Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for inviting me to appear before this honourable Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to talk about the situations in Somalia, South Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
I accept this opportunity with respect, honour and humility. I hope my contribution will contribute to peace building and development in DRC and in Africa as a whole.
Mr. Chair, we may agree that the situation in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are very similar. They are all fragile states and they are characterized by weak government, institutionalized corruption, mass killings of civilians and abuse against women and girls. However, with your permission, let me focus on DRC. In the development of my opinions, you will understand the reasons why.
Before I give my witness opinion, please allow me to express gratitude to Canada for the chance to be part of this compassionate nation. I'm proud to be a Canadian. I also know that there are many new Canadians who feel like me. It is for that reason that I sit here today to build a bridge between the DRC, a country where I was born, and Canada, a country I now call home.
The DRC has suffered a lot. It has suffered from numerous wars and genocides since the time of King Leopold, who alone killed as many as 10 million of 20 million Congolese at the turn of the 20th century as he plundered and pillaged the country. In 1960, when the Congo gained independence from Belgium and Patrice Lumumba became its first ever elected prime minister, a conspiracy by the United States Central Intelligence Agency—the CIA—and Belgium led first to the sponsoring of a secessionist movement and then ultimately to his assassination, barely one year into his term.
Then we were given Mobutu Sese Seko as our president of the country. He equally plunged the country into corruption, causing the collapse of all institutions, and the DRC became what it is for now.
Mr. Chair, I know I don't have enough time, but my sitting here is really to appeal to this honourable committee. I would have loved to read all my comments, but I'm not going to read them. From time to time, when I speak about the situation in the Congo, I become very emotional. I will request your indulgence if that happens to me. Already, I can feel it.
The Congo is in very bad shape as we talk. From 1996 to 2001, the Congo lost over six million civilians. Picture it: six million. Take that number out of Canada. Think about it. These are our sisters, our mothers and our brothers. If I was one of them I wouldn't be sitting here. It's real people.
From 2001 to 2003, three million people were slaughtered. Today, on a daily basis, 3,000 people are dying. They are dying from brutality, violence, wars and related issues such as diseases, lack of infrastructure and so on.
When Mobutu became an embarrassment, we allowed Rwanda to go. We supported an invasion led by Rwanda and Uganda to go to the Congo. This is how we lost five million to six million people.
We went on. We supported the second invasion, and we formed different rebel groups. This is how we lost all of these people.
The Congo has gained a dubious recognition as the world capital of rape. The UN reports that 48 women are raped every hour, and this is only for the cases that are reported. These are our mothers, our sisters, our wives and so on.
I may stand here as someone with experience on Congo, as someone with an understanding of the issues of Congo, but equally, I sit here as a victim because I'm in that picture myself. Without going very far, I'm telling you that Congo is going to have a catastrophe that has not been seen, if there are no changes for that country.
I'm sure you'll ask your questions, but I have a few recommendations that I'll proposed to this honourable committee. These recommendations include creating a transitional government, because there will not be any proper elections. There is no institution that is legal that is going to organize those elections.
Second, I'm requesting this honourable committee to help us and to work with the Congolese to reform the justice of Congo. From that transition, we can have disarmament, demobilization and the rehabilitation of combatants. Then we can have an opportunity to promote democracy and civic education, and therefore, to organize proper elections.
Today, Kabila has refused to accommodate the international community to participate in the Congolese elections and to help us. He has wanted to remain in power—actually, he is in power today—beyond his constitutional mandate.
I'm requesting of Canada, in our own best short-term and medium-term interests, that we help Congo. I've submitted my views in writing and I've detailed what the help of Canada will bring to Congo, to a nation with such immense opportunities, which will give us a chance to realize these within the population and with its natural resources.
In conclusion, may I add that I will answer any questions you may have regarding the proposals and recommendations I have just made. I think this is in the interest of Canada.
I am asking Canada to approach the troubles in the Congo with in mind Canada's image, interest, honour and responsibilities both at home and abroad.
Thank you.