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."

MILITARY CHIEFS OF UN PEACEKEEPING FORCES IN AFRICA CALL FOR MORE TROOPS, EQUIPMENT

The military chiefs of the United Nations' largest and most complex peacekeeping operations urged Member States today to provide the troops and equipment necessary to carry out their missions in the war-ravaged regions of Darfur in western Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"We have had a challenging time to meet all our mandated tasks because of the issue of deployment and lack of capabilities," General Martin Luther Agwai, Force Commander of the joint African Union-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID), told reporters in New York.

The Security Council authorized the deployment of UNAMID to quell fighting and protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and some 2.7 million others forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID has stabilized the situation in Darfur, despite having less than 70 per cent of the authorized number of troops under the 2007 Security Council resolution setting up the force, said Gen. Agwai.

In addition, "we have been able to be one of the best sources of authenticated information of what is happening in Darfur," he said. "We have come a long way, but there are still a lot of challenges, no doubt about it."

At current strength UNAMID is unable to provide full-time security to all of the makeshift camps sheltering the millions of people who have fled the violence engulfing the region over the years.

"We have not been able to have a 24/7 protection coverage in most of the IDP [internally displaced persons] camps," said Gen. Agwai. "We have prioritized the most vulnerable and volatile camps."

He noted that some of the IDP camps have 90,000 to 100,000 people taking refuge in tents and makeshift shelters.

"The bigger the camps the more volatile and problematic they are and those are the ones with a 24/7 UNAMID presence," he said, including patrols that protect women when out collecting firewood.

With full deployment the mission would be more mobile and have a further reach, "instead of [looking like] very small ink spots on blotting paper. [We currently have] 32 spots, but we're beginning to expand and spread."

Gen. Agwai expected 92 per cent deployment by the end of the year, but stressed that there is little "point having boots without capabilities. Ethiopia has now pledged five [attack] helicopters to the mission … [but] to the best of my knowledge nobody has pledged one utility helicopter to the mission."

As a sign of UNAMID contributing to an increasing sense of security in the region, Gen. Agwai said that the incidence of rapes and assaults has been cut. "The number of people dying because of the crisis is down. The figure is now ranging from about 120 to 150 deaths in a month and not hundreds or thousands in a month as in the past."

The UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, known as MONUC, is effectively engaged in three separate military operations, said the operations Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Babacar Gaye.

MONUC is supporting the Congolese army (FARDC) in an offensive against the notorious Ugandan rebel militia, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on one front; a group of remnant armed groups in Ituri province in northeastern DRC; and a Rwandan rebel force, known as the FDLR, in North and South Kivu.

"Our mission is so far the largest peacekeeping mission deployed around the world and we are facing all the challenges that peacekeeping have to face today," Lt.-Gen. Gaye told the press briefing. "This means the use of force, the protection of civilians and so on and so forth."

The latest bout of fighting between DRC troops and the rebel FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and their local allies uprooted a further 35,000 people in South Kivu last month, bringing the total displaced there since January to 536,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than 1.8 million people are now internally displaced in the DRC's east.

Lt.-Gen. Gaye stressed the drastic need for extra troops on the ground to implement MONUC's protection mandate. "Everything is on track but unfortunately the first boots are still expected."

He said that MONUC is slated to soon receive a Bangladeshi battalion, an Egyptian battalion, a Jordanian special force company, an Egyptian special force company and a Bangladeshi engineer company.

"Unfortunately, we are yet to have the 18 helicopters that have been authorized by the [Security] Council," he added.
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CIVILIANS PAYING PRICE OF EFFORTS TO THWART DR CONGO ARMED GROUPS, UN ENVOY SAYS

Civilians are bearing the brunt of attempts to dismantle armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with the rebels carrying out vicious reprisals and some Government soldiers committing serious human rights abuses, the senior United Nations official to the country told the Security Council today.

Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (known as MONUC), said in a briefing to Council members that there is growing concern about the humanitarian impact of the efforts to disband the armed groups.

"We take these concerns very seriously and have addressed them with the Government at various levels," he said, citing the deployment of more MONUC resources and personnel to the affected provinces, such as North Kivu, continuing efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence, and increased pressure on the Government to take action against undisciplined soldiers.

MONUC has established 35 military bases in North Kivu, many of which are in very remote areas, where operations against the FDLR [the Forces Démocratiques de Liberation du Rwanda, one of the rebel groups] are ongoing. These bases have allowed for close monitoring of the operations and rapid intervention in a number of instances."

