My name is Elliott Suarez, and I participated in the IIS International Policy Research Discovery (IPRD) program this summer as a research assistant working on PAEMA’s Democratic Republic of Congo News Monitor. The DRC news monitor tracks ongoing events surrounding the DRC’s ongoing conflicts with armed groups in its eastern provinces, as well as ongoing political developments in relation to the nation’s democratic institutions. The DRC currently stands in conflict with the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a Rwandan-backed organization of militant groups including M23 and its less powerful but still significant allies (Such as the Burundian militant group RED-Tabara or the Twirwaneho). In addition to the AFC, groups like the Allied Defensive Forces (a Ugandan organization affiliated with the Islamic State) or rogue Mai-Mais (local militias initially organized to combat M23) are waging their own wars with the Congolese government.
I feel as though lots of international attention is directed towards conflicts like the ongoing war in Ukraine, or the American war launched against Iran, while conflicts like the ones present in the DRC are barely mentioned by government officials and news agencies. I was drawn to the news monitoring project because I believed that it was important to help highlight a conflict impacting over 21 million people.
As a research assistant, I would comb through articles released by new organizations based out of the DRC, highlighted important events (such as the emergence of new conflicts between armed Mai-Mai militias, meetings between international and local actors, or political statements) and sorted them based on their themes in order to create a letter informing readers of changes to the situation that they should be aware of. Figuring out what to include in the news monitor was difficult at first; at the start, I wanted to include everything as its own event. In spite of my initial confusion, I soon learned how to distinguish dynamic-changing news from non-relevant information, and how to connect articles together in order to describe trends as opposed to individual events. While monitoring the news, I learned about an ongoing debate between DRC President Felix Tsishekedi’s supporters (who seek to replace the DRC’s constitution with one that contains no term limits) and supporters of the C64 coalition, an opposition movement seeking to oppose any alterations to their nation’s constitution. In addition to conducting research for the news monitor, I was able to help PAEMA write statements condemning acts of political repression undertaken against opposition protestors and activists.
Before engaging in the International Policy Research Discovery Program, I believed that I could only find jobs in the field of international relations operating under the U.S state department. However, after working with PAEMA, my eyes were opened to new possibilities as I learned about the important work that NGOs perform, and the influence that they can have over international policy. Participating in the IPRDP has helped me realize that there are many avenues for me to take to pursue a work related to international affairs. I am now eager to learn more about consulting work and working with NGOs. In addition to helping me learn about career pathways, completing my project has also helped me learn more about the struggles that people impacted by the ongoing crisis in the DRC are facing. I discovered how prevalent kidnappings, terrorist attacks, executions, and inter-armed-group conflict are within the region, and how the DRC’s violence is closely tied to mining operations in the country’s eastern provinces. I also learned about how people have responded to the threats brought about by the conflict; villagers have had to flee their homes and live in forests to avoid being killed while farmers have had to pay extensive tributes to armed groups to access their own land.
I have taken so much knowledge away from my experience, and I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity that I was given.