In the face of HIV and malnutrition, a family finds hope through World Vision assistance and the support of a sponsor

Agricultural assistance, medical care, and a sponsor’s love transformed life for this struggling family in Rwanda, showing them that they are not alone.

August 2009

By Andrea Peer and Jessie Lester, World Vision U.S.

Jacqueline and Alexandre were once burdened with worries about HIV and how to feed their three children. Thanks to World Vision's help, this family now leads happy, productive lives.
Photo ©2009 Andrea Peer/World Vision

Alexandre, a father of three, who lives in the small African country of Rwanda, says that the prayers of his son’s sponsor are giving his entire family hope to live. “If the sponsor is praying [for] and supporting the child, then his future is secured,” says Alexandre, who once had every reason to worry about his family’s future.

Burdened with HIV

Less than two years ago, Alexandre and his wife, Jacqueline, found out that they were both HIV positive. At the time, Jacqueline was five months pregnant. “I felt my time to die had come,” she says. Jacqueline received pills to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, but otherwise, she and Alexandre tried to live in denial of their HIV status. But their health only continued to deteriorate.

The concerns about HIV came at a time when Alexandre and Jacqueline were already burdened with worries about providing for their children. “It was one of the most difficult times in our family,” remembers Jacqueline. “We did not have enough food.”

‘Our children suffered’

Help provide care for children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, like Alexandre, Jacqueline, and their three sons.

Occasionally, Alexandre was able to work in others’ fields, but often, he was too weak. When he did have energy for physical labor, he would earn about $0.30 U.S. per day, barely enough to buy a handful of potatoes.

Hunger only worsened the struggle with HIV, but it wasn’t just Alexandre and his wife whose health was at risk. “Even our children suffered a lot. Our older son was showing signs of malnutrition,” says Alexandre. The children were thin, nauseous, and had continual diarrhea.

“We were thinking that we were about to perish as a family,” remembers Jacqueline.

Food and medication

Alexandre playfully swings his son, Peace. This father of three dearly loves his children.
Photo ©2009 Andrea Peer/World Vision

But today, thanks to help they received from World Vision, Alexandre, Jacqueline, and their three children are healthy and thriving. World Vision staff members encouraged Alexandre and Jacqueline to join a group for people living with HIV and AIDS. There, they received emotional support and learned about anti-retroviral medication that could help them live healthy lives, even with HIV.

As the family began to regain their strength, World Vision also provided seeds and agricultural training to improve long-term food security. “World Vision taught us how to grow food and produce so we could have a good harvest,” says Alexandre. Now, the family is producing enough food to eat and sell, and hunger and malnutrition are no longer a concern.

The love of a sponsor

Through his World Vision sponsorship, Josue receives benefits like access to health care and education.
Photo ©2009 Andrea Peer/World Vision

World Vision also matched Alexandre’s oldest son, Josue, with a sponsor, whose generous support is helping to provide medical care and education. “When he is sick, World Vision covers all of his medical bills,” says Alexandre. “Because of [sponsorship], [Josue] can get a school uniform and school materials,” he adds.

The love that Josue’s sponsor shares through letters has been an encouragement and motivation to the entire family. “Another thing that gives us comfort is when the sponsor says, ‘I always pray for you,’” says Alexandre, who believes in the power of prayer. “We too, pray for our sponsor.”

A new life

Alexandre does some work in the garden outside his family's home.
Photo ©2009 Andrea Peer/World Vision

Thanks to World Vision, Alexandre and his wife no longer live in fear; they have learned how to lead healthy, productive lives, despite their HIV status. Alexandre works hard to provide for his family, and has even begun teaching others how to start gardens. “The life that I have right now, even the life of my family, it is because of World Vision,” he says. “They gave me seeds to grow and they are still assisting me.”

Because of their World Vision sponsor, this family has also learned that they do not have to deal with their struggles alone. “It is amazing to learn that there are people who are compassionate enough to help people they don’t even know,” says Alexandre, marveling at the sponsor whose love helped to change his family’s life.

BAN WELCOMES SUMMIT BETWEEN LEADERS OF DR CONGO AND RWANDA

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed yesterday's summit between the leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, the first official bilateral meeting since the neighbouring African nations broke off official ties more than one decade ago.

DRC President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met in the city of Goma, in eastern DRC, in their first direct talks since 1996.

"The Secretary-General commends both leaders' commitment to promote peace and stability in the Great Lakes region," according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

He also praised the joint military offensive launched early this year against the "destabilizing and threatening presence" in eastern DRC of the notorious ethnic Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which continues to perpetrate widespread killings and rapes of Congolese civilians.

In today's statement, Mr. Ban said he is encouraged by the two presidents' pledge to consolidate their relationship's renewal through future meetings in the capitals of their respective countries.