But he warned that the Mission's resources are being stretched thin as it waits for reinforcements to arrive following the Security Council's recent authorization of additional troops to deal with the strife in the DRC's east.

In an op-ed article published in <i>The Washington Times today, Mr. Doss urged the Government to do its utmost to ensure discipline and end impunity within the ranks of its forces, which are known as the FARDC.

"People have to trust in those sent to protect them, and the army needs local cooperation to root out the FDLR," he wrote. But he added that that discipline will not improve unless pay and living conditions are enhanced for Congolese soldiers.

"This means barracks, sufficient food and wages paid in full and on time. Military families need shelter and protection as well… Donor partners must dig deeper to help the Congo deal with this crisis and fund the reforms that can help the army gain the confidence of the people."

Mr. Doss told the Council that he welcomed this week's announcement by the FARDC of a zero tolerance policy towards the perpetrators of criminal acts within its ranks.

He also called for more determined action against FDLR leaders in exile, who have been able to operate from abroad and maintain contacts with their commanders on the ground.

Later, in a press statement, the Council expressed grave concern about the ongoing human rights violations against civilians, particularly the widespread sexual violence and the recruitment and use of child soldiers by rebels groups and some elements of the FARDC.

Council members also encouraged MONUC to continue to monitor the performance and conduct of the army units involved in joint operations against armed groups.
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DR CONGO: UN CALLS FOR URGENT REFORM AFTER WOMEN RAPED DURING ATTEMPTED PRISON-BREAK

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) called on the Government to take urgent measures to improve prison security and improve conditions for inmates, after several women were assaulted during an attempted escape from Goma's central prison last night.

According to a news release issued by the mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, none of the inmates escaped, but about 20 female inmates were raped and assaulted during the incident, which also resulted in the deaths of one policeman and one prisoner, and the wounding of 12 others.

The mission strongly condemned the incident and called for ensuring that the perpetrators involved be held to account.

The Congolese national police and the national armed forces (FARDC) have tightened security outside the prison, and members of the MONUC brigade in North Kivu conducted a security operation in the area, as well as night patrols.

MONUC also called on the authorities to initiate prison reform to ensure conformity with internationally recognized standards in the treatment of detainees, including strict separation of men and women, among other things. It also voiced its readiness to assist in this regard.
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RECORD NUMBER OF FORMER HUTU REBELS LEAVES DR CONGO – UN MISSION

A record number of former Hutu rebels left the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for their home in Rwanda this week, the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the vast African nation reported today.

The UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, said that 57 former Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) fighters and 26 other ex-militiamen were repatriated from war-torn north-eastern DRC under a UN-backed scheme.

MONUC also reported that more than 1,650 children had been separated from the ranks of armed groups operating in the region since the start of the year.

The FDLR and other Rwandan militias have 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 several months, in addition to the many hundreds of thousands previously displaced.

In related news, the blue helmets in north-eastern DRC have established an alert and surveillance system across North Kivu in a bid to support Government forces (FARDC) against militia in the area.

MONUC said its operations received a further boost this week with the opening of another joint coordination centre to help restore safety and security to the volatile region, bringing the total number to eight such centres.
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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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DR Congo: Hold Army to Account for War Crimes

UN Security Council Should Demand Government Hold Soldiers Responsible

May 19, 2009

(New York) - The United Nations Security Council, visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo today, should vigorously condemn war crimes by Congolese army soldiers in the eastern part of the country, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch urged the Security Council to condition UN support for Congolese military operations on the removal of known human rights abusers from command positions.

"The Congolese army is responsible for widespread and vicious abuses against its own people that amount to war crimes," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch. "The government should take urgent action to end these abuses. A military operation that targets the very people the government claims to be protecting can only lead to disaster."

Since late January 2009, soldiers from the Congolese armed forces, the FARDC, on military operations in eastern Congo, have attacked villages and killed at least 19 civilians in North Kivu province, including two women and two elderly men. Army soldiers have also raped more than 143 women and girls in the same period, more than half of the 250 cases of rape documented by Human Rights Watch. Some women were taken as sex slaves by soldiers and held within military positions.

In at least 12 villages in North Kivu province, including Miriki, Bushalingwa, and Kishonja in Lubero and Walikale territories, soldiers burned to the ground hundreds of homes and numerous schools and health centers. They pillaged and looted homes, and arbitrarily arrested at least 85 persons whom they accused of supporting rebel forces. Many of these people have been held without charge, subjected to beatings, and often released only after significant sums were paid. Civilians told Human Rights Watch researchers that they feared army soldiers as much as the Rwandan militias the army is supposed to be neutralizing.

