Worldfocus.org presents a webcasted radio show on roots of the conflict and prospects for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the help of BlogTalkRadio.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured conflict for more than a decade in what has been called the deadliest war since World War II. More than 5 million people have died and the country is also the site of the largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in United Nations history.
In the last year alone, more than a million people have fled the fighting in eastern Congo. For more on the conflict, read our Q&A: History, rebels and crisis in eastern Congo.
Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosts a panel featuring a range of voices and perspectives on eastern Congo:
Séverine Autesserre is an assistant professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She researches civil wars, peace building and peace keeping, humanitarian aid and African politics. Her upcoming book is called Failing the Congo: International intervention and local violence. Before entering academia, Séverine worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo for humanitarian and development agencies.
Nancee Oku Bright currently heads up the United Nations’ Great Lakes team of the department of peacekeeping operations, which covers MONUC and Burundi. She served in MONUC and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as chief of the Africa section, as well as chief of the advocacy and public information. A Liberian, she is also the director of the documentary film “Liberia: America’s Stepchild,” which aired on PBS in 2002.
Michael J. Kavanagh is a journalist with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting who reports about post-conflict development across Africa. He has been reporting on Congo for five years and his work has been regularly featured on Worldfocus.
- See Michael’s reports: War in DR Congo: The story of Pascal and Vestine
Rape as a weapon of war in DR Congo
- See Michael’s Q&A: History, rebels and crisis in eastern Congo.
- See Michael’s blog post about covering Congo: Giving a human face to Congo’s conflict.
12/24/2008 :: 03:58:51 PM
Debbie Starks Says:
If the Congolese government issued a international arrest warrant against Laurent Nkunda for war crimes in 2005. I don’t understand why is he still able to be out in the open fields? Yet Nkunda is out there in the open for everyone to see and hear him speak on YouTube and etc. Why can’t they get him? He is one of the main sources of the weapons of war against innocent civilians in DRC.area. A peace agreement to him is just a sheet of paper. I agree with Robert, “So long as Nkunda is at large, the civilian population remains at grave risk”