"Security and development go hand in hand, and the Secretary-General hopes that the normalization of the relations between the DRC and Rwanda will contribute to the well-being of the people of both countries."

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 last month.

"We take these concerns very seriously and have addressed them with the Government at various levels," said Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC).

He told the Council of 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 set up nearly three dozen military bases in the embattled North Kivu province, many in remote areas where operations are ongoing against the FDLR. "These bases have allowed for close monitoring of the operations and rapid intervention in a number of instances."

But Mr. Doss 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.

The FDLR has been retaliating against civilians and attacking villages in North Kivu, committing rape and other human rights abuses which have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, according to reports from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The group has been operating in eastern DRC since the end of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.
________________

UN AGENCY VOICES CONCERN OVER RETURN OF BURUNDIAN REFUGEES BY RWANDA

UN AGENCY VOICES CONCERN OVER RETURN OF BURUNDIAN REFUGEES BY RWANDA
New York, Jun 3 2009 6:00PM
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4a268d5e2.html">UNHCR) today voiced concern about the return of a large group of Burundian refugees to their homeland from Rwanda, noting that repatriation should never be compulsory and may not be the best solution for all.

The returns from Kigeme camp, which took place yesterday, are believed to involve more than 400 people, although the precise number is not known.

"UNHCR recognizes the positive developments in Burundi and the fact that a majority of Burundian refugees no longer have concerns preventing them from going home," the agency stated in a news release.

At the same time, it is "distressed" that contrary to recent agreement, the refugees in Kigeme camp "were deprived of options except to return home immediately.

"Many of those forced to return intended to do so voluntarily but desired more time to ready themselves for the journey. In light of their many years in exile and strong connections to Rwanda, this is in no way surprising," UNHCR stated.

The agency stressed that the repatriation of refugees should never be involuntary and that the use of force and violence to compel return is not acceptable.

Nearly 480,000 Burundian refugees have returned voluntarily from neighbouring countries since the start of organized voluntary repatriation in 2002, according to UNHCR.

In April, Rwanda, Burundi and UNHCR jointly decided to re-launch sensitisation campaigns and inform some 2,000 remaining Burundian refugees at Kigeme camp about assistance available for repatriation.

Since 18 May, more than 1,500 of these 2,000 refugees opted to return voluntarily.
________________

BAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO SPOTLIGHTED HORRORS OF RWANDAN GENOCIDE

BAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO SPOTLIGHTED HORRORS OF RWANDAN GENOCIDE
New York, May 21 2009 1:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the late Alison des Forges, a human rights campaigner who worked unrelentlessly to document the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and bring those behind the slaughter to justice.

April 1994 saw the beginning of a slaughter in the tiny East African country in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates died, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days.

"The repercussions of the slaughter that traumatized Rwanda travelled far beyond its borders and reverberate to this day," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3871">message to a memorial service for Ms. des Forges, one of the world's foremost experts on the genocide, who died in a plane crash in New York in February.

He said he draws his strength to ensure that victims' rights are respected from the late expert, who was the senior advisor for the Africa division of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch at the time of her death.

"She worked tirelessly to document the atrocities and bring the perpetrators to justice, and made a significant contribution to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [<"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR] and related judicial proceedings," the Secretary-General said. "That she campaigned for justice impartially, without fear or favour, earned her some enemies, but many more allies."

Ms. des Forges, who began her work on Rwanda as a student, spent four years interviewing both organizers of the genocide and those targeted for extermination. She appeared as an expert witness in 11 trials for genocide at the ICTR, as well as for trials in Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, as well as giving evidence to expert panels of the UN, the United States Congress and the French National Assembly, among others.

"Thanks in large part to the commitment of people like Alison des Forges, the world is better equipped to hold despots and war criminals to account," Mr. Ban said.

"She was a resolute advocate for the fundamental principle that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person," he added. "The world will miss her insight, courage and dedication."
________________

DR CONGO, RWANDA TAKE FIRST STEPS TO REPATRIATE 150,000 REFUGEES

Neighbouring nations Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have begun talks on the return home of their 150,000 nationals taking refuge in each other's country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Officials from the two countries met in Goma, in North Kivu province in eastern DRC, in a UNHCR-facilitated gathering to discuss the first steps to be taken.

Some 100,000 Rwandans have been sheltering in eastern DRC since the 1994 genocide that claimed nearly one million lives, Congolese officials have said.

Meanwhile, successive clashes in the DRC's volatile east since 1996 have driven many Congolese across the border into Rwanda. Additionally, repeated attacked by armed groups in the area have driven thousands into exile, with 1.4 million Congolese becoming internally displaced.

"Both the DRC and Rwanda were open about the existing challenges, especially in North Kivu, where the majority of the Congolese have fled old and new conflicts," UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond said.

