DRC in Focus Juillet 2013 en Email

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    July-August 2013/Issue12

    In this issue

    Dossier: The contribution of United Nations Volunteers to Joint Protection Teams

    Volunteerism: Solidarity within the community

    A day in DRC: The Berlin Conference

    DRCinFocus

    As close as possible to

    populations under threat

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    Editorial

    2

    During the nancial year 2012-2013, the United Nations (UN)Volunteers participated in 55

    joint missions of protection. The JointProtection Teams (JPTs) are protectionkeytools in the implementation of theprotection mandate of the Mission ofthe United Nations Organisation for theStabilization of the Democratic Republicof Congo (MONUSCO) in remote andisolated, conict-driven areas.

    It is worth stressing the invaluable contri-bution of UN Volunteers in the implemen-tation and application of this mechanism,such as Kristen Petillon, who activelycontributed to its creation or AlexandraKnezevic who frequently takes part inthese JPTs.

    Then we will make a detour throughthe poverty-stricken neighborhood ofMasina where a local volunteer-basedorganization is deeply involved in thedevelopment of its community.

    We will nish this issue by looking back130 years ago at the time of the BerlinConference, which marked a turning pointin the history of the Democratic Republicof Congo (DRC).

    Enjoy the reading!

    You have to wait the clouds to be silent andlet the sun opening a square mouth onthe volcanic oor of the hut to distinguish

    the faces of the thirteen participants to therst meeting of the JPT to Kitchanga. The wallsare white, the unfortunately famous white ofthe tarpaulins ourishing on the hills of Masisi.Three pink bows of bright paper garnish thetwelve square meters living room. Someparticipants pile-up on wooden chairs, othershave to crash on velvet sofas. At the entrance,a disproportionate cupboard surprisinglyfurnished of white plates and German wineglasses eat the daylight; on the other sideof the room, potatoes not bigger than walnutssprout in the shade.

    It is only thanks to some rare sunny spells that

    Alexandra Knezevic and her colleagues can fullyappreciate the vacillating look of the villagerspresent during this meeting. Alexandra and hercolleagues from the Human Rights Section, theUnited Nations Police (UNPOL) and the United

    By Marc Spurling

    UNV Programme Manager

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    Dossier

    Feed the MONUSCO with

    the complex lights of

    Kitchanga

    3

    Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) have only few minutes to create apropitious atmosphere to a continuous andproductive conversation ow; these fewminutes decide of the potential gain of a

    two hours meeting with the population ofKilolirwe; listening to their stories, fearsand hopes. First commiserate with, andthen understand.

    The devil is in the details and Alexandra iswell aware of that. With a great sincerity shetries to understand the situations in whichthe villagers are living. How many cowsstolen ? Whom did they belong to? Wheredid they go ? The women left; did they gowith the kids ? Have you been threatened?Is the school working properly? Did thetensions recently increased?

    It is necessary to understand the events inthe details to grasp the broader picture.

    If her shirt is full of doubts the buttonsseem to be joined by haphazard morethan by the rules her voice is frank and

    condent. Team-leader of the JPT, theyoung Scandinavian stays exible on thedestination but does not put a foot out ofthe path. She will never close a door. Itdoes not mean that she is waiting for theinformation to come to her; on the contraryshe enters each room and scrutinizesthem with great professionalism. With her,apparently natural, mix of rmness andcomprehensiveness she coordinates withgreat talent a heteroclite team toward atwofold objective: the evaluation of the

    needs in terms of security and humanitariansupport for locals and Internally DisplacedPeoples.

    Report

    Alexandra Knezevic, UN Volunteer, explaining civil affairs

    activities during a joint protection mission in North Kivu.

    Assessing the security and

    humanitarian needs of residents

    and internally displaced people.

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    To please the requirements of Disarma-ment, Demobilization, Repatriation, Reinte-gration and Resettlement (DDR/RR), PublicInformation, Human Rights, UNHCR, CivilAffairs, North-Kivu Brigade (NKB) and UN-POL, you need as much imagination andconviction as Daedalus had to ee from thelabyrinth guarded by the Minotaur.

    During all her meetings with the Chiefdom,the Government Army (FARDC), the civilsociety, the national police (PNC), the NGOsand the youth association, Alexandra adoptsthe same attitude: a smart mix of empathyand methodic doubt in an exercise of expressmaieutic. Indeed, she has to maneuverswiftly: extract the most complete andaccurate information without pushing the

    interviewee to deliver the content that theJPT is looking for. Since they come to verifyallegations, or to understand the causesof effects observed from Goma (likemovements of population), MONUSCOstaff has to be very careful about its

    own tendency as well as the projecteddesire of the interlocutors to distort thetruth to push it in the framework drawn byanticipation.

