Link: Article for Reflection: Fulfilling a Responsibility to Protect: What Will it Take to End the Age of Genocide

Fulfilling the Responsibility to Protect: What Will it Take to End the “Age of Genocide” is an article published by the United States Holocaust Memorail Museum. It includes a presentation and interview by Samantha Power, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide”. The article was written in 2004 on the 10th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda. Much of what she says can be applied to the situation in DR Congo today.

She discusses how we can build a collective conscience so that “Never Again” really means Never Again, even if the people affected don’t have anything to give us in return.

Hopefully someone in the new administration will read this article and heed its call.

We need to bring the issue of what is happening in the DRC to the collective conscience of the world.

Guardian UK: Congo’s Fearful Innocents, Driven into Hiding-and the Starvation

From the Guardian UK.

Congo’s fearful innocents, driven into hiding – and then starvation

The resurgence of fierce fighting in this war-torn republic has sent families fleeing into the bush, where they begin to starve, too afraid to return to their homes and fields

BBC: Congo Rebel Chief Threatens War

From the BBC: Congo Rebel Chief Threatens War.

Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda has threatened war unless the government of DR Congo holds a new round of talks.

How We Fuel Africa’s Bloodiest War: Breaking the Silence

Another powerful article by Breaking the Silence: How We Fuel Africa’s Bloodiest War.

What is rarely mentioned is the great global heist of Congo’s resources. The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again – and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. When we glance at the holocaust in Congo, with 5.4 million dead, the clichés of Africa reporting tumble out: this is a “tribal conflict” in “the Heart of Darkness”. It isn’t.

The United Nations investigation found it was a war led by “armies of business” to seize the metals that make our 21st-century society zing and bling. The war in Congo is a war about you.

The following two paragraphs from the same article are chilling.

There are two stories about how this war began – the official story, and the true story. The official story is that after the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu mass murderers fled across the border into Congo. The Rwandan government chased after them. But it’s a lie. How do we know? The Rwandan government didn’t go to where the Hutu genocidaires were, at least not at first. They went to where Congo’s natural resources were – and began to pillage them. They even told their troops to work with any Hutus they came across. Congo is the richest country in the world for gold, diamonds, coltan, cassiterite, and more. Everybody wanted a slice – so six other countries invaded.

These resources were not being stolen to for use in Africa. They were seized so they could be sold on to us. The more we bought, the more the invaders stole – and slaughtered. The rise of mobile phones caused a surge in deaths, because the coltan they contain is found primarily in Congo. The UN named the international corporations it believed were involved: Anglo-America, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers and more than 100 others. (They all deny the charges.) But instead of stopping these corporations, our governments demanded that the UN stop criticising them.

There are plenty of other articles on the Internet from credible sources that confirm that the true source of the fighting is Congo’s mineral wealth.
This is a time for us to act to stop this war.

Article:Slate: 5 Million Dead and Counting

The following is the lead-in to an excellent article in Slate magazine.

Five Million Dead and Counting
The disaster in Congo is all the more tragic because it was utterly avoidable.
By Michael J. Kavanagh
Posted Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, at 5:39 PM ET

There are more than 1 million displaced people in North Kivu, 250,000 of whom have been displaced in the last month
In the North Kivu province of eastern Congo, people are living in ditches along the sides of roads. They’re filling up the floors of churches and schools. Displaced people are surrounding the compounds of bewildered U.N. peacekeepers. Young boys and men are hiding in the forest to avoid being killed or forced into armed groups.

Link: Editorial: Obama’s Opportunity to Help Africa

In an excellent OP-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, Obama’s Opportunity to Help Africa,  George Clooney, David Pressman, and John Prendergast make an excellent case for President Obama to help end the wars in Darfur and Eastern Congo.

They begin:

Given the daunting challenges before him, it would be unsurprising if bringing peace to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo was not at the top of Barack Obama’s list of early priorities. But it should be. Not only because Sudan and Congo are the two deadliest wars in the world, but because they are wars that the Obama administration could actually help end.