Congolese people living in Rwanda are threatened by persistent hostilities. Over 80 per cent of the 53,000 refugees said they hope to return to the DRC, a survey last year found, but they expressed hope that the Government brings an end to the conflicts wreaking havoc in North Kivu, where the security situation has deteriorated since the start of 2009, with attacks against civilians by the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) on the upswing.

During the two-day talks which wrapped up yesterday, the DRC was urged to improve security and living conditions in returnee areas. The meeting ended by stressing the need to quickly identify Rwandans in eastern DRC, most of whom had fled into forests during a joint DRC-Rwanda military operation in January but are now gradually returning to their villages.

Since the beginning of this year, UNHCR has helped almost 5,000 Rwandans return home, providing them with transportation, blankets, kitchen sets and other vital supplies.
________________

The Power of Horror in Rwanda

Fifteen years ago, efforts at genocide killed about 800,000 Rwandans. Now that tragedy is providing the government with a cover for repression.

by Kenneth Roth

During a gruesome three months in 1994, about 800,000 Rwandans were murdered as part of a calculated effort by a group of Hutu extremists to eradicate the country's Tutsi population.

The genocide ended only with the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a rebel group founded by Rwandan exiles who ousted the Hutu extremists. The front's austere and savvy commander, Paul Kagame, now serves as Rwanda's president.

In the 15 years since the extremist government was ousted, Rwanda has become an island of stability in a volatile region. The economy is booming, the distinction between Hutu and Tutsi is officially downplayed, and ethnic and political violence has been largely eradicated. Kigali, the capital of a country that likes to portray itself as the Switzerland of Africa, is orderly and manicured.

But Rwanda has a long way to go. Despite the facade of occasional elections, the government essentially runs a one-party state. And ironically, it is the genocide that has provided the government with a cover for repression. Under the guise of preventing another genocide, the government displays a marked intolerance of the most basic forms of dissent.

There is no meaningful opposition. The press is cowed. Nongovernmental organizations are under attack. When parliamentary elections held last September produced a whopping 92% victory for Kagame's ruling party, evidence collected by the European Union and Rwandan monitors suggested that the government actually inflated the percentage of opposition votes so as to avoid the appearance of an embarrassing Soviet-style acclamation.

One tool of repression has been the gacaca courts -- informal tribunals run without trained lawyers or judges -- which the government established at the community level to try alleged perpetrators of the genocide. The original impetus was understandable: Rwandan prisons were overpopulated with tens of thousands of alleged genocidaires and no prospect of the country's regular courts trying them within any reasonable time. The gacaca courts provided a quick, if informal, way to resolve these cases. In theory, members of the community would know who had or had not been involved in the genocide, but in reality the lack of involvement by legal professionals has left the proceedings open to manipulation.

Today, 15 years after the genocide, people are still coming forward and accusing their neighbors of complicity in it, suggesting that gacaca has morphed into a forum for settling personal vendettas or silencing dissident voices. The prospect of suddenly being accused of past participation in the genocide, with little legal recourse against concocted charges, is enough to make most people keep their heads down in the political arena.

The government says it will close the gacaca courts in June. But the government has another tool of control -- the crime of "genocide ideology." Formally adopted last year, the law outlawing "genocide ideology" is written so broadly that it can encompass even the most innocuous comments. As many Rwandans have discovered, disagreeing with the government or making unpopular statements can easily be portrayed as genocide ideology, punishable by sentences of 10 to 25 years. That leaves little political space for dissent

Pressing the government to amend these repressive laws and practices is not easy, as I discovered in recent meetings with senior officials from the prime minister on down. They are understandably sensitive about political invective that can lead to renewed ethnic slaughter, but the public faces the very real danger that any political criticism of the government will be construed as fomenting genocide.

Western governments, guilt-ridden at not having stopped the genocide and impressed by Rwanda's stability and economic growth, have been all too willing to close their eyes to this repressive sleight of hand.

But Kagame's strategy is shortsighted and dangerous. He claims to be building a society in which citizens are only Rwandans, not Tutsi or Hutu, but his repression of civil society means that avenues to forge alternative bonds among people are limited. That makes it more likely that in moments of tension Rwandans will resort to their ethnic identity, as so often happens in repressive societies.

The challenge for world leaders 15 years after Rwanda's genocide is to overcome guilt and look beyond the enforced peace to convince Kagame and his government to build the foundation for more organic, lasting stability.

The best way to prevent another genocide is to insist that Kagame stop manipulating the last one.

Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.

RWANDAN DEAD MUST BE HONOURED BY ENDING GENOCIDE - BAN

Marking the 15th anniversary of the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted that preventing genocide was the most important collective response to the tragedy.

"Only by meeting this challenge can we match the resolve of the survivors and truly honour the memory of those who died in Rwanda 15 years ago," he said in a statement.