    Members of the JPT have to possess anexcellent knowledge of the area and however

    go there virgin of any certitude.

    The maps of Masisi are eternal palimpsests.Conscious of the plasticity of North-Kivu,Alexandra embraces an attitude betweenencyclopedic knowledge and Cartesiandoubt. After having gathered kilometers ofnotes, she will draft a four pages report witha complete analyze of the situation and aset of propositions transmitted, in fne, to

    the NKB.

    JPT in a nutshell

    The JPT are deployed to remote and isolated areas as to meet the

    protection needs of the civilians on the ground. (Credit K.Ptillon)

    Initiated in North Kivu in 2009, theJPTs fall within the framework of UNSecurity Council Resolution 1856

    which places the protection of the civiliansat the heart of MONUSCO mandate. JPTsrepresent an innovative model based onthe collaboration between the military andcivilian staffs. It has been since adaptedand replicated in other contexts of conict

    and stabilization.

    JPTs are designed as a protection tool aimedat reinforcing protection mechanisms of localpopulations living in remote and inaccessibleareas. The purpose of these teams is, onthe one hand, to improve interaction andestablish a relationship of trust betweenpeacekeepers, local communities and keystakeholders. On the other hand, JPTs

    make possible to bring civilian expertise tosensitive zones as to clearly identify needsfor protection and establish an appropriateresponse mechanism.

    Those teams are multidisciplinary andare constituted by representatives of thesubstantive divisions of MONUSCO, Militaryand UNPOL component as well as partnerswho are considered for the protectionneeds and the vulnerability status of localcommunities.

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    Dossier

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    I was part of the team who

    initiated the JPTs in Goma!

    DRC In Focus: What were the steps inthe implementation of the JPT?

    Kristen Ptillon: The JPT concept is the re-sult of a collaborative work among all pro-tection actors operating in North Kivu : allMONUSCO sections and military component,the UN Agencies, the Protection Cluster1and the local authorities. It was a long pro-cess with several changes and adaptations,so the mechanism can be accepted by all

    party in order to respond quickly to the eldrequirements. In 2010, UN Security CouncilResolution 1925 has consecrated JPTs as ef-fective major protection tools. This allowedus to get more support, logistics and humanresources for new deployments, mainly inremote areas.

    How does JPT constitute an innovativetool to protect civilians?

    The protection of civilians is a complex and

    sensitive area. Coordination of actors, the1The protection cluster brings together, under the coordination of UNHCR,

    all humanitarian actors, operating in the eld of the protection of civilians.

    Its main objective is to increase the protection of civilians in conict-dri-

    ven areas. http://www.cd.undp.org/mediale/Unis%20dans%20laction-

    Un%20Brochure.pdf.

    ability to provide appropriate and quickresponses are major assets of JPTs. Contraryto what we think, the protection of civiliansis not only the responsibility of the Force,but a shared one between the Civilian andMilitary components of the Mission.Thiscomplementary and convergent action ofcivilian and military actors is necessaryto obtain signicant results in terms ofprotection. The protection of civilians isnot only limited to physical protection but

    extends to a set of essential elements toensure a wide and multiform protectiveenvironment.

    How did you contributed to theestablishment of the JPTs?

    My work within the Civil Affairs Section wasprimarily focused on protection of civilians;one of the four sections pillars. In thiscontext, I contributed to the developmentof some protection tools such as the JPTs,

    the Community Liaison Interpreters and theCommunity Alert Networks. Regarding mycontribution to the JPT concept, I workedon its design and implementation duringmy three years of service. Among other

    Interview

    Former UN Volunteer Kristen Petillon was deployed in Goma from December 2008

    to June 2011. During his assignment within the Civil Affairs Section, he contributed

    to the initiation and implementation of the JPT concept.

    hoto K. Petillon

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    things, I participated in the coordinationand deployment of the teams, analysisand identication of intervention areas andnally the monitoring of recommendationsto the deployment of peacekeepers, etc.

    What was your career path since youleft the DRC in 2011?

    After my UNV assignment, I have been re-cruited by the UN Ofce for the Coordinationof Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); my rstassignment was in Ivory Coast and thenSomalia, Mogadishu, where I am currentlyin charge of civil and military coordination.As part of my current job, I play the role ofcoordinator between all humanitarian andother actors working for protection purposein Somalia as well as the National army and

    other armed groups.

    Could you say that your UNV experiencehelped you in your career?

