Democratic Republic of the Congo - The Consortium for the Integrated Stabilization and Peace of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (CISPE), comprising IOM, the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid) and the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of the Netherlands Municipalities (VNG-International), has launched a new phase of the project, Pamoja Inawezekana (‘Together it’s possible’, in Kiswahili) for the country’s eastern provinces of North-Kivu and Ituri.

The three-year project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, supports and promotes stabilization efforts by addressing some of the deep-rooted causes of the conflict, in close collaboration with relevant Congolese ministries, including the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Justice, and other key stakeholders at local, provincial and national levels.

CISPE also aims to strengthen mutual accountability between the government and the population by working directly with people living in the two provinces to renew and encourage democratic dialogue and ultimately strengthen trust and mutual understanding.

Another key aim of the project is supporting local economic development to foster integrated stabilization in post-conflict areas of eastern DRC, in line with the DRC’s Stabilization and Reconstruction Plan for War Affected Areas (STAREC) and the UN’s International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (ISSSS).

“Pamoja Inawezekana also seeks to advocate for local partners active in the field of stabilization to complement its own interventions and eventually expand them to areas of North-Kivu and Ituri provinces that are currently not covered by the project,” said Boubacar Seybou, Head of IOM DRC’s North-Kivu Sub-Office.

The programme is carried out in close collaboration with local organizations such as the Cellule Provinciale d'appui à la Pacification (CPAP) in North-Kivu and the local peace initiatives in Ituri, as well as other decentralized structures.

Although a regional peace agreement was signed in 2013, recurring conflict and insecurity are rife in an environment characterized by weak or non-existent community structures and limited government capacity to effectively respond to the situation. Land disputes and ethnic tensions contribute to aggravate existing structural problems and insecurity in eastern DRC.

For further information, please contact Xavier Oleiro Ogando at CISPE, Tel: +243 822 487 445, Email: xoleiro@iom.int. Or Boubacar Seybou at IOM North-Kivu, Tel: +243 812 043 425, Email bseybou@iom.int