April 1994 saw the beginning of a slaughter in the tiny East African country in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates died, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days.

The UN is observing the anniversary with a mid-day reading of the testimonies of survivors of the genocide, coinciding with similar events taking place in Congo, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan.

Two photography exhibits on Rwandan survivors will also be launched in the visitor's lobby of UN Headquarters in New York.

One exhibit, entitled Visions of Rwanda: Images of Survival, Reconciliation, Forgiveness and Hope," documents the 2007 coming together of 12 survivors, including orphans, widows, rape and assault victims, a judge and perpetrators, some of whom were responsible for the killing of family members of other participants.

The other – "Intended Consequences: Photographs and Interviews by Jonathan Torgovnik" –portrays the ordeals of several Rwandan women who bore children conceived by rape during the massacres.

"The resounding voices of survivors touch us in ways that no other words could," Mr. Ban commented in his statement, adding that they also depict a country moving toward reconciliation.

"Yet the silence of the more than 800,000 innocent victims still haunts our collective conscience," he said.
________________

UN LEGAL CHIEF URGES STATES TO ARREST FUGITIVES WANTED BY RWANDA TRIBUNAL

The United Nations Legal Counsel has called for the arrest and surrender of the 13 remaining fugitives indicted by the tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Patricia O'Brien, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, underscored the importance of Member States' cooperation in relocating witnesses and enforcing sentences, as well as capturing and delivering those with arrest warrants against their names to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

In a press briefing yesterday at the end of her visit to ICTR headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, Ms. O'Brien added that the remaining 13 fugitives will not escape justice if they are not caught by the end of the tribunal's mandate, but will be prosecuted by a residual mechanism.

During her two-day visit, Ms. O'Brien discussed with ICTR officials the institution's mandate and completion strategy and held a town hall meeting with the staff. Under its completion strategy, the tribunal is aiming to finish first-instance trials by the end of this year.

The Rwandan genocide saw more than 800,000 people massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.
________________

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.
________________

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.
________________

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.

________________

CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT

CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT
New York, Feb 26 2009 4:00PM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon began an official visit to Tanzania today, meeting with President Jakaya Kikwete with whom he discussed a range of issues, from the country's upcoming elections and regional crises to the global economic meltdown.

The two also talked about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha and is expected to complete its work next year, as well as the situations in Burundi, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Mr. Ban and President Kikwete also spoke about climate change and its impact on food security in Tanzania, as well as the public health situation in the country and the Government's efforts to stamp out HIV/AIDS.

In a separate meeting chaired by President Kikwete, the Secretary-General met with former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who briefed him on the Nairobi talks aimed at bringing peace to war-torn DRC, which Mr. Mkapa co-chairs with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

They discussed the reintegration of fighters from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) into the Congolese armed forces, the prospects for UN assistance in supporting military integration, and the question of temporary amnesty.

Also today, Mr. Ban delivered a lecture to the local diplomatic corps, the academic community and representatives of the media, in which he called on African leaders to move forward on education, efforts to battle climate change and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He also emphasized the need to put an end to violence throughout the continent – including in Darfur, DRC and Somalia.

Mr. Ban arrived in Tanzania from South Africa, the first stop on his current tour which will also take him to DRC, Rwanda and Egypt.
________________

RWANDAN REBEL ATTACKS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN EASTERN DR CONGO, UN SAYS

RWANDAN REBEL ATTACKS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN EASTERN DR CONGO, UN SAYS
New York, Feb 24 2009 10:00AM

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it continues to be extremely worried about rising violence against civilians in the eastern Congolese province of North Kivu, where attacks by Rwandan Hutu rebels have sparked new displacement.

UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told a news conference in Geneva that thousands have been uprooted since 13 February, when the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) began carrying out attacks in Masisi, Lubero and Walikale areas in North Kivu, in the strife-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"Using firearms and bush knives, the FDLR has attacked Kipopo, Remeka and Kamuobe near Masisi and Kanyatsi and Busigho near Lubero, killing civilians and raping women," Mr. Redmond reported.

"Local authorities have informed us that some 3,000 people have been internally displaced in Remeka village, some 20 kilometres south of Masisi, following a recent FDLR attack. Some of these internally displaced people are staying in churches and schools and others have taken shelter at several UNHCR-assisted sites around the town of Masisi."

He added that a joint UN team is heading out today to Kitanga, on the outskirts of Masisi, to monitor and assess the needs of the newly displaced.

In addition, there are also growing fears of reprisal attacks by the FDLR – composed mainly of Rwandan Hutus who arrived in the DRC in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda – against civilians suspected of collaborating with the joint DRC-Rwanda military operation against the rebel group that began in late January.

The UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUC) last week condemned the "cowardly terror tactics" employed by the FDLR. 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 Government army and others since August.
________________

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.
________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news