10 points for peace in North Kivu during the international day of peace September 21 in Goma

Report of the activities of the International Day of Peace organized in Goma by the Synergy of Women for Peace and Security in partnership with COJESKI North Kivu.

Panelists engaging with the audience on the Peace Day in Goma

On Saturday September 21^st the International Day of Peace was for a day of reflection about the ongoing war in North in particular yet in it is just a continuation of a 30 years conflict now which has claimed millions of lives and forced millions of people to live in IDPs Camps.

In a legitimate debate in Goma which some people argued that it not yet the time to commemorate and celebrate things about peace, and opted to do nothing, the Synergy of Women for Peace and Security in partnership with COJESKI North Kivu opted for a Day of Meditation and Reflection about Peace in this Province.

Before the event, three planning meetings were organized put aside how the meditation should flow from the beginning up to the end.

A public meditation took place at the usual place where the Synergy meets at the place “Maison de la Femme” in Goma starting with all activities at 10 am. More than 100 women participated alongside some men and young girls, we also witnessed the presence of delegation from the Police and from the Division of women in North Kivu, the media and some representatives from the United Nations Agencies in Goma.

Activities started by the National Anthem, then prayers and sharing of the word of God, then a brief presentation about the Synergy of Women for Peace and Security, then we had a panel discussions and ended with entertainment and media briefing.

The reflection focused on encouraging women to access information, to empower themselves through knowledge, and to fully participate in decision making at all levels, and not only represent women. Participating was explained as the capacity to contribute ideas and play roles basing on knowledge and experience.

The Panelists and the Chairperson of the session posing for a photo

With the current war in North Kivu participants made the following recommendations:

WORLD PEACE DAY: THE CONGOLESE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACTIVATE THE MILITARY OPTION TO RECOVER ALL OCCUPIED AREAS

We continued seeing the different views between the Diplomatic Missions based in DRC and the views from the people. Diplomates continue to argue that no military interventions will solve the problem and the solutions will come only from the negotiations, the DRC Government has also taken that this position of the first option yet people do not believe in this and are calling for military interventions. These divisions themselves are likely to generate more confusions and conflicts which may even claim the lives of people, therefore the need to engage on a dialogue in order to harmonize the views which are important for lasting peace.

The Coordinator of COJESKI North Kivu, Mr Kulihoshi Musikami Pecos engaged people of making right choices for peace and decide to be partisans of peace, he shared his experiences when he refused to join various rebel groups and opted to live in exile in Uganda where he also refused to join other armed groups and now he had to run away from Uganda and come back to Congo. He also pointed out the problem of tribes and ethnic conflicts in North Kivu and the failure to manage refugees and migrants in the Democratic Republic of Congo which are part of the conflicts, in which we now have the access to land and issues around national reserves.

During the discussion groups and open debate session

Here are the clear demands from the participants which are also the general demands of the people in DRC.

1. The Government Congolese should urgently activate the Military option to recover all the areas occupied by the AFC/M23/RDF, and then Diplomacy and Negotiations afterwards. However the DRC Government has prioritized Diplomacy, then Political deals and then Military options. The participants want the Military option first.
2. The Congolese Government must stop being dictated to by the USA, the UN, the AU, and the EU on the agreements in Luanda, Angola. The security of the Congolese should not depend on the good will of President Paul Kagame but rather on the capacity of Our Government to ensure the security of every centimeter of the national territory. DRC Government has abandoned completely the mission to protect people, and on contrary it is receiving instructions from the USA, UN, the EU and AU to leave people and withdraw the army. With the current peace negotiations we have observed that influence from the USA to impose what should be done and the DRC Government is incapable to influence towards the protection of people first.
3. We voted massively for President Felix Tshisekedi to wage war and recover all areas under occupation but not to distract ourselves with the Luanda agreements, so President Felix Tshisekedi should already account for this social contract between him and the people Congolese, it has already been 9 months of his second term,
4. The State of Siege in North Kivu and Ituri should change into a State of War, the lifting or not of the State of Siege has no bearing on the situation if the Congolese Government does not change the current policy of the Defense based on the so-called ceasefire and strategic withdrawals. We no longer even know if we have a Minister of Defense and a Chief of Staff of the Army.
5. We categorically reject the FARDC Military strategies of easily giving areas to AFC/M23/RDF Terrorists. As well as the inability to secure the population even in areas under the control of the Congolese Army, people are not secure, thus the urgent need to protect the citizens,
6. We demand the departure of MONUSCO no later than December 31, 2024 in accordance with Article 5 of the Constitution of DR CONGO. And we remind Jean Pierre LaCroix that this country belongs to the Congolese People and not to the Congolese Government nor to the United Nations Security Council, and the people have already expressed their position for the departure of MONUSCO, Jean Pierre LaCroix must respect this position even if he does not agree with the Congolese people.
7. We ask the VPM of the Interior to make urgent reforms in the management of Refugees and avoid any politicization of Rwandan Refugees in the current talks taking place in Luanda/Angola, the DRC has internal lasting solutions to the problems of Refugees. We support the steps of the Honorable Vital Kamerhe to submit a New Law to Parliament to regulate Refugees and Migrants in the DRC, and we ask National Deputies to vote for this law.
8. We ask for the active participation of each Congolese in the political life of our country through several Citizen Activities, especially Women and Young People to play a positive role through Associations, Groups and Structures of Civil Society. Avoid being stateless, thus we call on Schools, Churches, Associations and different Groups to be centers of Civics and Citizenship,
9. We support the Revision of the Constitution of the DRC but only after the end of the war, our priority remains the current war first,
10. We ask the Congolese population to demand accountability from the Congolese leaders and not from the International Community which moreover does not exist, the DRC has institutions which must give us the services we want, and if not the case these institutions should then resign, Our security and the Security of the National Territory should not be a matter of MONUSCO, SAMIRDC, … but of the Congolese Army
11. 

    Representatives from the Police who attended the session engaging with the audience

These were the key messages during the International Day of Peace in Goma organized by the Synergy of Women for Peace and Security in partnership with COJESKI and other organizations.