UN REPORTS POINT TO POSSIBLE WAR CRIMES IN EASTERN DR CONGO

With two new United Nations reports detailing human rights abuses – including possible war crimes – carried out by both Government forces and rebels in the volatile far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world body's top rights official today stressed the urgent need for reforming the country's security and judicial systems.

Fundamental improvements in these sectors "are of paramount importance if both the authorities and the international community are serious about bringing lasting peace to eastern DRC," High Commissioner Navi Pillay said.

The new publications are a joint effort of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (<"http://monuc.unmissions.org/">MONUC) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (<"http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx">OHCHR), and cover the period in late 2008 when heavy fighting engulfed North and South Kivu provinces.

One <"http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/Goma_KanyabayongaRapport_Septembre_2009.pdf">report focuses on the actions of Government troops, known by the acronym FARDC, some of whom took part in 12 arbitrary killings, as well as looting and sexual violence, of the very people they were supposed to protect in the North Kivu provincial capital, Goma, and surrounding areas as they fled advancing forces from the mainly Tutsi rebel group known as the National Congress for People's Defence (CNDP).

"As human rights violations by the FARDC are so significant, failure at the political and operational levels to act to remedy the situation in and of itself constitutes a serious human rights violation," the publication said.

The Government must take immediate and strong action on the violations committed by the Congolese armed forces, it emphasized. "Without profound change in the FARDC, the international community may be perceived as contributing to human rights violations as opposed to effectively supporting the desired change and this perception might affect its support to FARDC."

Despite some positive changes in FARDC's command structures in the wake of the Goma rampage, soldiers who committed these crimes remain in the area, according to local people.

The High Commissioner characterized the judicial response to the violations by the FARDC as "wholly insufficient."

She added that "that has, unfortunately, generally been the case since the [civil] war officially ended in 2002, and is one of the reasons why progress on the human rights front since then has been so deeply unsatisfactory."

The other <"http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/Kiwanja_Report_September2009.pdf">report highlights the rights violations committed by the CNDP, including at least 67 cases of arbitrary executions, during the 5 November 2008 killings in Kiwanja, North Kivu.

Following intense fighting between the CNDP and the Mayi Mayi militia, the CNDP carried out reprisal killings of villagers, mostly young men suspected of being members or collaborators of the Mayi Mayi.

"The fact that killings took place simultaneously in several different areas of Kiwanja and that they were preceded, days before the events, by public warnings by CNDP authorities that in case of a Mayi Mayi attack, the population would be held responsible may suggest that, at least to a certain extent, the 'opération ratissage' was retaliatory in nature and ordered and condoned by the command of the CNDP," the report found.

It also noted that in the aftermath of the attacks, MONUC was strongly criticized for not having protected civilians.

Not only is additional training of military personnel in peacekeeping operations necessary, the report said, but also, "the formulation of clearer criteria for exactly when peacekeepers are to intervene in order to protect civilians must take into account both the need for peacekeepers to possess knowledge of the dangers faced by civilians in a given situation, and the capacity of peacekeepers to make a positive difference in that situation."

Ms. Pillay pointed out that the CNDP's actions could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and "are part of a self-perpetuating pattern of brutality in eastern DRC which continues to go largely unpunished.

"I am deeply concerned that members of the CNDP who may be implicated in these crimes – especially Bosco Ntaganda, against whom there was already an International Criminal Court arrest warrant – are either still at large, or have even been absorbed into the FARDC."

Laurent Nkunda, who led the CNDP at the time of the Kiwanja attacks, was taken into custody this January.

The High Commissioner voiced hope that the announcement of a zero-tolerance policy on sexual violence by the Government will be followed by "concrete and immediate action to hold perpetrators accountable, particularly since sexual violence continues to take place on a daily basis."

MJPC blames the Congolese Government for Deteriorating Situation in East Congo

"There is no excuse for missing to pay salaries to soldiers in lawless eastern Congo for six months" MJPC

Following the deteriorating situation in east Congo, the MJPC called for the Congolese Government to pay the salaries of thousands of soldiers who have not been paid for over six months in east Congo, take swift action to enforce the International Criminal Court's (ICC) warrant against Bosco Ntaganda and to hold accountable perpetrators of sexual violence against women for their acts.

"Faillng to hold accountable individuals who commit war crimes and crimes against humunity continues to be the leading cause of widespread and systematic sexual violence acts against girls and women in the easten Congo" said Makuba Sekombo, Community Affairs Director of the Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the DR Congo (MJPC).

