Washington DC – International reporting on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo needs to look beyond scenes of violence and examine the historical forces sustaining the conflict, researcher Dr Bojana Coulibaly has said, calling for greater attention to genocide ideology, the FDLR and discrimination against Congolese Tutsi communities.
In an interview with DOSSIER, Coulibaly criticised coverage that she believes prioritises dramatic images while giving insufficient space to civilian experiences, political exclusion and the origins of armed mobilisation.
Her argument centres on a question with consequences for diplomacy and public understanding: whether reporting explains why violence persists, alongside documenting its human cost.
A Challenge to Conflict Reporting
Coulibaly described encounters with foreign journalists in Goma following AFC/M23’s capture of the city in early 2025. According to her account, some spoke approvingly about obtaining material involving killings, an exchange she presented as evidence of a troubling emphasis on spectacle.
The supplied report does not identify those journalists or provide independent corroboration of the conversation. Her account nevertheless forms part of a broader criticism of how suffering can become a news commodity while the people experiencing it receive limited opportunity to explain their circumstances.
Coulibaly said everyday life, community recovery and efforts to address divisions deserve sustained attention. Coverage dominated by combat and casualties, she argued, can leave international audiences with an incomplete understanding of the region.
The Historical Weight of 1994
Central to her analysis is the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Coulibaly argued that accounts beginning with the Congo wars of the 1990s often give insufficient attention to the movement of genocide perpetrators into what was then Zaïre, including former government soldiers and Interahamwe members.
She linked that history to the subsequent development of armed networks, including the FDLR, and called for closer examination of their continuing influence on regional insecurity.
In her assessment, treating the FDLR solely as a Rwandan security concern understates the wider implications of genocide ideology. She urged international actors to consider its consequences for civilian protection and stability across the Great Lakes region.
She also pointed to illicit economic activity, including mineral exploitation and forest destruction, as an issue requiring deeper investigation when examining how armed groups sustain themselves.
Congolese Tutsi Belonging and Protection
Coulibaly identified the exclusion of Congolese Tutsi communities as another essential element of the conflict.
She described challenges to their citizenship and belonging as longstanding political problems, rather than recent developments. Referring to the national conference held during Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule, she said the exclusion of Congolese Tutsi participants illustrated how political institutions could reinforce divisions.
Her analysis places citizenship, equal protection and freedom from ethnic persecution at the centre of any durable peace.
She also argued that reporting on armed movements should examine the grievances their members cite as reasons for taking up arms. Those accounts require scrutiny, but understanding them is necessary to explain the conflict’s persistence and the obstacles facing negotiations.
Scrutiny of Human Rights Research
Coulibaly also questioned aspects of reporting by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, arguing that investigations conducted remotely can miss important local context.
These criticisms represent her assessment. The supplied account does not include responses from either organisation or establish that particular findings were inaccurate.
Her intervention raises a substantive methodological issue: how researchers verify testimony, assess politically interested sources and combine remote evidence with knowledge gathered inside affected communities.
Credible investigation requires transparency about those methods and their limitations, particularly where access is restricted and competing actors seek to influence the public record.
Bringing Residents Into the Record
Coulibaly said her work includes field visits and the collection of local testimony, including in Nturo, Masisi, and alongside activities associated with Conspiracy Tracker Great Lakes.
Her appeal is for reporting that gives residents greater space to describe insecurity, displacement, identity and survival in their own terms.
For international audiences, the challenge she presents is to connect immediate events with the history behind them—and to ensure that the people living through eastern Congo’s conflict remain central to its explanation.
