1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. DRC

European Commission resumes development aid

In late January, the European Commission resumed development aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a suspension of over 10 years, a spokeswoman from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) in Nairobi confirmed to IRIN on Friday. The DRC had been allocated some 120 million euros (US $104.6) as part of the country’s National Indicative Programme, she confirmed. "The money has been tied to developments in the peace process," she said. "Now that they have set a date for the Inter-Congolese dialogue meeting to take place this month, the money has been allocated." A statement released by the European Commission (EC) on 21 January quoted Poul Nielson, the EC commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, as saying the decision signalled the EC's wish to promote peace, and help the Congolese people with increased aid. "We would stress the need to forge ahead in the peace and transition process so that the best use can be made of these funds," he said. Development aid had been suspended in 1991, "as a result of serious interference with the democratisation process and the more recent episodes of violence", the spokeswoman stated. The money now allocated would be channelled towards alleviating poverty and restoring the DRC’s social fabric "to meet the needs of an increasingly impoverished population", the spokeswoman added. A parallel objective would be to consolidate the peace process and support national reconciliation by way of setting up democratic institutions of government. Delivery of the aid money was, however, dependent on progress towards national reconciliation in the Inter-Congolese dialogue and normalisation of the situation within DRC," the spokeswoman told IRIN. Since 1991, the EC has been financing indirect rehabilitation programmes to support the health sector and other basic services, as well as emergency humanitarian aid and operations through European aid agencies. Projects with financing of over 175 million euros (US $152.5 million) were currently under way, the spokewoman said. The peace process in DRC, where Rwandan and Ugandan backed Congolese dissidents are fighting the government in Kinshasa, is ongoing. Burundi also has troops supporting the rebel side. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have sent in troops to shore up the government. A cease-fire, reached under the Lusaka peace accord, is now holding, but Namibia is the only country to have withdrawn all its forces. The next meeting of the Inter-Congolese dialogue is due to held in Sun City, South Africa, on 25 February.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join