In mid-January, the Congolese army began a joint military operation with the Rwandan armed forces against Rwandan militia groups, the Rally for Unity and Democracy (RUD) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose leadership participated in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The operation "Umojo Wetu" ("Our Unity") followed a rapprochement between the two countries and the demise of a Rwandan-backed Congolese rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), which gave up its struggle against the Congolese government and joined the operation.

During a rapid integration process, at least 12,000 combatants from the CNDP and other rebel groups who agreed to join the military operations entered the Congolese army ranks. The integration has swollen the army's numbers in eastern Congo to an estimated 60,000 soldiers, exacerbating problems of discipline, pay, and command control that have plagued it for many years.

Operation Umojo Wetu ended in late February, when Rwandan soldiers left eastern Congo following an agreement that the Congolese army would continue military operations against the Rwandan militias with support from the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC). This second phase, known as Kimia II, began in North Kivu in mid-April and is expanding to South Kivu province.

Since the start of military operations against them, the FDLR and RUD militias have committed war crimes in brutal "reprisal" attacks in North and South Kivu, deliberately attacking and killing at least 200 civilians. In an attack on May 9 and 10, an estimated 60 civilians were reportedly killed and many others wounded in Busurungi, in Walikale territory. Reports from local officials and witnesses indicate the FDLR were the attackers and that Congolese army soldiers based in Busurungi retreated, or were killed, leaving the civilian population unprotected.

During both phases of military operations, Congolese army soldiers have killed, raped, and looted. After Rwandan militias attacked the Congolese army at Miriki (Lubero territory) on March 7-8, killing at least 12 soldiers, including an officer, the Congolese army sent in reinforcements. According to local authorities and Miriki residents, Congolese army soldiers then summarily executed the local police commander, who had reportedly been arrested along with 39 other civilians accused of collaborating with the FDLR militia. Congolese army soldiers then proceeded to pillage and burn 155 houses. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch they saw two truckloads of well-armed soldiers returning to Kirumba later that day with the pillaged goods from Miriki.

In Bwavinyo, also in southern Lubero territory, Congolese army soldiers arrested the village chief on March 8, accusing him of having been aware of an FDLR attack on Bwavinyo earlier that day and not informing the Congolese army. He was released days later, after payment of over US$1,000 to Congolese army authorities. Soldiers then pillaged the village, saying that all the goods had belonged to the FDLR. On March 12, following a warning that the FDLR were close by, army soldiers began shooting randomly, killing four civilians who were on their way back to Bwavinyo from their fields nearby.

Congolese army soldiers repeatedly committed rape during operations, often accusing women of being supporters or wives of the FDLR. Many women and girls have been gang raped. In Kihonga (South Kivu), a woman was raped in her home by two soldiers, who then abducted her husband and forced him to transport their looted goods. He still has not returned. Days later, a 15-year-old girl was raped in the same village by two soldiers, while four other soldiers looted the house and then abducted her mother, who is still missing. Other women were abducted by soldiers to be sex slaves in their camps; they were told that if they ever tried to resist when soldiers wanted to have sex with them, they would be killed.

UN peacekeepers who support the Congolese army in these military operations have tried to minimize some of the abuses by army soldiers, but have been unable to do so in many circumstances. In at least one incident recently, UN peacekeepers fired warning shots over the heads of Congolese army soldiers to try to minimize their abusive behavior.

The 3,000 additional peacekeepers authorized by the UN Security Council in November 2008 have still not arrived in eastern Congo, despite promises from council members that they would urge a rapid deployment. Helicopters and intelligence support, desperately needed by the mission, have also not materialized. On April 9 in New York, Alan Doss, the head of the UN peacekeeping force, warned the Security Council that without such assets, MONUC's "capacity to respond quickly to emerging threats and protect civilians would be curtailed."

"Civilians are trapped, targeted by all sides in this conflict," said Van Woudenberg. "During their visit to Congo, Security Council members should tell President Joseph Kabila that UN peacekeepers cannot support military operations in which war crimes are being committed and that ongoing support will be conditional on concrete action by the Congolese government to bring such crimes to an end."

Human Rights Watch again raised concerns about the role played by known human rights abusers in the military operations supported by UN peacekeepers, including Bosco Ntaganda, who has been given a leadership role in the Congolese army despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Jean-Pierre Biyoyo, appointed a colonel in the Congolese army despite being found guilty by a Congolese military court of recruiting children into a militia group in March 2006.

