The Political and Humanitarian Situation in the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, informally referred to as only the "Congo", is a country located in central Africa. The country has a history of changes in name and in power, known in the past as Zaire, Congo, Belgian Congo, as well as the Congo Free State. During the period in which European nations were colonizing Africa in the 19th century, the country of Belgium assumed control over the Congo. However, throughout most of 1958 and 1959, two main groups were established in order to strive for the country's independence from Belgium and Europe. The two groups were the Congolese National Movement, which was led by Patrice Lumumba, and the other was the Alliance of Kongo People led by Joseph Kasavubu. Through the efforts of these two groups, as well as the numerous other contributors, the Congo people finally gained their independence in 1960, and chose to establish themselves formally as the Republic of the Congo. In 1964, the country chose to rename themselves the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the title in which they're officially referred to as, today.

As a country that is located in central, sub-Saharan Africa, most of the inland area is tropical rainforest, which makes agriculturally-viable land scarce, thus their economy suffers as a result. The Congo is surrounded by neighboring nations Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Zambia. The country itself contains a vast amount of territory, as the geographic area is comparable to that of the entirety of Western Europe. The country is thus the third largest nations in terms of area, on the African continent.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a lengthy history of political leaders and movements, as there is constantly a struggle for freedom and to free themselves of oppression. Three such notable figures include: Juan-Pierre Bemba, Bernard Kolelas, and Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Juan-Pierre Bemba was born on November 4th, 1962 in the heart of the Congo, and he is known for holding the vice-presidency position from 2003 until 2006. In 2007, he was successfully elected to serve as a representative in the country's senate. Aside from being the former Vice President of the Congo, Juan-Pierre also helped incite democracy in the country through his war efforts during both the First and Second Congo Wars. Currently, in addition to being a senate member, he also leads the Movement for Liberation in Congo.

Bernard Kolelas is the former Prime Minister of Congo, who encouraged and led resistance against Denis Sassou Nguesso. Kolelas fled the Congo as a political refugee in 1997, when armed militias led by Sassou Nguesso overran the country and overthrew the government.
In 2000, Bernard Kolelas was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes, but was eventually pardoned by Sassou Nguesso after a peace agreement was signed.

Denis Sassou Nguesso is perhaps the most well-known Congo political leader. He was born in 1943 and was President of Congo from 1979 until 1992, and now, once again, currently serves as President. In 1989, Nguesso witnessed first-hand the collapse of communism in Europe and worked vigorously towards establishing democracy in the Congo. He is responsible for introducing a bicameral legislative assembly into the government's structure. Sassou Nguesso's reputation suffered greatly, after judges in France reopened an investigation into the role of Sassou Nguesso's government in the 1999 disappearance of 353 Congolese refugees.

Currently, there is a tremendous humanitarian crisis (an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security, or well-being of a community or other large group of people) occurring in the Congo. There has been an estimated one million casualties in the past few years, which amounts to several thousand daily. A social and economic crisis that has resulted in the deaths of people, because of inadequate access to basic health care, insecurity, and logistics problems have also contributed towards this crisis. Jan Egeland, a U.N. official familiar with the situation in Congo says that the crisis is, "The biggest, most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today".