In September 2017, the Congolese elections commission (CENI) announced that it was planning to use voting machines for the momentous upcoming elections, currently scheduled for December 23, 2017. This has triggered controversy and fierce opposition from many in Congolese civil society and opposition. In the first of a series of

Today, the Bureau d’Études, de Recherches, et de Consulting International (BERCI) and the Congo Research Group (CRG) at New York University are publishing a series of nationally representative political opinion polls conducted across the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February 2017, August 2017, November 2017, and January/February 2018. You

Over sixty people killed, thousands of houses burned down and more than 100,000 displaced people, including 42,000 refugees in neighbouring Uganda. Those are the consequences so far of the violence in the north-eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since December 2017. The violence marks a counterpoint

The Art of the Possible: MONUSCO’s New Mandate The current mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) expires on March 31, 2018. In a report released today, the Congo Research Group (CRG) argues that the United Nations Security Council should take bold

Isidor Ndaywel est un intellectuel congolais et l’auteur de L’histoire générale du Congo: De l’héritage ancien à la République démocratique. Il a enseigné et conduit des recherches à l’Université de Kinshasa, à l’Université de Lubumbashi, à l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) et à l’Université Paris I. Il

The stiffest, more urgent challenge to President Kabila’s rule took place in major cities across the Congo today as members of the Catholic Church led protests against Kabila’s refusal to step down. According to the UN peacekeeping mission, 8 people were killed and 123 arrested when police and soldiers opened fire on

Today, Reuters and RFI released a simultaneous articles into the killing of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan on March 12, 2017. Drawing on the internal Congolese military court documents shared by the United Nations, It exposes the involvement of several government informers in the killing, and raises serious questions about the UN Board of Inquiry that had

On Thursday evening, a UN military base on the banks of the Semuliki river in northeastern Congo was attacked. According to initial news reports and conversations with Congolese army (FARDC) and MONUSCO officials, the attackers were wearing FARDC uniforms and attacked a small FARDC platoon next to the base before entering the

Human Rights Watch and the Congo Research Group launched the Kivu Security Tracker today. The joint project will monitor the worst violence in North and South Kivu provinces through maps, graphs, and analytical reports. According to initial results from the Tracker, from June to November 2017, at least 525 civilians were killed

As the tanks rolled down the streets of Harare this week, Congolese social media lit up. President Kabila was rumored to be panicking to see one of his stalwart allies depart. Congolese and foreign observers hoped that Mugabe departure could somehow provide inspiration for Kabila to leave, as well. The person