The Obama administration is concerned with the prevention of mass atrocities mainly when it is in alignment with US interests. However, in the case of the deadliest conflict in the world where US allies are the aggressors, R2P is rarely if ever mentioned or invoked
The recent defeat of the M23 rebels by government forces in eastern DR Congo inspires hope that lasting peace can now be achieved in the region – although there are other rebel groups active there. Still, the expansionist ambitions of Rwanda and Uganda remain a big challenge to DRC
Young people have paid an extremely high price for the fragile state the DR Congo finds itself in, especially as large numbers of them are uneducated, unemployed and with no skills. As a result, many have become dangerous delinquents
With the recent loss of 12 South African troops in the Central African Republic and the US bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, the extent to which an African peace keeping mission will meet a similar fate seems likely
