The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a crisis of widespread violence and political instability because of continually delayed elections, which, if not addressed, could spread to surrounding countries, witnesses testified today at a hearing held today by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), chair of the House Subcommittee on Africa.

Smith said the DRC government has tried to legitimize current President Joseph Kabila remaining in power after his constitutionally-mandated two-term limit, by claiming that the constitution also states that the president cannot leave office before a successor has been elected. Polls have shown that a majority in the country want the current Kabila government to be replaced by a temporary, transitional government until the next election. With the postponement of elections has come political turmoil and violence in a country with already-existing conflicts.  The DRC borders nine other countries in the heart of Africa, and broadening conflicts could threaten to destabilize the region.

“The conflicts in Kasai and Tanganyika alone have caused the displacement of nearly two million people since mid-2016, giving DRC one of the highest rates of human displacement in the world,” Rep. Smith said. “Political unrest in urban centers, a string of large prison breaks, and violent attacks in Kinshasa by members of a religious sect that has declared itself in opposition to Kabila have further contributed to worsening insecurity.” Click here to read Smith’s opening statement. The event was covered live by CSPAN. Click on this link to watch the video of the hearing: https://www.c-span.org/video/?437055-1/hearing-focuses-political-crisis-congo or view the CSPAN embed video below.

Acting Assistant Secretary Donald Yamamoto of the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State was the lead-off witness to testify before Smith’s subcommittee on Thursday.

“A democratic transition of power, which can only come about through genuinely free and fair elections, is essential for the Congolese people, the African sub-region, and U.S. strategic interests across the continent,” he said. Read Yamamoto’s testimony here.

 Also testifying was U.S. Agency for International Development Acting Assistant Administrator Bureau for Africa, Cheryl L. Anderson.

“USAID has maintained a long-term relationship with the DRC and its people since the country became independent in 1960,” Anderson told the panel. “With its vast mineral wealth, the country has tremendous opportunity for economic growth that could lift its citizens out of poverty and propel it into middle-income status. Instead, protracted political uncertainty is fueling violence and instability, and prevents the realization of the country’s full potential.” Click here to read Anderson’s testimony.

In November of 2016, the DRC was supposed to hold elections to begin the lawful transfer of political power. After years of postponing preparations, the government failed to hold the elections in 2016 even though constitutional provisions required them to be held on time.

According to the country’s election commission, elections are now scheduled for December 23, 2018. Yet tensions within the country have risen even further due to mistrust of the government’s promises on elections.

“Congolese government and CENI (election commission) officials have blatantly disregarded previous election calendars, while Kabila and his ruling coalition have largely ignored the main terms of the Catholic Church-mediated power sharing arrangement signed on December 31, 2016, which called for elections by the end of 2017 and a number of measures to de-escalate tensions and open political space,” said Ida Sawyer, the Central Africa Director at the non-governmental group (NGO) Human Rights Watch. “Kabila has instead sought to entrench his hold on power through corruption, large-scale violence, and brutal repression against the political opposition, activists, journalists, and peaceful protesters.” Click here to read Sawyer’s testimony.

Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, testified about Kabila’s role in the instability.

“The responsibility for the suffering of the Congolese people rests with one man, Joseph Kabila, which he shares with a small and shrinking cadre of associates and family members. Over the last 16 years, this group has captured the State with total impunity at the expense of the people,” Dizolele said. “The Kabila regime has been characterized by looting, plunder and deadly violence. We have tolerated this for too long. It is time for a new leadership. Kabila must go.” Click here to read his testimony.

Fred Bauma, a human rights activist for the Lucha (Lutte pour le Changement) Movement, shared how he was jailed for 17 months by the Kabila government for demonstrating in favor of a free election.

“Since September 2016, almost 150 peaceful demonstrators have been killed while hundreds more were arrested or kidnaped by security forces and many of them remain in jail on trumped-up charges,” Bauma told members of the subcommittee. Meanwhile, government officials have hired gangs to harass or even arrest members of the political opposition, he said. “These groups have been responsible for severe human rights violations in many places in DRC, and work tightly with the national police and the Congolese intelligence service. At the same time, journalists are harassed, media outlets are shut down,” Bauma said. Click here to read Bauma’s testimony.

The crisis threatens to spread to surrounding countries. Yet Séverine Autesserre, a political science professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, told the subcommittee that the crisis in the DRC is much broader than delayed elections. Autesserre said that elections and legitimacy are important, but to concentrate exclusively on the political crisis in Kinshasa is to waste the opportunity to tackle other, more pressing issues.

“There are actions that Congress can take to help resolve the ongoing crisis in Congo. Congress should acknowledge that local conflicts are an essential cause of violence and that democracy and peace do not necessarily arrive together. I also recommend legislation that increases the United States’ support to local and bottom-up peacebuilding and places local actors in the drivers’ seat,” Autesserre said. Click here to read her testimony.

“No solution will be easy or without cost, but non-action would have an even higher cost in human lives. That we must not tolerate,” Smith said.