Mr. Sekombo again criticized the government of Congo for not only the continuing failure to protect women and young girls from sexual violence, but also for "encouraging conditions that create opportunities for sexual violence to occur". "There is no excuse for missing to pay salaries to soldiers in lawless eastern Congo for six months" said Sekombo.

The MJPC has also renewed its call for the Congolese government to take urgent needed action to end human rights abuses in east Congo, hold perpetrators accountable and ensure reparation for the victims of sexual violence. The MJPC has been urging the Congolese government to compensate the victims of sexual violence in order to also help combat impunity in eastern part of Congo where sexual violence against women and children has been widely used as weapon of war for more than decade.

MJPC online petition calling for for help to put pressure on Congolese Government to compensate victims of sexual siolence in Eastern DRC can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/26180.html MJPC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to working to add a voice in the promotion of justice and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular in the East where thousands of innocent civilians, including children and women continue to be victims of massive human rights violations while the armed groups responsible for these crimes remain unpunished.

DR CONGO POLICE RECEIVE UN TRAINING AHEAD OF LOCAL ELECTIONS

DR CONGO POLICE RECEIVE UN TRAINING AHEAD OF LOCAL ELECTIONS
New York, Jun 3 2009 11:00AM
The United Nations has begun training the first of some 75,000 policemen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in preparation for local elections, the world body's peacekeeping mission there said.

The mission, known as MONUC, said much of the training is an update of a course already received by members of the Congolese National Police (PNC) in previous years.

The instruction includes the management of queues in front of polling stations, the escort and transport of the material to the local centres of compilation and the evacuation of currently illegally occupied buildings, MONUC said.

The aim of the first stage of the programme is to train 2,578 agents from the various police stations of Kinshasa, who will be deployed in 143 registration centres in the capital for a revision of the electoral rolls. The training will continue at a national level in the coming weeks starting with the PNC of Bas-Congo.

The revision of the electoral roll, regarded as the first step towards the next local elections, begins on 7 June in Kinshasa and in Bas-Congo, and on 3 August in the nine other provinces.
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ICC CONSIDERS ADMISSIBILITY MOTION IN CASE OF CONGOLESE MILITIA LEADER

ICC CONSIDERS ADMISSIBILITY MOTION IN CASE OF CONGOLESE MILITIA LEADER
New York, Jun 1 2009 3:00PM
The International Criminal Court (<"http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/6330CCF6-1A4A-4133-8044-6753FDA54F70.htm">ICC) began public hearings today to consider challenges by defense lawyers to the admissibility of the case against alleged Congolese militia commander Germain Katanga.

This is the first time that the Court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, will take up a challenge to admissibility based on the complementarity principle, according to a news release.

The Counsel of the accused maintain that legal proceedings were brought against him – partly for the same crimes – before the courts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The principle of complementarity requires the Court not to investigate or prosecute individuals unless the State concerned is genuinely unable to or has no intention to carry out the investigation or prosecution. The principle gives precedence to national systems.

A senior commander from the group known as the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), Mr. Katanga was arrested and transferred to the Court in October 2007.

He faces three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes for a deadly assault on the village of Bogoro, in the province of Ituri. Hundreds of people were killed and many women forced into sexual slavery in that February 2003 attack.

In March 2008, the Court decided to join his case and that of accused Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of the Nationalist Integrationist Front (FNI) – who is alleged to have played a key role in designing and carrying out the Bogoro attack – into one single case of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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TOP UN ENVOY CALLS FOR NATIONAL REFORMS IN DR CONGO

TOP UN ENVOY CALLS FOR NATIONAL REFORMS IN DR CONGO
New York, May 26 2009 4:00PM
The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called for swift implementation of "reforms of the state services" to fight poverty and corruption.

In a keynote address to a major civil society gathering yesterday in the capital, Kinshasa, Alan Doss offered UN support for the reforms, without which, he said, the fight against poverty would be hampered.

Mr. Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (<"http://monuc.unmissions.org/">MONUC), asked the participants to come up with a workable strategy.

"Your ideas to consolidate peace, to end impunity, ensure the democratic electoral processes, and support reforms in institutions and governance practices will be critical," he said.

In a related development, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York that MONUC peacekeepers had deployed over the weekend to a village near the north-eastern town of Dungu where the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed one person, wounded 20 others, and burned some 20 huts.

Last Friday in the Bukavu area, a peacekeeping patrol exchanged fire with a group of Rwandan rebels after the rebels attacked a bus at a roadblock, she said.

Meanwhile, MONUC also reported that it is providing logistical assistance to Congolese judicial authorities in the trial of Mai Mai militiamen charged with mass rapes and torture.

