Worldfocus contributor Michael J. Kavanagh is based in the DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa. In this Q&A, he explains the controversy surrounding the United Nations peacekeeping mission, rebel integration into Congolese Army ranks and the economic viability of this resource-rich, war-torn country.

A new 183-page report by Human Rights Watch faults the U.N.'s largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation for supporting the Congolese Army's murderous tactics. The report calls for the embattled U.N. mission -- whose mandate is set to expire in two weeks -- to cease backing the Congolese military, which is accused of serious human rights violations.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with vast natural resources that for years has been plagued by civil war and sexual violence. Severinne Autesserre of Barnard College discuss how the country's government and people will respond to Clinton's message.

The United Nations has said joint efforts between Rwanda and Congo represent real hope in a war that has raged for more than a decade. But since late January, Human Rights Watch cites continued insecurity, reporting that over 180 civilians have been killed and at least 90 women and girls have been raped.

Several years after the International Criminal Court was established to prosecute serious war crimes, it is now holding its first trial. Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga is accused of recruiting child soldiers.