of child soldiers, sexual violence, obstruction of humanitarian assistance or other provocative actions in Congo.

"It's hard to be optimistic when you look at events in the Congo, but there has been progress in the last few months," said Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.

The sanctions are a signal that the United States is trying to keep up momentum to reduce the violence in Congo, despite efforts among the commanders of some groups to bring their scattered fighters back into the fold. "It sends a strong message to the spoilers out there — we're not going to stand for efforts to derail this process," Mr. Downie said.

At the end of last year, the M23 rebel group, made up of former members of the Congolese Army, signed an agreement to stop fighting. In June, members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, another militia operating in eastern Congo, alsobegan to disarm. Still, many of the fighters from these groups and others continue to be active.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council and the United States Treasury Department singled out the Allied Democratic Forces for attacks carried out against civilians in Congo in 2013, displacing many people from their homes. "The A.D.F. was also responsible for brutal attacks on women and children in several villages, including acts of beheading, mutilation and rape," the Treasury's statement said in announcing those sanctions.

The sanctions announcement also comes after several high-profile visits by United States officials in recent months. On Saturday, in the middle of a trip through several African countries, Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., traveled to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, and Bukavu, in eastern Congo. Dr. Biden met with victims of sexual violence at a hospital in Bukavu.

In May, Secretary of State John Kerry visited Congo and urged President Joseph Kabila to take action against the Allied Democratic Forces, but noted that military force would not be enough.

"Lasting peace will not grow out of the barrel of a gun," Mr. Kerry said at the time. "It will come from restoring state authority and state services."

"It will also come from demobilizing the combatants and returning them to civilian life," he added.

Next month President Obama and his administration will have another chance to reinforce concerns about violence in Congo when Mr. Kabila visits Washington as part of the United States-Africa Leaders Summit.

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