The trial opened two days ago in a regional court in Province Orientale. The mission says it provided helicopters to help get judicial personnel to the remote area, some 290 miles from the provincial hub of Kisangani. UN human rights experts will also be monitoring the proceedings, MONUC said.

Thirty-four Mai Mai fighters are on trial for a spree of sexual violence, including the alleged rape of more than 135 women and children in July 2007.
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GOVERNMENT, REBEL ATROCITIES UPROOTING CIVILIANS IN EASTERN DR CONGO – UN

GOVERNMENT, REBEL ATROCITIES UPROOTING CIVILIANS IN EASTERN DR CONGO – UN
New York, May 22 2009 12:00PM
Growing reports of atrocities committed against civilians – by both Government troops and rebel groups – in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to drive people from their homes, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said today.

Harassment, human rights abuses, rape and intimidation against civilians have been mainly blamed on the ethnic Hutu rebel group known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwandan (FDLR), but also increasingly on Congolese armed forces, known as FARDC, Andrew Purvis, UNHCR spokesperson, said today.

Civilians live in constant fear of threats by armed men, who pillage, rape, burn houses and confiscate supplies and food, with robberies and forced labour becoming increasingly common in the region, the agency said.

"We urgently appeal to the Government of the DRC, with the support of the international community, to provide protection to the civilian population and to end the atmosphere of impunity surrounding crimes committed by members of the FARDC, the national police and by armed rebels such as the FDLR," Mr. Purvis said.

Two weeks ago, attacks alleged to have been carried out by the FDLR in two villages in North and South Kivu provinces killed dozens of people, with 700 houses being burned to the ground.

The renewed violence has caused panic among civilians, driving many from their homes, Mr. Purvis said.

Since January, FDLR attacks in the war-torn provinces have forced nearly 400,000 to leave their homes and take refuge in forests and other areas, according to UNHCR.

"Tensions have been high in South Kivu, the scene of increased military activity by the FARDC against the FDLR aimed at neutralizing the Rwandan Hutu rebels," the UNHCR spokesperson said.

An ongoing military offensive against the FDLR – operating in eastern DRC since the end of the Rwandan genocide which wiped out around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994 – in North Kivu, meanwhile, has driven 30,000 people from their homes, he added.

Earlier this week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) urged greater protection for civilians in the South Kivu, which has witnessed a surge in sexual violence since the beginning of this year.

Some 463 women were raped in the first quarter of 2009, more than half of the total number of violations registered for the whole of last year, OCHA said, noting that most of the sexual violence is committed by soldiers and members of the various armed militia.

Since March, an estimated 120,000 people have been forced from their homes in South Kivu as a result of violent attacks by FDLR militias and clashes pitting the national army against the Hutu group.
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UN-MANDATED GROUP SUGGESTS SCREENING RIGHTS RECORDS OF CONGOLESE SOLDIERS

UN-MANDATED GROUP SUGGESTS SCREENING RIGHTS RECORDS OF CONGOLESE SOLDIERS
New York, May 21 2009 4:00PM
The expert panel monitoring United Nations sanctions imposed on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has underscored the need for a vetting mechanism to screen the human rights records of officers in the national army, as part of overall efforts to reform the security sector.

In its interim report, published today, the Group of Experts on the DRC focuses on the security situation in North Kivu province, where the most serious fighting took place in late 2008, and particularly on the accelerated military integration of non-State armed groups into the national army (FARDC) in early 2009.

They state that information on the continued presence of children in the ranks of the recently integrated brigades, as well as grave human rights abuses committed by former commanders of armed groups currently integrated in the FARDC "make a compelling argument" for the establishment of a vetting mechanism.

The Group considers that such an initiative is "indispensable" for a sustainable integration process, and would strengthen the Government's capacity to effectively extend State authority in the strife-torn eastern part of the vast nation and protect its own nationals.

"In the absence of such a mechanism, command responsibility for human rights abuses of the civilian population will ultimately rest with the supreme military command of FARDC," the report adds.

The Group also highlights a number of other concerns on the issue of military integration, notably the maintenance of parallel command structures operated by former senior officers of rebel National Congress in Defence of the People (CNDP) who have been integrated into the FARDC.

Also, it notes that there are several armed groups in South Kivu which have not yet joined the integration process, including some Mai-Mai militias. The Group is also concerned about ongoing militia activities in the Ituri region, which it continues to monitor closely.

The Group is also continuing to monitor the situation in north-eastern DRC, after it received verified reports of hundreds of civilian casualties and abductions at the hands of the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) since December 2008.
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GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN FALLING VICTIM TO RAPE IN DR CONGO, REPORTS UN

GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN FALLING VICTIM TO RAPE IN DR CONGO, REPORTS UN
New York, May 20 2009 4:00PM
The United Nations humanitarian wing is urging greater protection for civilians in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has witnessed a surge in sexual violence since the beginning of this year.