MSF: Condition:Critical Voices From the War in Eastern Congo

From Medicins Sans Frontieres a very powerful narrated slide show with black and white photos. This haunting slideshow features the photos and voices of people affected by the war in Eastern Congo. This is a must see for anyone who cares. Condition: Critical Voices from the War in Eastern Congo

Latest News from the DR Congo

Here are some links to some of the latest articles on the situation in the DR Congo as of 27 November 2008.

These links are from MONUC:

UN Rights council to hold special session on DR Congo. The Un Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday 28 November 2008 to discuss the situation in the DR Congo.

Congo leaders “killed opponents”. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Congolese security forces had deliberately killed more than 500 people in a campaign against opposition groups.

Rebels violate DR Congo ceasefire: UN KINSHASA, Nov 26, 2008 – Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have violated a fragile ceasefire, while government troops have looted a village, the UN mission in the country said on Wednesday. AFP

Health workers battle deadly cholera outbreak in DR Congo KANYA, DR Congo, Nov 26, 2008 – French medical group Doctors Without Borders sent a team Wednesday from its base here in eastern DR Congo to a remote village where 10 people have died in a suspected outbreak of cholera.

North Kivu: The humanitarian situation is improving gradually.    Humanitarian access in the displaced persons zones is somewhat improved, according to a report made by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at the weekly MONUC press conference of 26 November 2008. Minova in the south, Kitchanga in the west and Kiwanja in the north are now linked, which represents a marked improvement.

Hundreds flee into Uganda to escape Congo rebels GOMA, Congo, 26 Nov 2008 – Hundreds of Congolese civilians fled across the border into neighbouring Uganda on Wednesday from reported attacks on villages by rebels loyal to General Laurent Nkunda, a U.N. refugee official said.

DR Congo government rejects rights report KINSHASA, Nov 26, 2008 – The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo rejected Wednesday a report by Human Rights Watch alleging it killed at least 500 suspected political opponents in the last two years.

UN warns of possible civilian massacres in Congo UNITED NATIONS_November 26, 2008 – U.N. officials have opened investigations into whether war crimes have been committed in eastern Congo, pointing to alarming evidence of targeted killings and the possibility of civilian massacres.

Rebels clash with government allies in DR Congo KINSHASA, Nov 27, 2008 – Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo clashed again Thursday with pro-government groups, both sides said, each accusing the other of attempted encroachment.

From Human Rights Watch:

Some advice for Obasanjo in the DRC. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this past weekend in his new role as the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy. The DRC has been a quagmire for envoys. Mr Obasanjo and his team must be wondering how on earth to achieve or measure success. We at Human Rights Watch hope that Mr. Obasanjo will achieve more than his predecessors, so we would like to offer some suggestions.

DR Congo President Brutally Represses Opposition. Two Years Since Elections, 500 Dead, 1,000 Detained, and Many Tortured. (Kinshasa, November 25, 2008) – Congolese state security forces have killed an estimated 500 people and detained about 1,000 more, many of whom have been tortured, in the two years since elections that were meant to bring democracy, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The brutal repression against perceived opponents began during the 2006 elections that carried President Joseph Kabila to power, and has continued to the present.

These are from the Guardian UK:

The Child Refugees of Congo (Slideshow)

Cholera Spreads Among Displaced Congolese. (Video)

Aid Agencies Launch Joint Appeal

UN reports murder, rape and torture by Congo troops and rebels Government soldiers and rebels fighting in eastern Congo both have committed serious human rights abuses, according to the United Nations secretary-general.

Learning Bosnia’s lessons in Congo The UN’s decision to send 3,000 more peacekeepers to Congo won’t stem the conflict unless they are prepared to use force

Tutu and De Klerk plead with EU leaders to send force to Congo A group of former world leaders and human rights activists called yesterday for an EU force to be sent in to stop “the greatest loss of life on the face of the earth” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The following are from the BBC:

Congo victim of ‘discrimination’ The world is not sending enough troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo because of discrimination, a former top UN official has told the BBC.

