US actor turned Africa advocate Ben Affleck has warned that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could slide back into war, and called on the United States to lead an effort to bring security to Africa's third largest country.
"The DRC is at a tipping point. It could very easily fall back into chaos or move forward into recovery,'' Affleck said at a forum to discuss a report released Tuesday by the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), an advocacy group that the actor and director founded earlier this year.
The report urges the United States to spearhead an international effort to bring stability to the troubled eastern part of DRC or risk the entire Great Lakes region becoming "another failure of humanity.''
"In eastern Congo, conflict and insecurity continue while the guns have fallen silent in other parts'' of DRC, which was riven by devastating back-to-back wars that began in the 1990s and ended early this century after claiming some 3.5 million lives, the report says.
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"The international community - and the US in particular - must do more to address the challenges in eastern Congo if another failure of humanity is to be averted in central Africa.''
The United States has "a critical leadership role to play'' in DRC and could positively impact the lives of "millions of people for generations to come,'' Affleck said.
The report hails "notable milestones'' achieved in DRC since its leaders signed a peace agreement in 2002, including demobilizing rebel groups and establishing a democratically elected government.
It also outlines several steps for the United States and other developed nations to take to help bring peace to all of DRC.
Key among them is ensuring that next year's presidential election is as free and fair as possible.
Senator John Kerry called the election, in which President Joseph Kabila is running for re-election, "the first step on the big path forward''.
The United States has pledged five million dollars to help fund the election, but that amount is far too little, said Kerry and former US international aid agency director for DRC, Tony Gambino.
Gambino said the amount should be multiplied by at least 10 to have an impact.
"The DRC is at a tipping point. It could very easily fall back into chaos or move forward into recovery,'' Affleck said at a forum to discuss a report released Tuesday by the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), an advocacy group that the actor and director founded earlier this year.
The report urges the United States to spearhead an international effort to bring stability to the troubled eastern part of DRC or risk the entire Great Lakes region becoming "another failure of humanity.''
"In eastern Congo, conflict and insecurity continue while the guns have fallen silent in other parts'' of DRC, which was riven by devastating back-to-back wars that began in the 1990s and ended early this century after claiming some 3.5 million lives, the report says.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
"The international community - and the US in particular - must do more to address the challenges in eastern Congo if another failure of humanity is to be averted in central Africa.''
The United States has "a critical leadership role to play'' in DRC and could positively impact the lives of "millions of people for generations to come,'' Affleck said.
The report hails "notable milestones'' achieved in DRC since its leaders signed a peace agreement in 2002, including demobilizing rebel groups and establishing a democratically elected government.
It also outlines several steps for the United States and other developed nations to take to help bring peace to all of DRC.
Key among them is ensuring that next year's presidential election is as free and fair as possible.
Senator John Kerry called the election, in which President Joseph Kabila is running for re-election, "the first step on the big path forward''.
The United States has pledged five million dollars to help fund the election, but that amount is far too little, said Kerry and former US international aid agency director for DRC, Tony Gambino.
Gambino said the amount should be multiplied by at least 10 to have an impact.