Some 463 women were raped in the first quarter of 2009, more than half of the total number of violations registered for the whole of last year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA).

OCHA reported that most of the sexual violence is committed by soldiers and members of the various armed militia, and that since the Government launched its military operation against the mainly ethnic Hutu rebel group FDLR in April, civilians have been increasingly victims of looting, extortions, arson, killings and rape in eastern DRC.

UN relief officials have met with Congolese authorities to convey the concerns of the humanitarian community regarding the protection of civilians and aid access.

The World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) has distributed post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) kits throughout South Kivu, which can reduce the risk of HIV infection if administered within 72 hours of the rape.

Since March, an estimated 120,000 people have been forced from their homes in South Kivu as a result of violent attacks by FDLR militias and clashes pitting the national army against the Hutu group, which has been operating in eastern DRC since the end of the Rwandan genocide wiped out around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) has distributed some 2,459 tons of food to 323,472 people in South Kivu during the past two months. The agency with its partner, CARITAS, is handing out food for a further 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the Kalehe-Nyabibwe axis.

For its part, the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) is supplying sanitation facilities in the Bunyakiri-Hombo zone, while WHO has provided cholera kits to some 2,545 patients in the area.

OCHA's DRC Humanitarian Action Plan, which has requested $831 million for humanitarian programmes in the country in 2009, has so far received $271 million or 33 per cent of the total.
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UN Security Council: Push for Civilian Protection During Congo Visit

May 18, 2009

(Goma) - The United Nations Security Council, visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo beginning today, should press for urgent action to protect civilians, a coalition of 68 aid and human rights groups said today. The groups said the council should make clear to both the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC) and the Congolese army that stronger measures to protect civilians are urgently needed during military operations against Rwandan militias.

The Security Council gave the green light to UN peacekeepers to support Congolese armed forces in military operations in eastern Congo against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Rally for Unity and Democracy (RUD). But since military operations began in late January 2009, first supported by the Rwandan government and later by UN peacekeepers, these militias have deliberately targeted the civilian population in North and South Kivu in apparent "reprisal" attacks.

"The military operations were intended to end the attacks on civilians, not to bring more deadly reprisals," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher in the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "As the operations expand into South Kivu, the consequences are likely to be just as dire. Urgent action is clearly needed to protect the people in these areas."

In a recent attack on May 9 and 10, dozens of civilians, including many children, were killed and many others wounded in Busurungi, in Walikale territory. Reports from local officials indicate the FDLR were the attackers, but due to the remoteness of the region the information has not yet been confirmed. A UN team has been sent to investigate the incident.

The coalition stressed that while the militias pose a grave threat to civilians, and are committing war crimes, the military operation against them, known as Kimia II, has contributed to further suffering of civilians trapped in conflict areas. Rampant abuses reportedly committed by Congolese army soldiers against civilians are exacerbating an already dangerous situation.

Since the beginning of military operations against the two Rwandan militia groups, 250,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds of women and girls have been raped, and at least 200 civilians have been killed, the vast majority reportedly by FDLR combatants.

The organizations called on the Security Council delegates to take effective action to:

• Ensure the development of a detailed and transparent plan for protection of civilians as part of military operations;
• Ensure that MONUC establishes and monitors clear benchmarks as conditions for continued collaboration and support for Congolese army military operations, upholding its own responsibility to ensure respect for international humanitarian and human rights law in any such action;
• Urgently seek the deployment of the additional 3,000 peacekeepers, logistics and intelligence support needed for MONUC and authorized by the Security Council to increase its protection of civilians.

During the visit to eastern Congo, Security Council members are scheduled to go to Kiwanja, 75 kilometres north of Goma, where more than 150 people were killed in November 2008 and camps and housing for 27,000 displaced people were deliberately destroyed. The coalition urged council members to meet with Congolese civil society leaders and victims in Kiwanja to hear firsthand the suffering they endured and the inability of MONUC peacekeepers to protect them.

"UN peacekeepers face huge challenges in promoting both lasting peace and immediate security, but the Security Council cannot afford to sacrifice the protection of the very civilians it aims to protect," said Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in the DRC. "It's time for the council to pull out all the stops, give peacekeepers the resources they need, and push for non-military action to be given greater priority than at present."

