The latest attempt to foster peace in Eastern DRC . . . This time, instead of drafting an entirely new document, the parties involved have revised and recommitted to tenets of past peace agreements. One aspect of this newest development that I find interesting is the new focus on citizenship and its role in the conflict. It is common knowledge for individuals in this area of Africa that citizenship as a Congolese is both poorly documented and highly politicized. Apparently, this issue has been addressed in the latest talks:
"According to a statement issued yesterday, the talks will tackle the effective implementation of the law on citizenship and its application on the ground in view of the fight against discrimination" (Muramira 2013).
Another area of interest in these talks is the inclusion of a discussion regarding the release of political and war prisoners. It will be interesting to see what level (or levels) of judicial decision-making and enforcement will be employed to this end. In the past, amnesty was the largest bargaining chip in Eastern DRC peace agreements. Could there be continued bargaining, not just between the national government and rebel leaders, but among local officials, foreign national governments, and third-party organizations?
Muramira, Gashegu. (2013). "DRC, M23 Adopt Agenda of Peace Talks." allAfrica.com, 17 January 2013.
allAfrica.com: Congo-Kinshasa: DRC, M23 Adopt Agenda of Peace Talks
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