ABSTRACT

Life in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is precarious and characterized by a permanent state of insecurity. Although a peace accord was signed in 2003 to put an end to the second Congo war, the conflict persists, with over 40 governmental and non-governmental armed groups committing war crimes (plundering, rape, extortion, kidnapping and forced recruitment of child soldiers, forced labour, arbitrary detention, torture, and murder) on a daily basis (Commission Européenne, 2015). The fighting has caused 5.4 million deaths (Commission, Européenne, 2015), 430,000 refugees, and approximately 2.7 million displaced persons (UNHCR, 2015). Furthermore, the DRC ranks 186 out of 187 countries in the UN development index (HDR, 2015) and 154 out of 175 countries in the Transparency International corruption index (Transparency International, 2015). The situation appears to be a humanitarian crisis threatening to tear the country apart.