The Congo Advocacy Coalition, made up of local and international nongovernmental organizations, was established in July 2008 to advocate for greater protection of civilians and respect for human rights in eastern Congo. The following organizations are members of the coalition's steering committee: ActionAid, ENOUGH, Human Rights Watch, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Oxfam, Conseil Régional des Organisations Non Gouvernementales de Développement (CRONGD) - North Kivu, Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Féminines (PAIF) - North Kivu, Initiative Congolaise pour la Justice et la Paix (ICJP) - South Kivu, and Association des Femmes Juristes du Congo (AFEJUCO) - South Kivu.

Other signatories:

International NGOs:

Beati i costruttori di pace (Blessed Are the Peacemakers - Heureux les artisans de paix), Change Agents for Peace International (CAPI), Global Witness, IEDA Relief, International Alert, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Refugees International, Trocaire, War Child Holland, World Vision

Congolese NGOs :

Action de Promotion et d'Assistance pour l'Amélioration du Niveau des Vies des Populations (APANIVIP), Action des Chrétiens Activistes des Droits de l'Homme à Shabunda (ACADHOSHA), Action Pour Enfants Oubliés (APEO), Action Sociale pour la Paix et le Développement (ASPD), ACTP, ADPS, AFEM, AMALDEFEA, APACI, APROFEDD, ASAVO, ASSALAK, ASSK, Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l'Homme (ASADHO)-Sud Kivu, Association des Filles et Mamans Violées (AFMV), Association des Jeunes pour la Prévention des Violences (AJPREV), Carrefour d'Idées Pour le Développement Intégral (CIDI)/Nord Kivu, CCJT, Centre d'Appui pour le Développement Rural Communautaire (CADERCO), Centre de Recherche sur l'Environnement, la Démocratie et les Droits de l'Homme (CREDDHO), Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche en Education de Base pour le Développement Intégré (CEREBA), Centre Olame, CIDHOP, Collectif des Organisations des Jeunes Solidaires du Congo (COJESKI)-Nord Kivu, CRAF/Nyamalisa, CREF, Dauphins Muzihirwa-Kataliko, DCMD, FASI, FCA, GRAM-Kivu, Groupe Organisés pour le Développement (GRODE), Heal Africa, Héritiers de la Justice, La Synergie des femmes pour les victimes des violences sexuelles (SFVS), Ligue pour la Solidarité Congolaise (LSC), LINAJEUN-RDC, Mamans Organisées pour le Développement (MAODE), OGP, Perspectives "Monde Juste", PROFE, Programme de Protection des Femmes et Enfants (PROFE), RAFLCOVIHG Réseau, Réseau des Associations des Droits de l'Homme du Sud Kivu (RADHOSKI), Réseau Provincial des ONG de Droits de l'Homme (REPRODHOC)/Nord Kivu, SAFEDI, SAIFE, Solidarité pour la Promotion sociale et la Paix (SOPROP), Villages Cobaye (VICO)

TOP UN ENVOY DEPLORES RAID ON CONGOLESE VILLAGE BY RWANDAN REBELS

TOP UN ENVOY DEPLORES RAID ON CONGOLESE VILLAGE BY RWANDAN REBELS
New York, May 11 2009 3:00PM
The top United Nations envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has condemned the raid carried out by Rwandan rebels on a village in the north-eastern part of the country, which sent residents fleeing into the nearby bush.

Alan Doss, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUC), said the attack shows once again that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwandan (FDLR) rebels are "outlaws."

According to a news release issued by <"http://monuc.unmissions.org/">MONUC, the rebels raided the north-eastern village of Butolonga on the night of 8 May, firing guns and burning houses. Around 131 houses were burned, and two Congolese soldiers were killed.

UN peacekeepers dispatched to the scene found the village empty as residents had fled into a nearby bush. They are only now returning to their homes, the Mission noted.

The ethnic Hutu rebel FDLR have recently been carrying out retaliatory attacks against civilians after being targeted by a joint Congolese and Rwandan military offensive. The group has been operating in eastern DRC since the 1994 genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) says an estimated 100,000 people in the eastern province of South Kivu have been displaced by fear of armed groups since the beginning of the year.

The FDLR and other Rwandan militias have also been a key factor in the resurgence of violence in North Kivu province, where another 100,000 civilians have been uprooted by fighting in the past two months, in addition to the many hundreds of thousands previously displaced.
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FRESH ATTACKS BY HUTU REBELS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN DR CONGO – UN

FRESH ATTACKS BY HUTU REBELS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN DR CONGO – UN
New York, Mar 20 2009 10:00AM

The United Nations refugee agency said today that attacks by a Hutu rebel group are continuing to uproot thousands in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reportedly displacing nearly 30,000 people just over the past two weeks.

