With the support of MONUSCO, the Ministry of the Interior organized a workshop in Kinshasa on 2 and 3 June dedicated to validating the draft ministerial order establishing, organizing, and governing the Permanent Dialogue Mechanism in Ituri (MDPI). Bringing together national and provincial authorities, partners, community leaders, and peace actors, the meeting marked a decisive step toward the operationalization of this new conflict prevention and management tool.
Representatives of the provincial authorities and the initiators of the mechanism also participated in the discussions from Bunia via videoconference. Through working groups and a plenary session held simultaneously in both cities, participants reviewed the draft order, harmonized its provisions, and formulated recommendations ahead of its adoption.
A Sustainable Tool for Peace
Designed as a permanent mechanism for conflict prevention, management, and resolution, the MDPI aims, among other objectives, to ensure regular and transparent monitoring of peace agreements concluded in Ituri while facilitating efforts to address the root causes of the violence that has affected the province for several years.
According to the documents reviewed during the workshop, the mechanism will promote dialogue among communities, support mediation efforts, strengthen early warning systems, help combat hate speech, and monitor the various commitments made by stakeholders involved in peace processes.
The MDPI also provides for the establishment of a permanent secretariat, a technical facilitation committee, and an advisory and oversight council bringing together various individuals and institutions engaged in promoting peace in Ituri.
For Félix Kabwizi, President of the Ituri Communities in Kinshasa, the mechanism represents a major opportunity to foster a lasting culture of peace. “It gives us great hope to see communities come together around the same table, engage in dialogue, and exchange views in order to prevent conflicts. The mechanism will also make it possible to monitor the various commitments signed by armed groups, strengthen early warning systems, and support mediation efforts,” he explained.
An Initiative Led by the People of Ituri
The MDPI is the culmination of several years of consultations, dialogue processes, and mediation efforts carried out in Ituri by authorities, local communities, and their partners, including MONUSCO. Recommendations emerging from the Aru intercommunity dialogues, provincial consultations, and regional peace processes—particularly Nairobi III—gradually highlighted the need for a permanent mechanism capable of monitoring peace commitments, preventing conflicts, and maintaining dialogue among the different components of Ituri society.
For Nadine Rumera, MDPI focal point in Kinshasa, the workshop represents a major milestone in a process that has been underway for several years.
“After numerous peace initiatives whose results remained limited, seeing this draft ministerial order take shape today is a major step forward. The key challenge now is to ensure its effective implementation and that the ownership demonstrated during these two days of discussions translates into concrete action,” she emphasized.
She also stressed the importance of close collaboration between the mechanism, national and provincial authorities, and all stakeholders: “Ituri carries within itself the seeds of its own renewal. Nothing can break Ituri, and nothing can tire us in the pursuit of peace.”
A Joint Commitment by the Government and the United Nations
MONUSCO’s support for the MDPI forms part of broader peacebuilding efforts carried out jointly with the Congolese Government, particularly through strengthening local peace infrastructures capable of sustaining conflict prevention and stabilization efforts in a durable and autonomous manner.
Highlighting the progress achieved, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, James Swan, reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment alongside those leading the initiative.
Les Nations Unies sont honorées d’accompagner les porteurs du projet de Mécanisme de dialogue permanent en Ituri, ainsi que le Ministère de l’Intérieur, dans les efforts visant à institutionnaliser cette initiative essentielle pour la paix.
À nos yeux, le dialogue demeure une condition indispensable à toute paix durable. Dans un contexte marqué par des défis persistants, le dialogue constitue un outil fondamental pour prévenir les tensions, restaurer la confiance, renforcer la cohésion sociale et favoriser des solutions inclusives et durables.
Ce mécanisme offre, à cet égard, des raisons sérieuses d’inspirer confiance : il s’agit d’une initiative des populations ituriennes, portée par l’État congolais, et qui bénéficie du soutien de la MONUSCO et de l’ensemble de la famille des Nations Unies.
J’encourage l’ensemble des parties prenantes à poursuivre, avec détermination et dans un esprit d’ouverture, cette dynamique de dialogue. Les populations de l’Ituri doivent pouvoir bénéficier pleinement des opportunités qu’offre ce mécanisme pour faire progresser la réconciliation, consolider la cohésion entre les communautés et jeter les bases d’une paix durable.
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants validated several recommendations aimed at finalizing the regulatory text before its official adoption. During the closing ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Security, Decentralization and Customary Affairs, Jacquemain Shabani, welcomed the successful completion of this stage, which he described as an important turning point for security governance and social cohesion in Ituri.
“Dialogue is not a sign of weakness; it is the weapon of the strong,” he declared, calling on the future leaders of the mechanism to make the MDPI a framework that is “alive, dynamic, and firmly rooted in realities on the ground.”
In a province facing numerous security challenges, hopes are now focused on the effective operationalization of the MDPI, which is expected to become a lasting framework for dialogue, conflict prevention, and monitoring of peace commitments in Ituri.
-Didier Vignon Dossou-Gbakon
