31st DECEMBER 2016 POLITICAL AGREEMENT KNOWN AS THE “SAINT-SYLVESTRE” – A YEAR LATER:

(RRSSJ)

Launch of the seventh report issued by the Working Group on the peace process:

31^st DECEMBER 2016 POLITICAL AGREEMENT KNOWN AS THE “SAINT-SYLVESTRE” – A YEAR LATER:

                                                             Chronicle of sham implementation

Kinshasa, 7^th February 2018 – The “Réseau pour la Réforme du Secteur de Sécurité et de Justice (RRSSJ) – Nework for Security and Justice Sectors Reform in English, in partnership with the associations “Action Contre l’Impunité pour les Droits Humains (ACIDH) –  Action Against Impunity for Human Rights in English, “Centre de Recherches et d’Etudes sur l’Etat de Droit en Afrique (CREEDA) – Center for Researches and Studies on the Rule of Law in Africa (CREEDA) in English, the “Centre pour la Gouvernance (CEGO) – Center for Governance (CEGO) and the “Institut Alternatives et Initiatives Citoyennes pour la Gouvernance Démocratique (I-AICGD) – Alternative and Civic Initiative Institute for Democratic Governance (I-AICGD), has published the seventh report of the Working Group on the DRC’s peace process, entitled : “The Saint-Sylvestre Political Agreement, a year later: Chronicle of sham implementation.”

This report, like so many other previous reports, is the result of a critical evaluation of the implementation of the All-Inclusive Agreement reached on 31^st December 2016 known as the Saint-Sylvestre Agreement. It is trying to determine the responsibilities of the direct and indirect national and international actors in the failure to effectively and fully implement the Saint-Sylvestre Agreement and to formulate some recommendations to break the impasse.

Not surprisingly, the fears expressed in the Working Group’s previous reports on the delay in setting up and forming the CNSA, on top of which, continued conflicts, inter alia, the conflict between the head of the CNSA   and the Prime Minister, proved founded: “closely monitored, the overseer has no choice but to give the impression of discharging his mission even if, obviously, the financial, material and human resources necessary for the mission are lacking,” says the report.

Moreover, based on its analysis of the electoral process, the report shows that “through malicious management of the pre-electoral operations, in the particular case the formation of the voters’ roll, CENI was instrumental in tampering with the time thus contributing to the rotting game as a strategy adopted as of then by the authority to stay in power for ever.”

The report also touches on the reversion of priorities by the Parliament in the implementation of the Political Agreement. Far from assisting the Government and CENI in fully implementing the Agreement, the Parliament turned to a sound box for the Government and the Head of State, especially through supporting the illegitimate and freedom-destroying reforms.

On the justice aspect, the report discloses a fully suicidal political strategy set up through the combination “politicization of justice” – “excessive legalization of politics.” “The handling of the cases said to be emblematic as part of the confidence-building measures connote a package of administrative and judiciary irregularities that suggest a political settlement of scores.”

Furthermore, the report singles out the role played by the International Community in assisting the Congolese political actors with a view to implementing the Saint-Sylvestre Agreement. According to the writers of the report, the International Community’s action was hampered, on the one hand, by the stakeholders ‘ill-faith  and on the other, by the inconsistencies inherent to it.

The report made public today is the seventh in the series of reports published by the Working Group on the peace process which is a genuine “think tank” that produces independent analyzes with a view to positively impacting the national and international public policies. It is made up of Congolese experts from the Civil Society Organizations that have a special interest in the peace process.

Contacts for Media Outlets:

• Emmanuel KABENGELE, National Coordinator for RRSSJ, tel. +243 818101084
• Joseph CIHUNDA, Deputy Chair for CREEDA, tel. +243 810399060
• Sylvain LUMU MBAYA, Director for I-AICGD, tel. +243 815079823