Human Rights Watch also urged the council to ensure that Ntaganda is immediately removed from military duties, and to condition future MONUC operational support on his arrest.

"MONUC and the Security Council cannot turn a blind eye when known human rights abusers are in senior positions in military operations they support," said Van Woudenberg. "Congolese civilians urgently need protection from militia groups and abusers in their own army. If the council fails to act, it too will be complicit in putting civilians at risk."

Selected Witness Accounts

27-year-old woman from Bitonga (Masisi territory, North Kivu) who was abducted in late March 2009 by Congolese army soldiers and held as a sex slave in their camp for one month:

"I was in my farm with nine other women when the soldiers came and took us by force. I was with them in their camp near Bitonga for one month, and throughout this time, whoever wanted to would come and force me to have sex with them. They told me that if I ever tried to resist, they would kill me. There were about 18 soldiers in the camp, a mix of Tutsi and Hutu. I finally managed to escape when the soldiers sent me on my own to look for firewood. I was four-months pregnant when they abducted me, and I'm now in constant pain and am unable to walk. I don't think the baby is going to make it. The people in my village had all fled while I was gone because of abuses committed by the same FARDC soldiers who had abducted me."

40-year-old woman raped by four Congolese army soldiers in her house in Chebumba (Kalehe territory, South Kivu) on April 15:

"They came at night when I was asleep. We heard a banging on the door, and then they forced the door open, took my husband out of bed and tied him up. Four soldiers then started to rape me, one after the other, while three other soldiers looted all the goods in our house. I was four-months pregnant, but lots of blood started to flow while they were raping me and I've now lost the baby. The soldiers spoke Lingala, and I didn't understand what they were saying. Three other houses were visited the same night in my village. The soldiers who raped me have since been deployed further south, past Numbi."

15-year-old girl from Kihonga (Kalehe territory, South Kivu) who was raped last year by FARDC soldiers who made her pregnant. After giving birth in late March, she was raped again on May 5 by two FARDC soldiers:

"There were six soldiers who came into my house. They first raped my three-year-old sister, and then two of them raped me while the others looted our house. They threw my newborn baby onto the ground, and because of the shock he is in a lot of pain whenever anyone touches his legs. The soldiers were wearing military uniforms and they spoke Kinyarwanda. There were Hutus and Tutsis and other tribes as well. After they raped me, they took my mother away with them. She hasn't come back yet, and I think she must be dead. Five other houses in Kihonga were visited the same night by the soldiers."

25-year-old woman from Kihonga (Kalehe territory, South Kivu) who was raped in her house by two FARDC soldiers on April 25:

"It happened at night when I was in the house with my husband. We heard people knocking on the door, and they demanded that we open it. We refused, and then two soldiers forced the door open, came in the house, and tied up my husband. They then took me by force and started to rape me. They were both armed, in military uniform, and they spoke Kinyarwanda. One was Hutu and the other was Tutsi. Afterward, they took my husband with them to transport all the goods they looted from our house. I thought my husband would come back, but he never did. His family has since rejected me once they found out what happened, and I now have nowhere to go."

Man from Oninga (Walikale territory, North Kivu) who fled to Kirumba (Lubero territory, North Kivu) after the FDLR began attacking civilians:

"As we fled toward the government-controlled area, we were stopped by FARDC soldiers who looted all our money and goods, and they beat us badly, saying, ‘You came from where the enemies are, and you must be their collaborator.' Now that we've made it to Kirumba, we're constantly subject to ‘Opération Fenêtre' with our host families here: The soldiers come to the houses at night, stick the rifle of their guns through the window, and force us to hand over all the money, food, and objects in the house."

Displaced man from Katoyi (Masisi territory) in Lushebere:

"When I went home to look for food, I was stopped by FARDC soldiers, who forced me to transport their baggage all the way to Kalonge, where they were going for operations against the FDLR. When we got there, they made me give them my clothes and shoes. I was then left almost naked, as they whipped me, calling me an Interhamwe."

Local chief from Masisi territory:

"The FDLR say we are the ones who told the FARDC to come and chase them out of eastern Congo, while our soldiers blame us for having lived with the FDLR and say we're their brothers. We've become the enemies of all sides and don't understand anymore what to think."

