Helping transition: The EU police mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (EUPOL Kinshasa) in the Framework of EU Policies in the Great Lakes

European Foreign Affairs Review

Volumn 11, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 379-399

  Martinelli, Marta ^a  

^a University of Bujumbura   (Burundi)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34248043307     PISSN: 13846299     EISSN: 18758223     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.54648/eerr2006031     Document Type: Article

References (53)

1. Council of the European Union, A Secure Europe in a Better World: European Security Strategy (ESS), Brussels, 12 December 2003, at
2. For critical reviews of the ESS see: G. Quille, 'The European Security Strategy (ESS): A Framework for European Union Security Interests?' (2004) Journal of International Peacekeeping
3. G. Quille, 'Making multilateralism matter: the EU Security Strategy' (2003) 18 European Security Review.
4. See German Development Institute, Development Policy: A Core Element of European Security Policy, Briefing Paper no. 3, Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, 2004.
5. A. Menon, 'From Crisis to Catharsis: ESDP after Iraq' (2004) 80/4 International Affairs, p. 632.
6. M. Merlingen and R. Ostrauskaitė, 'ESDP Police Missions: Meaning, Context and Operational Challenges' (2005) 10 EFA Rev, pp. 215-235.
7. European Union Factsheet, EU Support for Peace and Security in Africa, February 2005, at .
8. ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. Signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, European Commission Directorate General for Development, Brussels, November 2003.
9. M. Martinelli, 'L'intégration des dimensions de paix et sécurité dans les politiques actuelles de coopération au développement de l'Union Européenne', communication to the Group de Recherche en Appui aux Politiques de Paix (GRAPAX), Brussels, April 2005.
10. Theio Peace Facility for Africa is a commitment of EUR250 million from the European Development Fund to support African-led peace-support operations and to enhance the institutional capacities of the African Union and subregional organizations in relation to peace-keeping and conflict prevention (but strictly excluding the financing of equipment). The African Peace Facility is based on three core principles: 1) ownership (as African states must deal themselves with African crises); 2) solidarity (as each African country participates financially in the fund); and 3) the development finality (as it must be used to facilitate conditions which are necessary to smooth development). See European Commission. Garantir la Paix et la Stabilité en Afrique. Facilité de soutien a la paix pour l'Afrique financée par l'U.E., Brussels, July 2004
11. See also: R. Keane, 'The EU's African Peace Facility Uncovered: better late than never?' (2004) 24 European Security Review
12. and EU Delegation to the US, 'EU mobilises EUR12 million from Peace Facility to support African Union Peacekeeping Operation in Darfur, Sudan', news release 95/04, 10 June 2004.
13. Established by Council Regulation (EC) no. 381/2001 on 26 February 2001 creating a rapid reaction mechanism, available at . The RRM is a financial envelope designed to facilitate the rapid deployment of specific financial resources in strictly defined circumstances: i.e. 1) when the need for action is immediate and a response could not be set in place within a reasonable delay by using traditional financial mechanisms; and 2) when the initiatives envisaged do not last longer than 6 months. Initiatives financed by the RRM are civilian and are designed to re-establish the stability necessary for the implementation of the community's assistance and cooperation activities.
14. For a detailed discussion of CFSP/ESDP financing see D. Scannel, 'Financing ESDP Military Operations' (2004) 9 EFA Rev, pp. 529-549.
15. Constituted principally through resources based on gross national income, VAT, custom and agricultural duties, and sugar levies. See European Commission, 'The financing of the budget' under .
16. See .
17. nd Report covering the period 1 October-31 December 2004', at .
18. Council of the European Union. 'Action Plan for ESDP support to Peace and Security in Africa', 10538/4/04, Brussels, 16 November 2004.
19. See under .
20. 'DRC-RWANDA: EU May support military action against Hutu rebels, Ajello says', IRINnews.org, 24 June 2005, under .
21. For instance at the April 2005 EU-Africa ministerial meeting the Troikas called on Congolese leaders to pursue their engagement in preparation of the elections; insisted with the rebel group FDRL (Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda) to respect the commitment subscribed in March 2005 to refrain from armed action and join the DDR process; and agreed to maintain their ongoing efforts and reinforce their partnership in support of the entire regional process. Council of the European Union. 'EU-Africa Ministerial Meeting', press communiqué, Luxembourg, 11 April 2005.
22. C. Mace, 'Operation ARTEMIS: Mission Improbable?' (2003) 18 European Security Review.
23. For further discussion of the above points see S. Ulriksen, C. Gourlay and C. Mace, 'Operation ARTEMIS: The Shape of Things to Come?' (2004) 11/3 International Peacekeeping, pp. 508-525.
