On Saturday the 3rd of February 2018, Kim Bolduc, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) visited the city of Kalemie, situated in the south-east of the country, along Lake Tanganyika. Kim Bolduc, who is also serving as the country’s Deputy Special Representative of Secretary General for the United Nations Stabilization Mission (DSRSG) in the DRC as well as the Resident Coordinator, was accompanied by the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Julien Harneis, the Head of Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Rein Paulsen, the Canadian Ambassador in DRC, Nicolas Simard, and one representative from the Norwegian Embassy.

Kim Bolduc and her delegation visited Kalemie to meet with the provincial government as well as with humanitarian actors. During her meeting with the Vice-Governor of the Province, Ali Bin Omari Simukinje, and the Provincial Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Madame Virginie Nkulu Nemba, Kim Bolduc discussed the internal displacement crisis in the Tanganyika province and mainly in Kalemie as well as the security situation in the province. The Humanitarian Coordinator advocated for the need to ensure a secure and protective environment in the areas of return for the internally displaced persons who wish to return to their areas of origin and stressed the importance to respect the voluntary character of the return.

Following the meeting, the delegation visited the Katanika displacement site in Kalemie where they met with the site’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) committees, including the women committee, to discuss the situation and living-conditions in the displacement sites. Among these IDPs were survivors of sexual violence and abuse who shared their stories. These discussions were set forth at OCHA’s office where IOM clarified the return and transfer process of IDPs residing in the spontaneous sites which the organization is leading, as well as advocated for a humanitarian response in several sectors (water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, food security and nutrition in the displacement sites).

Displacement movements have drastically increased in the province of Tanganyika since the beginning of the inter-ethnic conflict at the end of 2016. It is estimated that the province hosts 717,000 IDPs. Approximately 47,983 of these IDPs are living in and around the city of Kalemie in spontaneous displacement sites and collective centers.[1] IOM responds to this displacement crisis since June 2017 and is currently assisting IDPs in collective centers who have expressed their wish to either return to their areas of origin or to be transferred to transit displacement sites.

The delegation continued its tour in the East of the DRC by visiting the city of Goma in North Kivu province, situated north of Tanganyika and next to Lake Kivu. During her stay in Goma, the Deputy Special Representative of Secretary General visited intervention areas of the Consortium for the Integrated Stabilization and Peace of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (CISPE), a three year long stabilization project led by IOM.

The delegation visited the groupement[2] of Kibumba, an hour ride north of Goma where they met with the President of the groupement, Samuel Batachoka Mutungulu and some members of the community dialogue structure trained and supported by IOM, the Cellule de Paix et Development au niveau de Groupment (CPDG)[3]. The president of the CPDG-Kibumba and Kim Bolduc discussed questions concerning stabilization interventions in general and the specifics of CISPE. IOM answered questions with regards to the sustainability of the project and how the communities were involved in the decision-making process. The Deputy Special Representative of Secretary General was enthusiastic with the approach adopted by the Consortium which empowers communities with the right set of skills and capacity building to manage themselves.

After the discussion, the delegation in company with President of Kibumba groupement, the members of the community dialogue structure, and IOM visited a maternity ward which was constructed with support from the CISPE program. The construction of the maternity ward was a decision taken by the community itself following a rigorous process and a lengthy dialogue supervised by CISPE to prioritize needs according to the available resources. During the walk to the maternity ward, community members explained their choice and the need for a maternity ward in the municipality. A local enterprise was hired to construct the building using local materials and locally-hired workers from the community. After the visit, Kim Bolduc expressed her approval of the community’s initiative promised to visit the maternal ward as soon it was operational. 

CISPE is operating in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu and aims to strengthen mutual accountability between the government and the population by working directly with people living in the two provinces to renew and encourage democratic dialogue and ultimately strengthen trust and mutual understanding. Although a regional peace agreement was signed in 2013, recurring conflict and insecurity are rife in an environment characterized by weak or non-existent community structures and limited government capacity to effectively respond to the situation. Land disputes and ethnic tensions contribute to aggravate existing structural problems and insecurity in eastern DRC.

[1] IOM Database, October 2017

[2] Groupement is an administrative level in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with close ties to the communities.

[3] The Cell for Peace and Development at the Groupement level.