DR CONGO: UN MISSION DEPLORES ATTACK ON CIVILIANS IN VOLATILE EAST

DR CONGO: UN MISSION DEPLORES ATTACK ON CIVILIANS IN VOLATILE EAST
New York, May 13 2009 7:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has strongly condemned a deadly attack against civilians and government troops, known as FARDC, which occurred in the eastern town of Busurungi over the weekend.

The mission, known as <"http://monuc.unmissions.org/">MONUC, said it sent a team to the scene as soon as it heard of the attack, which reportedly resulted in the death of dozens of civilians. An investigation is underway to identify those responsible for these atrocities, it said in a news release.

Several sources and witnesses on the ground are pointing the finger at the ethnic Hutu rebel group known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwandan (FDLR), stated MONUC.

The group has recently been carrying out retaliatory attacks against civilians after being targeted by a joint Congolese and Rwandan military offensive.

The mission said it will do its utmost to help the wounded and provide humanitarian assistance to affected people.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative in the DRC Alan Doss stressed that "the series of recent attacks in recent days against civilians in Mbinga, Butalongola, Bital and now Busurungi clearly demonstrate the need to strengthen the capacity of FARDC in order to ensure the protection of civilians."
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UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION, DR CONGO SET UP JOINT COORDINATION CENTRES

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the country's armed forces have established two joint coordination centres to support Government efforts to restore safety and security to the volatile north-eastern provinces of the vast African nation.

The rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are continuing to attack DRC forces (FARDC), civilians and UN peacekeepers.

Violent conflict uprooted some 250,000 people from the strife-torn North and South Kivu provinces last year.

The UN mission (MONUC) and FARDC have already appointed their respective commanders at the new centres in the towns of Sake and Kiwanja and will shortly name officers to carry out joint operations on the ground.

Additionally, MONUC reported that as of earlier this week, nearly 800 ex-combatants and over 1,000 of their dependents were repatriated by the mission through its Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration (DDRRR) initiative.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has helped almost 6,800 Rwandan refugees return home from the DRC.
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DR CONGO: MORE THAN 30,000 FLEE NEW ATTACKS BY SPLINTERED REBEL FACTIONS

Even as some armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are being contained through peace pacts and military action, new fighting between other militias has driven more than 30,000 people from their homes, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

"The latest flare-up threatens to reverse the considerable progress made in the repatriation and resettlement of thousands of Congolese affected by previous conflicts in the area," William Spindler, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in Geneva.

On 31 March, a group calling itself the Popular Front for Justice in the Congo (FPJC) attacked villages in the Ituri district between 50 and 80 kilometres south-east of Bunia, the administrative capital.

A few days later, on 2 April, the self-styled Revolutionary Front for Peace in the Ituri (FPRI) launched a counter attack in the area, UNHCR said.

According to the agency, in September 2008 FPJC splintered from the FPRI, a notorious group which has refused to participate in the peace process and has been blamed for major human rights violations in Ituri.

Many of the newly displaced include persons who were uprooted in raids mounted by the FRPI in 2006 in Ituri district and who were assisted to return to their homes by UNHCR in late 2006, Mr. Spindler said.

The eastern provinces of DRC have recently witnessed months of fierce fighting involving Government forces (FARDC) and various militia groups, displacing some 250,000 civilians, on top of 800,000 uprooted in earlier violence.

Last month, however, the Government and the National Congress for People's Defence (CNDP), one of the main combatants in the fighting, signed a peace accord.

Meanwhile, DRC and Rwanda launched a joint military operation to root out the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) from the east. A similar endeavour is under way in Haut Uélé province by Congolese and Ugandan forces to end the threat of the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in DRC.

Despite these efforts, in his latest report on the DRC, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls the situation in the east "fluid and volatile," partly because of the multiplicity of armed groups, requiring continued international attention.
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DR CONGO: UN MISSION SUPPORTS CALENDAR FOR ELECTORAL REVIEW PROCESS

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has welcomed the announcement by the Independent Electoral Commission of a timetable for the electoral review process for local polls.

The operation will kick off in the Kinshasa and Bas-Congo provinces in June and will expand in August to the rest of the vast African nation.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for DRC, Alan Doss, welcomed the move and assured the Electoral Commission of UN support in line with the mandate of the mission, known as MONUC.

He said the review process for local elections will complete a national endeavour that began in 2005 with the identification and enrolment of all eligible voters.

Meanwhile, MONUC reports that more combatants are continuing to leave 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.

From 1 January to 24 March this year, the mission has helped repatriate 640 fighters and 914 of their dependents. Just last weekend a senior member of the FDLR leadership as well as three other officers, 15 soldiers and their dependents decided to enter the process of voluntary repatriation.

