Pope Francis last week was on a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to use his diplomatic skills to bring an end to the war in the eastern part of that country.
His application of soft power in using his position as head of the Catholic faith globally to call for an end to the violence is a powerful message for leaders in Kinshasa.
His condemnation of foreign powers for engaging in economic colonialism of Africa fits the sentiment in the DRC over its exploitation at the hands of powerful interests inside and outside the country. However, the pope’s visit will not bring peace to the DRC.
Pope Francis’s role as head of the Vatican affords him great diplomatic clout. However, he lacks the hard power in the shape of military might to stop the forces engaged in the exploitation of the resources in the DRC.
For instance, Rwanda and Uganda have long had material and strategic interests in the eastern DRC. They were pivotal in the late 1990s in overthrowing President Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime and installing President Laurent Kabila to power.
Since then, both nations have taken an interventionist stance in engaging in what they see as national security threats to them from the DRC. Rebel groups and militia proliferate the region. Of particular concern to Rwanda is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Rwanda considers this rebel group of former Hutu vigilantes that participated in the 1994 genocide, as a national security threat. Uganda on its part is concerned with Musa Baluku. The leader of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Muslim revivalist militia. The ADF attacks on Uganda have been sporadic but deadly. The most recent being the suicide bombings in Kampala in 2021.
The DRC also has limited control over the eastern part of the country. Historical grievances from the Congolese Tutsi (Banyamulenge), have led them to take up arms as the M23 militia. This militia claims to fight for what they see as discrimination and abrogation of their rights by the Kinshasa government.
In countering the FDLR, Rwanda has used the M23 as a buffer force to contain the FDLR. Rwanda’s support for the M23 has led to frosty relations with the DRC. However, the M23 militia provides Kigali with a militia group it can use as an instrument of statecraft.
Support for the M23 not only allows Kigali to check Kinshasa’s support for the FDLR, but also provides it with diplomatic leverage over the DRC government in peace negotiations when the M23 advances and takes over vast sections of the eastern DRC.
The Pope’s soft power diplomatic efforts fail to address the lethal manufacturers of violence. The over 120 militias in the eastern DRC serve as producers of violence that creates an environment of chaos. This allows foreign commercial interests and neighbouring states the space to exploit DRC’s resources without obstruction.
Rather than pray, might it be more prudent for Pope Francis to pressure the Italian government to use its influence in the European Union to press for sanctions on arms manufacturers supplying rebel groups with weapons?
Currently, only 17 individuals are subject to EU restrictive measures. Shouldn’t the Vatican directly confront the US, Russia, China and other major powers for their lack of intervention in the DRC in spite of millions of deaths there?
The commercial profiteers exploiting the chaos in the DRC are known in Brussels, Washington, Moscow and Beijing. Prayer will get no results in a world inundated by lawlessness and violence. This is why the pope’s visit to DRC will not bring peace.
Lecturer, City University of New York
