Carry a report by Amnesty International on the situation in the Republic "Democratic" in the Congo. The situation is dire, read for yourself:
Between November and early December, a delegation from Amnesty International conducted a research mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), visiting the province of North Kivu and refugee camps located along the border with the south-western Uganda.
The Amnesty International delegates have carried out research on human rights violations that occurred during the conflict and have had discussions with senior representatives of all parties involved. In particular, they met representatives of humanitarian organizations, UN agencies, commanders of peacekeeping forces (including General MONUC, Bipin Rawat) and local human rights activists. They also met or interviewed victims and witnesses of the recent human rights violations, the commander of the regular armed forces of the province of North Kivu, General Mayala, the leader of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), Laurent Nkunda, militia commanders and local mayi-mayi.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have today sent an open letter to the Security Council calling for the strengthening of the UN arms embargo in the DRC. The open letter indicates the absence of procedures which can verify that the MONUC military supplies from Sudan, China and other countries into the regular army, and used only by the latter. The human rights organizations have also urged the Security Council to assist the DRC government in the task of professionalizing its armed forces, prevent the dispersal of military supplies and to end impunity.
conclusions of the mission of Amnesty International
The first-hand information gathered by Amnesty International indicate that the province of North Kivu are ongoing war crimes and other serious violations of human rights. They include:
1. Unlawful killings of civilians, on a scale daily
November 5 Kiwanja CNDP armed men have killed dozens of civilians, mainly ethnic Hutus and Nande, in retaliation for an earlier attack against the city led by the mayi-mayi militia. Also in Kiwanja, November 28, were killed seven people belonging to the same household.
2. Sexual violence
is a widespread phenomenon that involves both government forces and armed groups. A specialist who treats rape survivors described this practice as "institutionalized" among the armed forces. Women raped are sometimes threatened with death if they seek medical care. Both the mayi-mayi that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) abduct and rape women and girls. Amnesty International has identified an ethnic dimension of the rape (which affects, namely, women and girls of the community perceived as "opposed"), while in other cases it was used as a form of punishment or retaliation. The fact that the regular armed forces and the commanders of armed groups almost did not take any measures to prevent and punish the rapes indicates that this crime is implicitly condoned and encouraged.
3. Child soldiers
There was a resumption of enrollment or re-recruitment of children by armed groups. Many have tried to hide to avoid abduction and recruitment. Children make up between 50 and 60 per cent of refugees and displaced persons.
4. Threats to human rights defenders
Many human rights activists, journalists and health workers continue to receive threats from the armed forces. Some of them were forced to leave the country or go underground.
5. Humanitarian situation
The situation remains desperate for tens of thousands of displaced people in Masisi, Rutshuru and Lubero, where because of the ongoing violence humanitarian aid are yet to come. Even in refugee camps near Goma, where aid has arrived, many people live in fear and physical protection is very low. There are regular reports of rapes, looting and shootings, often by government forces.
In November, the humanitarian agencies had estimated that about 70 percent of the population of North Kivu (a total of five million people) have been displaced or flowed into refugee camps. According to MONUC, a four inhabitants of the province (about 1,350,000 people) was registered as a refugee. The situation of refugee camps and the delivery of assistance varies according to the control exercised over the area by armed groups, some fields have been destroyed.
6. The regular army
regular armed forces (FARDC) are primarily responsible for the territorial integrity and security but continue to commit serious violations human rights, such as rapes and looting. The discipline is completely absent in some areas of North Kivu, especially around Kanyabayonga, where the soldiers are given a prolonged looting, carrying out rapes and killings. The FARDC is an amalgamation of the former government forces and units of armed opposition groups. They are poorly trained and torn by ethnic background and political loyalty. Large quantities of weapons have fallen into the hands of the FARDC armed groups.
At the end of the mission, Amnesty International reiterated the urgent need for effective protection of civilians in North Kivu. This is currently the exception rather than the rule, since many communities live still in terror, or damage to flight, in the absence of any visible form of protection by MONUC. MONUC, in turn, is still awaiting the arrival of 3,000 additional peacekeepers, arranged by the Security Council in November. The United Nations has expressed the hope that this force can stabilize the region while carrying out political negotiations. However, the mandate and area of \u200b\u200bdeployment of additional force remain to be clarified.
Recommendations Amnesty International
The strengthening of MONUC is imperative and urgent. Every day of delay is costing lives. Let thousands of people to flee without giving protection or that women and girls in refugee camps are exposed to Sexual violence is unacceptable. MONUC needs to become more active and visible, especially along the highways of North Kivu, and maintain a permanent presence at the barriers organized by the FARDC and armed groups along those roads. Also, carry patrolling inside and outside of refugee camps, especially at night, as well as more broadly in the daytime, when the refugees leave the camps to find food and firewood.
be renewed pressure on the international community, governments that have influence regional, national army and armed opposition groups to cease the cycle of human rights violations. This objective should be central in current and future diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting and the special envoy of UN Secretary General Olusegun Obasanjo, should be taken into account in the mediation.
Mediation course will also propose and lay the foundations for long-term solution of the causes of conflict, thus providing: *
the end of the presence of the FDLR and other foreign armed groups in eastern DRC ;
* the end of the proliferation of weapons and a strict control on arms throughout the territory;
* a full reform of the army, to make it able to protect all communities east of the country in a neutral manner and in full respect human rights. The armed forces suspected of war crimes and other serious human rights violations must be immediately removed from any position of command in the army and other security forces;
* an end to impunity and the development of national mechanisms of Justice with the specific mandate to investigate and carry out processes into violations of human rights committed in the DRC since 1994. END OF PRESS
Rome, December 15, 2008
For further details and interviews: Amnesty International
Italy - Press
Tel 2006 4490224 - cell. 348-6974361, e-mail: press@amnesty.it
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