DR Congo

DR Congo: treatment of members of NGO’s and human rights activists by the government and police

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…


DR Congo: Open Letter to the UN Security Council from Human Rights Watch On Human Rights Abuses

3 October 2013 Human Rights Watch Dear Ambassador, We write to highlight the alarming human rights situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and ask that you use your visit to the region to help end human rights abuses and impunity for the worst crimes. For the past year and a half, the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group has summarily executed and raped scores of civilians in eastern Congo, and forcibly recruited men and boys to join its ranks. Those who have spoken out against the M23’s abuses have been threatened or killed. Women remain at risk of sexual violence. A Read the full article…


DR Congo: UN Security Council - Address Rights Abuses

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…


DR Congo: North Kivu braces for potential UN-armed group clashes

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) 2 August 2013 A UN ultimatum for armed groups around Goma, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) North Kivu Province, to disarm, expired on 1 August and a security zone has been set up around the city. Goma is calm, but civilians, aid agencies and NGOs wait nervously as the UN’s first ever “offensive” peacekeeping force prepares to fully deploy. “In North Kivu, MONUSCO [the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC] considers any individuals who are not members of the national security forces and who carry a firearm in Goma and its northern Read the full article…


Democratic Republic of Congo multiple displacements making people more vulnerable

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…


DR Congo: UNHCR statistics show alarming rise in rape and violence against women in North Kivu

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 30 July The UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday that recurrent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu province is uprooting more civilians and exposing an increasing number of women, girls and men to rape. Statistics gathered by UNHCR in North Kivu point to an alarming rise this year in acts of violence against women and girls in the province, particularly rape. “Our protection monitoring teams have registered 705 cases of sexual violence in the region since January, including 619 cases of rape,” said a UNHCR spokesperson. “During the same period Read the full article…


DR Congo: Rights abuses on both sides in Democratic Republic of Congo conflict

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…


Democratic Republic of Congo: Information on Bundu Dia Kongo over the past 3 years, including: Treatment of the group by the government between July 2012-2013 and whether it is perceived by the government as a religious or political group

Ireland: Refugee Documentation Centre 26 July 2013 Information on Bundu Dia Kongo over the past 3 years, including: Treatment of the group by the government between July 2012-2013 and whether it is perceived by the government as a religious or political group. Read full information here.


DR Congo: Understanding Conflict in Eastern Congo (I): The Ruzizi Plain

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…


DR Congo: M23 Rebels Kill, Rape Civilians

Human Rights Watch 22 July 2013 (Goma) – M23 rebels have summarily executed at least 44 people and raped at least 61 women and girls since March 2013 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Local residents and rebel deserters reported recent forced recruitment of men and boys by the M23 in both Rwanda and Congo. Read full article here.