Academy Award winner, Ben Affleck brought his star power to Washington D.C. on Wednesday (February 26) where he met with U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and testified on Capitol Hill over the volatile situation in Congo.
Affleck is the founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative organization, a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to peace and prosperity in the region that he launched four years ago.
The star and director of 2013 best picture “Argo,” and star in the upcoming “Gone Girl” said he was taking the celebrity attention and using it to focus on an issue he cares deeply about – the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Affleck, who has made nine trips to Congo, expressed cautious optimism about the outlook for the African nation while imploring lawmakers to remain diligent.
“Without overstating what’s taken place since December 2012, I can say unequivocally, that the situation in Eastern Congo has improved,” he told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“In July, Secretary Kerry (U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry) presided over high level UN Security Council meeting focused on security challenges in the Great Lakes region and on November 7th, M23 was forced to surrender. I am also here today with an urgent message: our work in DRC is not done. We cannot risk diminished U.S. leadership at a time when lasting stability and peace are within reach.”
Congo, the former Belgian colony of about 68 million people, is one of the most volatile in Africa. Violence has claimed the lives of 5 million people since a regional war broke out in 1997 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative, with two employees in the U.S. and 12 in the Congo, has had success through its community-based partnerships.
He noted that Theo, a chocolate company based in Seattle, was getting tons of its cocoa beans from eastern Congo and making profits and added that coffee was next.
Affleck urged Congress to provide the funds for personnel and resources for the special envoy’s office and to pressure U.S. President, Barack Obama to engage directly with President Joseph Kabila, among other steps.