WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, offered his support Tuesday for Secretary of State John Kerry's designation of former Senator Russ Feingold — who chaired the subcommittee from 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2011 — as Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa.

“America can and should be playing a stronger role in the international community’s efforts to achieve peace in the Great Lakes region, stop the human rights violations being committed against Congolese civilians, and promote the establishment of a democratic, accountable government in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Senator Coons said. “Senator Feingold is a superb choice for the first U.S. Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region. Over the last decade, there was no more passionate advocate in the Senate for responsible and constructive U.S. engagement in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The challenges to peace in the Great Lakes region are as complex as they are urgent,” Senator Coons continued. “Having a dedicated, high-level envoy to work with regional governments and the international community is essential to ending the violence and destruction plaguing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and continuing to confront the threat posed by the LRA. I have enormous confidence that Senator Feingold will make a real difference in this new role. I applaud the President’s selection and look forward to working with Senator Feingold to help advance the prospect for peace in the region.”

In May, Senator Coons introduced a resolution calling on the Obama Administration to appoint a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region to:

  • Support and strengthen international effort to end conflict in the region; support accountability and justice for human rights violations;
  • Expand efforts to develop conflict-free and responsible mining practices;
  • Coordinate with international and regional partners to ensure unhindered access to life-saving humanitarian assistance;
  • Strengthen the commitment by the DRC and regional actors to end the threat posed by armed groups in the region; and
  • Mobilize and lend support to electoral reforms in the DRC with the goal of encouraging free, fair and credible elections in the near-term.

To download the resolution, which has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for consideration, click here: http://coons.senate.gov/download/drc-resolution

Since April 2012, more than 650,000 people have been displaced by violence perpetuated by the M23 rebel group in North Kivu province, which has allegedly benefitted from the support of neighboring states.  The crisis triggered by the M23 exacerbated human suffering in this war-torn region of Africa, where sexual and gender-based violence, as well as conflict minerals, have fueled decades of conflict driven by a vacuum of proper governance.  Estimates show that more than 5.4 million people died from war-related causes in the DRC between 1998-2007 alone, making it the world’s deadliest documented conflict since World War II.  At the national level, political instability in DRC persists in the aftermath of problematic and disputed elections in 2011.