Radio Okapi, the only radio station broadcasting nationally throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo, represents an original and innovative contribution by Switzerland to civilian conflict management.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been torn by war since 1996. From the outbreak of the first conflict, which toppled the regime of Mobutu Sese Seku, and continuing through the most recent mutiny, the M23 Rebellion, the country has been increasingly partitioned into different zones under the de facto control of competing political and military forces. Communication between these regions is virtually impossible. The never-ending fighting has completed the destruction of the country's already fragile economy. It has led to the deaths of millions of people, caused the flight of a half a million refugees, and created more than 2 million displaced persons inside the country.

In 1999, a United Nations mission, the MONUC (MONUSCO, as of July 2010), was given a mandate to monitor observation of the cease-fire. Simultaneously, the launching of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue gradually helped to establish the political foundations for a durable peace. An overall agreement for the formation of a transition government, comprising all of the parties to the conflict, was signed in Pretoria on 17 December 2002. Parliamentary and presidential elections were successfully conducted in 2006, and at the beginning of 2007, for the first time since 1965, a democratically elected government took office in Kinshasa.

The key role of information
In a situation of this kind, it was crucial that Congolese population receive information. Throughout the war period, there had been no nation-wide news coverage available. Worse, all local news reporting had been strictly controlled and reduced to an absolute minimum. The few journalists who attempted to speak of what was actually going on in their country often ended up in prison. The people of the Congo no longer knew what was taking place in the different parts of the country, and often had no knowledge of what was happening even in their own regions.

Under these circumstances, there was an serious risk that the Inter-Congolese Dialogue would remain confined to a small group of politicians. The division of the country had been made possible, in part, through the information blackout that engulfed the population. In this respect, Radio Okapi was truly revolutionary, changing the way the people of the Congo were able to perceive their own reality, both at home and abroad.

The project was set up through a partnership between the United Nations and the Fondation Hirondelle, a Lausanne-based NGO. As a United Nations Radio broadcaster, Radio Okapi provides general coverage of national news for a popular audience, maintaining high professional standards and impartiality while remaining relatively informal in tone. Like other national broadcasters providing coverage to vast geographical areas, Radio Okapi is actually a network, rather than a single radio station. Since 2005, it has grown to include 28 partner stations. These provide Okapi with local news reports while also rebroadcasting national programmes over a single network of 32 transmitters, able to reach even the most inaccessible regions of the country.

Newscasts, features, talk shows and other programmes are all transmitted via satellite. Radio Okapi is fully computerised; all recording, editing and broadcasting are done digitally. This is presumably the largest and most powerful computerised broadcasting system operating on the African continent, outside of South Africa.

Programmes in five languages
Radio Okapi also requires a high level of organisation for the gathering and the dissemination of information broadcast in five languages (four national languages, and French). Now in operation for over ten years, Radio Okapi has imposed itself as the RDC's leading news source, known for its professionalism and independence. The most recent surveys show that listeners in Kinshasa and in the main villages throughout the RDC give it by far the highest rating for the quality and national scope of its coverage. It is also one of the few media outlets operating in the Congo to truly fulfil its mission of serving peace, democracy, good governance and development.
Radio Okapi ensures that all levels of Congolese society are given an opportunity to make their voices heard. Speaking on the air in simple and often touching terms, they give their views on the situation prevailing in their country. During the elections, Radio Okapi played a highly important role, allowing all parties to express themselves, while taking care to broadcast only facts that had been verified. By helping in this way to calm tensions and avoid an escalation of the violence, there is no question that Radio Okapi contributed to the success of the electoral process. MONUSCO itself also accepts that on occasion it too may face scrutiny, and leaders of the Mission respond daily to questions called in by listeners.

Radio Okapi enjoys a high level of credibility among the people of the Congo. It deals with all issues that affect the daily lives of the population, even in the most sensitive areas. Since 2002, the Humanitarian Aid Department of the SDC, the Human Security Division of the FDFA, and the Regional Cooperation Department of the SDC have supported Radio Okapi with a contribution of approximately CHF 1 million per year. This coordinated support represents a innovative new means of combining humanitarian aid with peacemaking policies, linking bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and promoting collaboration between the UN and ONGs.

Since 2006, the DDC has lent its support, more specifically, to the drafting and implementation of plans for making Radio Okapi a permanent institution in the RDC following the departure of MONUSCO. This issue has been given high priority since 2007, when it became increasingly clear that MONUSCO would gradually be withdrawing.

The project in brief

Divisions
Humanitarian Aid
Regional Cooperation
FDFA’s Human Security Division

Human Security Division
E-Mail: pd-ams@eda.admin.ch

Eastern and Central Africa Division (Regional Cooperation)
Africa Division (Humanitarian Aid)
E-mail: info@deza.admin.ch