Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland 7 October 2013 Available at UNHCR RefWorld A report issued in 2012 by the Bertelsmann Transformation Index points out that: “Citizens, organizations and mass media expressing opposition opinions run a high risk of state intimidation, arrests and abuses. Those critical of country’s political and military elites were repeatedly pursued and illegally detained.” (Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2012) Congo, DR Country Report, p.9) In January 2013 Freedom House states: “NGOs are generally able to operate, though domestic human rights advocates are subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest, and detention.” (Freedom House (January 2013) Read the full article…

3rd October, 2013 Human Rights Watch United Nations Security Council members should use their visit to the Great Lakes region of Central Africa to help end human rights abuses and impunity for the worst crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Security Council members sent on October 2, 2013. Security Council members are to leave on October 3 for a 6-day trip to Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia. “Civilians in eastern Congo have suffered atrocities without end, but very few of those responsible are ever brought to justice,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director. “Security Council members should use their Read the full article…

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) 1 August 2013 Since 2012 an estimated one million people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern provinces of South and North Kivu, major ethnic and political flashpoints in the country. However, for many of DRC’s over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs), it is not the first time they are being uprooted from their homes. Multiple displacements have become a feature of the past two decades in DRC and, as the violence escalates, things do not look like improving any time soon. “Multiple displacements are a significant problem in the Read the full article…

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) 29 July 2013 As fighting continues in North Kivu Province between the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) army and the rebel group M23, both sides have been accused of committing human rights abuses against each other and civilians, some of which amount to war crimes, according to rights groups. Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported the M23 rebel movement in eastern DRC had committed war crimes; a second major report by HRW, released 22 July, finds M23′s war crimes have continued. Summarizing the report’s findings, lead author Ida Sawyer told IRIN: “What we’ve Read the full article…

International Crisis Group 23 July 2013 The February 2013 framework agreement signed by the UN, African organisations and eleven regional countries, as well as the deployment of an intervention brigade, repre- sent yet another of many attempts to end the crisis in the Kivus. Conflicts in this re- gion, however, stem mainly from competition between communities for land and eco- nomic opportunities and require tailored, grassroots solutions that should go beyond a military response and promote local conflict resolution. Those seeking to secure peace in the Kivus should gain sound knowledge of local dynamics and design strategies to tackle the Read the full article…