This report deals with the policy advisory group seminar, which was held in Cape Town on 19 and 20
April 2010 on the theme “Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)”. The meeting, which was held in response to a request from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat in Botswana, assessed the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction in the DRC. The seminar discussed strategic mechanisms for enhancing the effectiveness of the Congolese government, SADC, civil society, the United Nations (UN), and the international community, in consolidating peace and security in the DRC. It focused on seven key topics: 1) the role of the UN Mission in the DRC; 2) the prospects for engagement by the UN Peacebuilding Commission; 3) the roles of SADC and South Africa; 4) disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR); 5) civil society, gender, and peacebuilding; 6) justice, human rights, and peacebuilding; and 7) election and governance issues.
