Voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution by 84.31%.

Despite its image of civil strife, the DRC has been struggling just as hard for peace. Since the war began in August 1998, no less than five peace accords have been signed. The final agreement, signed in Sun City in April 2003, established a transitional Government of National Unity composed of representatives of the existing DRC government and rebel groups.

There are two key issues at stake: one is holding the country’s first democratic elections since the early sixties; the other is getting the foreign armed militias to go home. Voter registration was the first step, and elections are on track to be held by the mid-June deadline. Last December, 15 million out of the country’s 25 million registered voters participated in a referendum and approved by 84.31% the introduction of the new constitution, in free, fair and transparent elections. Furthermore, the DRC entered a historic phase on February 18 with the adoption of its new constitution and national symbols. This paves the way for the first democratic elections for more than four decades.

OLIVIER KAMITATU President of the National Assembly

WILLIAM LACY SWING Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General

However, security remains a problem, particularly in the eastern provinces where armed groups are still at large. “Our mission is to restore the State Authority in all the provinces and to set up an integrated and unified army in order to solve security issues,” says Olivier Kamitatu, President of the National Assembly. In 1999, the U.N. Security Council established an observer mission (MONUC) to help implement the 1999 Lusaka ceasefire agreement, and also to disarm the warring factions and repatriate combatants. This was followed by the Pretoria peace agreement in December 2002.

As of August last year, MONUC had repatriated more than 12,000 people, mostly Rwandans. According to Sherazad Chida of the DDRRR (Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement, Reintegration) program of MONUC, even though the young soldiers feel like going home, around 40,000 remained to be repatriated (with estimations of over 10,000 soldiers and about 30,000 relatives).

The DRC’s strategic position and huge natural wealth mean that peace here will have profound implications on the rest of the continent, and commitment levels from the international community are high. “This is the largest peace-keeping mission in the world,” says William Lacy Swing, Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General. “The country is enjoying the greatest international support since independence. We have invested almost $4 billion and have more than 18,000 people here.”