Accès à la justice en RDC

Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Besoins, stratégies et mécanismes en matière de justice pour les personnes déplacées

Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Conflict and insecurity : a sociological perspective on perceptions of insecurity in conflict-affected Democratic Republic of the Congo

In this paper, we focus on insecurity perceptions in conflict-affected areas. We apply sociological theories on the determinants of perceived security risks and test hypotheses concerning theories on social and physical vulnerability, social disorder and social integration in the area where the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has operated. We use data from a survey conducted in 2013 in the territory of Faradje (Haut-Uele) and apply multilevel models to 443 individuals living within 21 different villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. The results indicate that insecurity perceptions and fear for attacks are still widespread, causing individuals to adapt their behaviour and IDPs to refrain from returning home. These concerns are unaffected by social and physical vulnerabilities. We do find a positive significant effect of the presence of IDPs in the villages and IDP camps on insecurity perceptions. This suggests possible effects of social disorder and a lack of social integration due to the arrival of IDPs in the area. Although improving the security situation itself is an important factor, this paper shows that addressing insecurity perceptions might be an important factor as well