"This is a very good decision," noted Mr. Doss. "By choosing to drop their weapons, they have chosen a better future."

The voluntary disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRRR) programme for the ex-militia is managed by MONUC. The ex-combatants surrender to joint patrols of the mission and the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC), while civilians are repatriated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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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DR CONGO: UN ENVOY HAILS NEW PACT WITH REBELS IN STRIFE-TORN EAST

The top United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has hailed an accord signed yesterday between the Government and a rebel group that was a key combatant in fierce fighting, which uprooted hundreds of thousands of people last year, in the country's east.

"The population of the eastern DRC, above all women and children, have been for too long the victims of armed conflict, displacement and sexual violence," Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said after taking part in the signing ceremony of a political and security agreement between the Government and the National Congress for People's Defence (CNDP).

"If they are respected, these accords could have an extremely positive impact on the life of the people of the two Kivus," added Mr. Doss, who also heads the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC), referring to the North and South Kivu provinces which were most affected by the fighting that flared up last August.

In its combat with national armed forces, known as the FARDC, that displaced some 250,000 people last year, the mainly Tutsi CNDP, formerly led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda, nearly overran the North Kivu capital of Goma, the scene of yesterday's signing ceremony.

MONUC has re-deployed some 90 per cent of its nearly 17,500 peacekeepers to the strife-torn east, where not only the CNDP and the Government army, but also the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and other rebel groups such as the Mayi Mayi have repeatedly clashed in various permutations and shifting alliances.

Yesterday's accords, reached after months of negotiations, foresee the end of all hostilities, the transformation of armed groups into political parties and the return of refugees and displaced persons, according to a MONUC press release.

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, Olusegun Obansanjo, and his African Union counterpart, Benjamin Mpaka, co-facilitated the talks and were also present at the signing ceremony.

Conflict in the east continues, however, as a joint offensive by the DRC and Rwanda has not stopped the FDLR's violence and joint operations with Uganda failed to end the threat of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group that originated in the latter country.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that another 11,000 people have been driven from an area around the village of Banda in north-eastern DRC this month by LRA raids, bringing the total number of people displaced by them in the Haut Uele district of Oriental province to over 188,000 in the last six months.

Since September 2008, over 990 Congolese have been murdered by the LRA and some 750 abducted, the vast majority of them children, whom the group is notorious for forcing into combat or utilizing as sex slaves.
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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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UN HELPS DEMOBILIZE 880 CHILDREN LINKED TO ARMED GROUPS IN DR CONGO

UN HELPS DEMOBILIZE 880 CHILDREN LINKED TO ARMED GROUPS IN DR CONGO
New York, Mar 4 2009 4:00PM

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has demobilized 880 children associated with armed groups in the volatile eastern province of North Kivu between 30 January and 2 March, it was announced today.

Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesperson for the mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, told a news conference in Kinshasa that the great majority of the 839 boys and 41 girls are Congolese, but there are also 31 Rwandans, two Burundians and two Ugandans.

All of the children were handed over to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for their return and reintegration into their families and communities, after they were demobilized by MONUC's Child Protection Unit.

In early February, MONUC had separated 98 additional children from the various armed groups in North Kivu, where fighting between the Government army (FARDC), a mainly Tutsi militia known as the CNDP, Hutu groups and others has displaced some 250,000 civilians since last August.

The separation of children from armed forces and groups is one of MONUC's priorities, within the framework of its support to the process of the accelerated integration of armed groups into the FARDC.

MONUC calls on all actors to continue to support its efforts in this area, "so that children are not sent to the front, and to allow all minors associated with armed groups to be able to reintegrate into civilian life as soon as possible," the mission said on its website.

Also at today's news conference, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that attacks against humanitarians are on the increase in several parts of North Kivu, with five cases reported in January, 13 in February and four already in the first few days of March.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of MONUC, Alan Doss, has welcomed a new stabilization and reconstruction plan for the eastern DRC, which was agreed upon by local and international stakeholders under the auspices of the Congolese Prime Minister. Mr. Doss specifically pledged to support the plan in the areas of security and the restoration of State authority.

In related news, a joint mission led by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has arrived in Katanga province, in the area of Ankoro, to address the issue of malnutrition. OCHA says that since September 2008, there have been nearly 1,200 cases of children suffering from acute malnutrition in Ankoro, a situation being compounded by population increases as well as malaria.

Also in Katanga, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting local efforts to treat a cholera epidemic.
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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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