ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the concept of “rapid response forces”, which is often used to cover robust intervention forces, even though such forces are not deployed in a rapid response capacity. It investigates several examples of foreign interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and asks to what extent these deployments have managed to fulfill their mandates, and what problems the deployment of parallel forces and institutions in the same mission area has encountered. The chapter examines what lessons these missions provide for future African-led rapid response deployments. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan called for the rapid deployment of a robust military force to take control of key installations in Bunia and to protect the civilian population. The bulk of the forces—which could have been deployed in hotspots all over the DRC—was only deployed as a rapid reaction capability based in neighboring Gabon.