24. See C. Gegout, 'Causes and Consequences of the EU's Military Intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Realist Explanation' (2005) 10 European Foreign Affairs Review, p. 429.
25. Interview with Mr Aldo Ajello, EU Special Representative for the Great Lakes, 19 January 2006.
26. G. Quille, 'Note on a possible ESDP mission in support of MONUC in the DRC during elections expected in June 2006', DG for External Policies of the Union, European Parliament, March 2006.
27. European Commission. EU Humanitarian Aid Package for Burundi, Brussels, 16 November 2001, at .
28. These are regularly updated and published in both the DG RELEX and DG Development websites, respectively at
29. and .
30. For the rules governing such engagement see .
31. Author's interviews with representative from the EU Commission Delegation in Bujumbura, Burundi, September 2005.
32. See 'Missing a basic law: Arguments over the new constitution are delaying the elections and infuriating the opposition', Africa Confidential, 46/8 15 April 200, p. 6
33. and 'Peace is price: Kinshasa's political chiefs will lose their incomes if they lose the elections', Africa Confidential, 46/8 15 April 200, pp. 3-4, both under .
34. International Crisis Group. 'A Congo Action Plan' (2005) 34 ICG Africa Policy Briefing, Nairobi/Brussels, p. 1.
35. 'Revolution day. Planned protests against postponing the elections test the regime's will', Africa Confidential, 46/13 24 June 2005, under
36. 'Congo: Political delays and large scale embezzlement keep situation explosive', SouthScan News, posted on AllAfrica.com, 6 July 2005, under .
37. Author's informal conversation held at the Belgian Ministry for Cooperation to Development with Belgian Attache for Cooperation to Development in Kinshasa, Brussels, September 2005.
38. The audit was carried out by a group of 15 national and international experts who, after a series of missions on the ground, elaborated a report and an action plan in May 2004. The project was concluded with a three-day workshop in November 2004. European Commission, France, Belgium, DFID, MONUC, UNDP and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mission Multi Bailleurs de l'Audit du Système Judiciaire en RDC, unpublished, November 2004.
39. On the issue of SALW in the DRC see M. Martinelli, and N. Pauwels, Addressing the problems of Small Arms and Lights Weapons in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: Existing initiatives and options for the EU, report compiled for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), December 2005.
40. Société Civile Grand Nord/Territoires de Beni et de Lubero, 'S.O.S. sur la situation qui prévaut au Nord-Kivu/Est de la République démocratique du Congo', 17 June 2005.
41. Amnesty International. Democratic Republic of Congo: Arming the East, AI Report, 5 July 2005, at .
42. The embargo was limited to armed groups operating in North and South Kivus and the Ituri District, as well as groups not party to the Global and All-Inclusive Agreement. S/RES/1493, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1493 of 27 July 2003.
43. Groupe d'Etude et de Promotion des Initiatives de Developpement (DRC), 'Rapport sur les conséquences de la distribution et de la détention des armes des guerres et d'autres violations des droits de l'homme dans les territories de Rutshuru et de Masisi en province du Nord-Kivu en R.D. Congo', 17 February 2005, and 'Le Nord-Kivu à la dérive (document d'analyse contextuelle de la situation de la province du Nord-Kivu perspectives d'avenir et recommandations)', 16 December 2004; 'Génocide et crimes de guerre au Nord-Kivu: planification, Exécution et Bilan provisoire', posted on Fomekanews on 10 January 2005, under .
44. S/RES/1596, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1596 of 18 April 2005.
45. See Global and Inclusive Agreement on Transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Inter-Congolese Dialogue - Political negotiations on the peace process and on transition in the DRC, available under .
46. Statement by H.E. Mr Dirk Jan Van Den Berg, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations on behalf of the European Union, on the report of the Security Council mission to Central Africa, 21-25 November 2004, at .
47. See also N. Pauwels, 'EUPOL Kinshasa: Testing EU Coordination, Coherence and Commitment to Africa' (2005) 25 European Security Review.
48. European Council Joint Action 2004/847/CFSP, 17 May 2004, Art. 3.
49. EU Council Joint Action 2005/355/CFSP of 2 May 2005 on the European Union mission to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), available at .
50. See Joint Declaration on UN-EU Cooperation in Crisis Management, available at .
51. For an overview of the 'models' for EU-UN cooperation, see G. Quille, 'The impact of European Union capability targets and operational demands on defence concepts and planning' in Alyson J. K. Bailes, Gunilla Herolf and Bengt Sundelius (eds), The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy (SIPRI Series/Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, forthcoming).
52. The MONUC mandate is available at .
53. W. Tshitenge, 'Suede-RDC: affectation d'un premier attaché militaire', available under .