By Lesedi Sibiya – Diplomatic Inside

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, is currently in Uganda to participate in the 12th Annual Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) , a high-level meeting which forms part of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) framework today in Kampala.

The PSC is a framework aimed at highlighting the ever growing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes area. The conflict in the DRC  has escalated to drastic proportions as the rebel militant group March 23 Movement (M23) have allegedly been perpetrating murders, abuse, sexual violence and a string of disappearances that have been occuring in the Eastern Regions of the DRC as reported by Amnesty International. The Civil unrest in the country has called for this framework to be revitalised as implemented in 2013. These surges of violence in the country became more of a pressing issue since January, as M23 have occupied the city of Goma in North Kivu and Bukavu in South Kivu, which has caused thousands of civilians to be displaced and fearful for their lives. 13 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers were murdered in the DRC in January in an effort from South Africa to provide aid towards fighting against the conflict. The soldiers were murdered by their base along the Goma region by way of a mortar fire attack that was set up by M23.

The Regional Oversight Mechanism is the main decision making body of the PSC framework and is aimed at maintaining the progress of the framework and finding different ways to ensure that these commitments are being fulfilled in the most effective way. The meeting this year will be seen as a turning point as this will draw more attention to the violence against civilians especially since the instability has risen exponentially. More than 7 million people have fled their homes as this is one of the world’s largest displacement crises. Many families are struggling to have access to food and water as M23 is going to any lengths to cut off any aid coming into the country. M23 have also partnered with the Congo River Alliance in order to help take over the Great Lake regions and expand their occupation in the DRC as there have also been reports that Rwanda have been involved in providing these militant groups aid, which Rwanda continues to deny which has sparked further tensions between the two nations and has caused for this high-level meeting to become more pertinent in making efforts to consolidate peace. The summit not only aims to focus on the violence in DRC but also to shed light on the mass violence in Sudan and South Sudan. 

Since April 2023, Sudan has also been experiencing their own forms of civil unrest as visceral war between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed thousands of people and has driven millions out of their homes. This has forced many refugees to settle in neighbouring countries in an effort to save their families. To make matters more pressing, diseases such as cholera have spread throughout the country as they are on the brink of a health disaster as reported by the International Rescue Committee(IRC). The Sudan Health Ministry has recorded that 172 people have died from cholera in just one week.The reason for this cholera outbreak is because various drone strikes have destroyed water purification stations and have left the people of Sudan without any clean water to consume. The IRC director for Sudan has said that Eatizaz Yousif said that the civil war “is refueling resurgence of cholera”. More than 150,000 people have been brutally murdered during this war between the Sudanese Army and the RSF.

Despite the 2018 Peace deal, South Sudan has been facing economical issues as well as their elections continuing to be delayed and violence amongst several communities in South Sudan have run the risk of the country returning to war. These conflicts coincide with the civil unrest in the DRC because of their shared issues of fleeing refugees and shared arms resources with the militant groups, a problem that the PSC framework will attempt to resolve collectively.

South Africa has never been shy about providing aid to these countries and it comes to no surprise that Minister Ronald Lamola will be engaging in this meeting in Kampala today. South Africa have always helped by sending in troops as a means to provide more military aid by pushing back these militant groups. Since this annual summit has always made the intention of discussing talks of peace in the DRC, Lamola will be expected to not only contribute to the conversation, but also to expect these plans to turn into results.