    Yes, denitely! Being a UN Volunteer wasone of the best professional experiencesthat I have ever had. It has been a veryrewarding and exciting moment that hasgiven me lot of opportunities: I had thechance to be on the ground in contact with

    local community and key stakeholders. Thisexperience also helped me to understandmore the UN system and identify the typeof work I wanted to do and where I couldmake a difference.

    Do you have any advice to give to theUN Volunteers?

    Yes, I have two recommendations for theUN Volunteers. First, do not hesitate toask any advice to those who have moreexperience than you, and especially to yoursupervisors! Second, take this part of yourlife as a unique life experience! This couldbe also a springboard for some of you, aprofessional opportunity that can be part ofa career plan. Make the most of it withoutgoing on forever as a UN Volunteer.

    Is volunteering still part of your life?

    Unfortunately no! My current lifestyle -mission life in Mogadishu - does not allowme to get involved in volunteering. However,when I go back to France, I do not miss theopportunity to share my experiences withstudents in different universities and giveoccasionally courses and trainings.

    Nationality:French

    Age:30

    UNVFunction:CivilAf

    fairsOfficer

    DutyStation:Goma

    Period:2008-2011

    Currentjob:HumanitarianOffic

    erat

    OCHAinMogadiscio(So

    malia)

    UNVexperience:One

    ofthebestexpe-

    rienceIhaveeverhad.Ver

    yrewarding

    andexciting.Ithelpedme

    tounderstand

    theUNsystemandconfi

    rmedmycareer

    choice.

    KristenPetillon

    FOR

    MER

    UNVO

    LUNT

    EER

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    The faces of volunteerism are multiple and are expressed in different ways. In

    Masina, market gardening women have committed themselves to help vulnerable

    girls in the area.

    A bottom-up perspective

    on development

    M

    asina is one of the largest districtsof Kinshasa. Nicknamed Chine

    populaire, Masina is also one of themost populated and poorest municipalitiesof the region with 70% of the populationliving in poverty. Unemployment, scantaccess to healthcare and education, poorsanitation and chronic hunger make lifea continuous struggle. Here in Masina,solidarity and mutual assistance are survivalvalues and community members are awareof it. Thus women of Masina came togetherto found the FEDEVIC, the Virtuous

    Women for the Integral Developmentof the Congo association. Their goal:cultivate together to meet the needs of all.

    The initiative is paying off, and in 2011,FEDEVICs women open a tailoring and sewingtraining centre to help vulnerable girls in thearea. Maman Sabine, FEDEVIC coordinator,explains: These young girls spend the entireday in the street, many of them are alreadymothers, others are illiterate and some are

    disabled. We take care of them for ninvemonths. During this period we give them aneducation that will help them in their futurelives: they are taught to sew but also to readand write. At the end of the training, they

    receive a sewing machine. Maman Sabinecontinues: Then, they can handle things for

    themselves. But above all they are awarethat the community helped them at a difculttime in their lives and will be encouraged todo the same.

    Flavien Muzuluba Kinier, National Secretaryof Volunteerism, is convinced of the poten-tial of volunteers as actors of change andpromoters of economic and social develop-ment in the DRC. Volunteerism benets to

    all: the society as a whole, communities andindividuals. Volunteering promotes the par-ticipation of each of us, which is essential tothe development that needs to be initiatedfrom the bottom. Besides, volunteers arecommitted individuals or groups who are in-volved in addressing community problemsor improving the quality of life of others. Inthis way, volunteerism inspires a mentalityof development and empowerment based onself responsibility. Indeed, this mentality isbased on respect for the common good as

    well as the personal and collective respon-sibility.

    7

    Volonteerism

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    DRCinFocus

    1885 : The Berlin ConferenceA day in DRC...

    From 15 November 1884 to

    26 February 1885, representatives

    o European nations met in Berlin

    to decide some colonization rules

    and drew the maps o a colonized

    Arica. With the backdrop o

    political competition between

    certain European powers

    and neutrality o others, theconerence recognizes the

    partition o Arica between

    the colonial powers

    without consulting the

    Aricans themselves.

    A major beneciary o the Berlin Conerence is King

    Leopold II o Belgium (1835-1909), who managed

    to impose his colonial views and gets the Congo as

    his personal property. On 30 April 1885, he ofcially

    became sovereign o the Congo Free State.

    On 15 November 1908, beore his death, Leopold II bequeathed the Congo

    to Belgium, which became the Belgian Congo. This is the beginning o the

    Belgian colony, a territory which is over 75 times the size o Belgium. On 30

    June 1960, the Congolese turned a page o their own History by declaring their

    independence and putting an end to the colonization. A new era began

    The UNV DRC in Focus is the ofcial newsletter of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.This is produced by the UNV programme in DRC.

    Scrambling Africa