Altogether, an estimated 1 million people are displaced in North Kivu province by a series of conflicts involving Government forces and various rebel groups, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The ethnic Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which has been the target of a joint military operation conducted by DRC and Rwanda since January, has been retaliating against civilians and attacking villages in North Kivu.

"The FDLR fighting has left more than 160,000 civilians displaced since mid-January," UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

Local authorities tell UNHCR that in the province's Lubero territory, fresh attacks on civilians by the FDLR have displaced nearly 30,000 people over the past two weeks. Newly displaced families in the Lubero area report that FDLR raids increased during the first half of March, along with growing human rights violations.

Also, further south in Masisi territory, local authorities said the FDLR mounted attacks that killed at least three civilians on 15 March and caused a number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to flee. The rebel group has reportedly threatened to continue its attacks in the area.

"Most of the displaced from the continuing FDLR attacks are spending their nights in the bush for fear of attacks and harassment," said Mr. Redmond.

He added that UNHCR is reinforcing its activities in Masisi and trying to establish presence in Lubero for the swift delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Meanwhile, the agency is concerned that continuing violence against aid workers will hinder assistance to the displaced. In the latest incident, armed men attacked and looted a vehicle belonging to an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in Rutshuru on 18 March. No fatalities were reported.

During a visit to North Kivu yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for DRC, Alan Doss, pledged that the UN peacekeeping mission there – known as MONUC – will reinforce its presence in localities and continue to logistically support the Government army in its operations against the FDLR.
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TOP UN ENVOY HAILS JOINT UGANDAN, CONGOLESE OPERATION AGAINST REBELS

TOP UN ENVOY HAILS JOINT UGANDAN, CONGOLESE OPERATION AGAINST REBELS
New York, Mar 16 2009 1:00PM

As Ugandan troops began withdrawing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after a three-month joint operation to flush out a notorious rebel group, the United Nations' top envoy in the country praised the cooperative effort, the world body's mission there said today.

Marking the end of Operation Lightening and Thunder, meant to rout the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Alan Doss, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC), warned, however, that the group remained a threat.

"Operations in the current phase are finished but there are more bands [of LRA] still here. There is work to be done above all in the matter of the protection of the civilian population," Mr. Doss said at a ceremony yesterday attended by diplomats, ministers and military of the two countries.

Brutal attacks since last September by the LRA, notorious for abducting children as soldiers and sex slaves, have killed some 900 Congolese and displaced another 150,000.

While UN agencies and their partners are working – with the authorities, military forces in the area and MONUC – to expand humanitarian aid and step up efforts to protect the local population, they are facing several constraints, according to the Organization's humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes.

These include the huge 40,000 square kilometre area where the LRA is hiding, their dispersal into several groups, the difficult terrain and isolated location, chronic lack of infrastructure, and the threat still posed by the rebels, including on major roads.

At yesterday's ceremony, authorities of the DRC armed forces (FARDC) asked MONUC to continue its support in further efforts to clear out the pockets of LRA that remained.

"The Governments of the DRC and Uganda have very generously recognized the support of MONUC to the FARDC during this first phase," Mr. Doss responded.

"Now, it's necessary to turn toward the future and the next operations," he said.
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DR CONGO: APPEAL TO RWANDAN FIGHTERS TO RETURN HOME IS WORKING, UN SAYS

DR CONGO: APPEAL TO RWANDAN FIGHTERS TO RETURN HOME IS WORKING, UN SAYS
New York, Mar 10 2009 3:00PM

The appeal to Rwandan rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to return home is having a positive impact on peace and security in the strife-torn area, the United Nations' top envoy there said today.

Alan Doss, Special Representative of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, cites the additional 335 Rwandan nationals who agreed to be returned to Rwanda since the start of this month.

There has also been a slow but steady flow of combatants leaving the ranks of the ethnic Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which has been the target of a joint military operation conducted by Rwanda and the DRC, Mr. Doss added.

"These surrenders, which are being recorded every day, are proof that our message of disarmament and return in dignity is continuing to be heard. We encourage other FDLR troops to follow the same path," he said.

The ex-combatants surrender to joint patrols of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) and the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC), while civilians are repatriated by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

The voluntary disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRRR) programme for the ex-militia is managed by MONUC.

The FDLR and other Rwandan militias have been a key factor in the resurgence of violence last August in North Kivu province, where some 250,000 civilians have been uprooted by fighting.
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UPSURGE IN ATTACKS AS MILITIA GROUP RETURNS TO NORTH KIVU, UN AGENCY REPORTS

UPSURGE IN ATTACKS AS MILITIA GROUP RETURNS TO NORTH KIVU, UN AGENCY REPORTS
New York, Mar 6 2009 1:00PM

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it is extremely worried about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the eastern Congolese province of North Kivu, where some 160,000 people have been uprooted from their homes since January and returning militia are attacking local civilians and aid workers.

