MONUSCO creates a mapping of local conflicts in Bas-Congo

Matadi, 22 February 2012 – On 22 and 23 February, the Civil Affairs Office of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) organized a workshop on local conflicts management. During these two days, MONUSCO officials, with representatives from the Ministries of Interior, Plan, Justice and Agriculture, as well as members of the civil society scrutinized the different conflicts of the province.

According to André Yoswa, one of the Civil Affairs officers based in Matadi, the purpose of this gathering is to "prioritize into a database the different conflicts recorded since 2009". In this database, there are 147 types of conflicts that have now been classified in six categories, namely land conflicts; conflicts linked to the control of natural resources; conflicts related to the control of customary rule or ethno-political conflicts; and finally administrative conflicts.

After reviewing the list of conflicts, the participants will prioritize the conflicts before presenting the final document to the authorities, which will then become a point of reference for all the stakeholders working in the fields of conflict resolution and good governance.