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) returned to the north and central areas of North Kivu, attacking civilians and targeting humanitarian relief convoys, after a joint military operation by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda aimed at ridding them from area ended in mid-February.

UNHCR credited the FDLR – composed mainly of Hutus who arrived in the DRC in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda – with at least 17 attacks, including of killing, looting, kidnapping and raping of civilians, and the ambushing and burning of vehicles, since mid-February.

Over the past two weeks, the FDLR has killed 34 people, kidnapped four and injured 22 others, according to a UNHCR team on the ground. In late February, the armed group ambushed several relief convoys belonging to humanitarian agencies that provide assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

This new displacement adds to the strain on an already dramatic humanitarian situation in North Kivu, which has a total of some 850,000 IDPs, many of whom have been displaced multiple times.

Attacks by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has also intensified in the Orientale province of north-eastern DRC since late February, following a relative lull earlier in the month.

Dispersed elements of the LRA continue to attack the civilian population at random, according to a UNHCR team in Dungu, the regional centre of Haut Uélé, where there are frequent reports of rape and pillaging.

UNHCR estimated that the total number of Congolese civilians displaced by LRA raids in this remote part of the DRC has now surpassed 140,000 and the death toll 900, since people of Orientale province were exposed to the brutal and deadly LRA violence last September.

In addition, some 16,000 Congolese refugees crossed into southern Sudan, fleeing the LRA's rampage and are presently sheltering in the area of Ezo, Yambio and Yei.
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RELATIONS BETWEEN RWANDA AND DR CONGO FOCUS OF BAN'S TALKS IN KIGALI

RELATIONS BETWEEN RWANDA AND DR CONGO FOCUS OF BAN'S TALKS IN KIGALI
New York, Mar 1 2009 3:00PM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Paul Kagame discussed the situation in the border region between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today during their meeting in Kigali, the current stop on the United Nations chief's five-nation Africa trip.

"I expressed to President Kagame my satisfaction at the steps he has taken to open a new chapter in Rwanda-DRC relations," Mr. Ban told reporters after his meeting, adding that he is "heartened" by the President's intention to establish full diplomatic relations with DRC.

In a move supported by the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUC), DRC and Rwanda launched a joint military offensive in January against the ethnic Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which has caused havoc in the eastern part of DRC for years.

Mr. Ban noted that t
he joint operation appears to have made progress. At the same time, he urged President Kagame "to ensure that these operations do not affect negatively the civilian population and humanitarian access to those in need."

Just a couple of weeks ago, MONUC reported that the FDLR is conducting a campaign of terror, systematically raping, murdering, looting and abducting civilians in an attempt to undermine the joint operation.

Since then the mission has boosted its efforts to protect and reassure threatened populations, mostly in North Kivu province where some 250,000 civilians have been uprooted by fighting between Hutu groups, a mainly Tutsi militia known as the CNDP, the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and others since August.

Mr. Ban had a chance to hear some of the concerns of the civilians uprooted by the fighting, when he met earlier in the day with a group of people living in the Kibati camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.

"Their first concern is security," Mr. Ban noted during his visit to the camp. "Even though they want to return, they fear that when they do, they may be attacked by the FDLR. This must stop, and the United Nations, led by MONUC and the FARDC will provide the necessary security and safety to those returning to their homes."

Another concern is humanitarian assistance, and in this regard, the Secretary-General appealed for support from all quarters to enable the UN and others to provide the vital relief that the IDPs need.

He also expressed his gratitude to the many aid agencies and their partners who are assisting those at the camp, which at the peak of the crisis sheltered more than 80,000 IDPs. It currently has some 20,000 residents.

Mr. Ban noted that his visit to the camp, as well as yesterday's meeting in Goma with victims of sexual violence, has "strengthened my resolve to work even harder for all those many people who
need our support."

In addition to DRC and Rwanda, the Secretary-General also visited South Africa and Tanzania on his current trip, which will take him next to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for an international conference on Gaza's reconstruction.

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Secretary-General Meets With Female Victims of DR Congo Conflict

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH FEMALE VICTIMS OF DR CONGO CONFLICT
New York, Feb 28 2009 6:00PM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited today with women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that the United Nations says has witnessed some of the highest levels of such abuses in the world.

According to the UN Children's Fund, rape has been used as a weapon of war in DRC and an estimated 200,000 women and girls have been assaulted over the past 12 years. While sexual violence is rampant and prevalent throughout Congolese society, the area that has been most affected has been the eastern part of the country, particularly the Kivu region.

Mr. Ban paid a visit to North Kivu, which has witnessed over six months of clashes between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the mainly Tutsi rebel group known as the National Congress in Defense of the People (CNDP), displacing some 250,000 people, on top of the 800,000 alread
y uprooted in the province.

He and Mrs. Ban Soon-taek visited with women and girls at the Heal Africa Hospital in the provincial capital of Goma, which treats, among others, disabled children and female victims of sexual violence.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Ban met with President Joseph Kabila and some senior officials.

Tomorrow the Secretary-General travels to neighbouring Rwanda, where he is expected to meet with President Paul Kagame, before continuing on to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for an international conference on Gaza's reconstruction.

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NOTABLE RISE IN VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS, AID WORKERS IN DR CONGO, UN REPORTS

NOTABLE RISE IN VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS, AID WORKERS IN DR CONGO, UN REPORTS
New York, Feb 27 2009 2:00PM

There has been a notable rise in violations against civilians and attacks on humanitarian workers in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leading to new displacement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

Some people fled the fighting, while others moved from villages to the forest and back again, OCHA's Elizabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva.

In addition, seven security incidents against humanitarian actors had been documented between 14 and 24 February, compared to 15 incidents since the beginning of the year.

The rise in such incidents might lead humanitarian organizations working in the province – which has been the scene of clashes between Government forces and rebels that have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people – to reduce or limit their work, leading to "disastrous" consequences for the population, Ms. Byrs said.

She said that the humanitarian community is appealing to all the parties in the territory to respect and protect the civilian population as well as aid workers and their equipment.

OCHA added that attacks against individuals, as well as entire villages and health centres, by the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are continuing in Haut Uélé province. DRC, Uganda and Southern Sudan have joined forces in an offensive against the group, whose attacks have left hundreds dead and uprooted roughly 150,000 people.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it is preparing an emergency operation targeting those driven from their homes or who lost their crops and possessions as a result of LRA attacks.

Meanwhile, aid agencies say they need military protection and are working to find ways to get to remote populations that can only be accessed by helicopter.

Despite these constraints, OCHA reported that aid is reaching some people. WFP, for example, was able to distribute food to more than 32,000 displaced people last week.

OCHA also noted that work is ongoing to improve the airstrip in the north-eastern city of Doruma to facilitate arrivals of humanitarian air flights.

In a related development, Hilde Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is currently in eastern DRC, where she called today for the release of all children currently associated with armed groups in the area.
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DR CONGO: UN ENVOY TELLS RWANDAN HUTU MILITIA TO LEAVE CONGOLESE SOIL

DR CONGO: UN ENVOY TELLS RWANDAN HUTU MILITIA TO LEAVE CONGOLESE SOIL
New York, Feb 22 2009 11:00AM
The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has again urged combatants fighting with a Rwandan militia group in the volatile North Kivu province of the DRC to put down their arms and return home.

The Special Representative for the Secretary-General, Alan Doss, insisted that the ethnic Hutu militia, the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), join the voluntary disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRRR) programme managed by the UN mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym MONUC.

"The FDLR have to understand that there's no room for them on Congolese soil," Mr. Doss said after a two-day visit to North Kivu, which ended yesterday, to assess the situation on the ground.

"Many thousands of civilian refugees have also taken the path of return with [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] UNHCR a
ssistance. I urge the fighters who remain in the DRC for they follow their example and take the way back," added Mr. Doss, who also heads the peacekeeping operation, MONUC.

Mr. Doss also visited the areas of fighting in North Kivu to assess the Government's joint military offensive with Rwanda aimed at eradicating the FDLR from the region, in which MONUC provides logistics, transport and medical assistance.

Accompanied by Mohamed Boukkry, the new UNHCR Regional Representative, and General Bipin Rawat, Commander of MONUC's North Kivu Brigade, Mr. Doss visited the town of Pinga, where UN peacekeepers have a base coordinating with the Congolese military to protect the 10,000 residents and some 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) uprooted by the violence.

Mr. Doss told the media many FDLR fighters have chosen to join the DDRRR process in recent weeks and urged more to follow the example returning in "peace and dignity [to Rwanda] with their dependents."

Located some 150 kilome
tres north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, Pinga was in the heart of the one of the main FDLR strongholds and illustrates one of the major security challenges facing MONUC.

FDLR fighters, driven out by coalition forces, have returned a number of times to harass civilians, loot, rape and murder in retaliation for the military operation attempting to drive them out of the area.
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news