These articles are from the New York Times:

15 and Broke in a Cut-Throat Congo Mining Town BISIE, Congo — The people who toil in the tin ore mine here are links in a long, global chain that reaches all the way to the cellphones and digital music players so ubiquitous in modern life.

Conflict in Congo (Slideshow)

These are from Reuters AlertNet:

Belgium backs European force for Congo – minister UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Belgium said on Wednesday it could contribute to a possible European force in its former colony Congo to bridge the period while the United Nations prepares to step up its peacekeeping force there.

In Congo war, some wounds are hard to see Another trip to new displacement sites in Goma brings more stories and more questions about what people really need in times of conflict. Some needs are evident – shelter, clean water, food, clothes – but others are harder to see and therefore harder to respond to. That is certainly the case when it comes to responding to sexual violence.

Commentary: From Prospect Magazine: The Curse of Leopold: China’s grab for Congo’s mineral wealth is behind the current wave of fighting, not ethnic tensions

Some More Key Resources From Global Empowerment

Here are some key resources from Global Empowerment. Global Empowerment is a website of international resources on justice and development by World Vision.

These resources relate in some way to the crisis in DR Congo:

Violence Against Women: From Silence to Empowerment (PDF) This has an article on rape as genocide. Which of course, is being practiced in the DRC today.

Their Future in Our Hands: Children Displaced by Conflicts in Africa’s Great Lakes Region.

‘Their future in our hands’, a report from World Vision Africa, looks at how conflicts are affecting children in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, the study pays specific attention to children who are refuges, and those displaced within their own countries, and makes a series of recommendations for action by governments, NGOs and donors.

Obuntu: Eight for the G8-New Directions for the Action Plan for Africa.

Although this report is from 2002 the recommendations are still applicable today. “Only justice and respect for every person, captured in the Bantu word Obuntu, can lead to peace and prosperity for both rich and poor countries.”

The eight recommendations discussed are:

1. Support peace and conflict prevention: stop shipping weapons to Africa
2. Adopt fair trade rules: end resource exploitation
3. Give priority to effective poverty reduction: end the debt trap
4. Require accountability to the people: stop propping up dictators
5. Include young people and women: end social exclusion
6. Treat preventable diseases: stop unnecessary deaths of children
7. Fulfil existing commitments: untie aid to maximise benefit
8. Care for creation: stop eroding measures to protect the environment

African Voices for Africa’s Future. In this report from 2004, World Vision an international humanitarian organization with more than 30 years experinece working with and listening to the people of Africa recommends 5 actions be taken.

1. Africa should be trusted. G8 and EU governments should allow Africa to develope its own future without imposing their own political agendas.
2. Genuine development is about quality- not just quantity and indicators.
3. HIV/AIDS policy and resource commitments …should be particularly focusing on children, especially orphans.
4. Africa needs a “culture of conflict prevention”
5. Agricultural reform is needed in both the north and south.

Global Future: Africa’s Century? Poverty, Renaissance, and Hope

Articles include:

• Rising to the occaision in the battle against AIDS.
• Moving beyond Afro-pessimism
• Angolans face an uncertain future.
• Dawn of a new era in EU-Africa relaionship.
• Africa’s Children: our future our hope
• Africa and International policy: less fire-fighting, more action.
• Africa’s prospects in the new millenium.
• Unchaining Africa
• Conflict Diamonds: an incentive for war, and solutions
• The future of the church in Africa
• Untapped strength in Africa’s Horn
• Women entrepreneurs take charge in west Africa
• Country profile: Ethiopia

New Issue of Global Future Out

Global Future Edition Three for 2008: The Global Food Price Crisis: Ensuring Food Security for All, is avaible for download here.

Articles include:

• Will we bail out the hungry? Kristy Nowlan
• Human Security, Hunger, and Obesity. Peter Walker
• The Child Under-nutrition Crisis: A New Vision. Denise Costa Coitinho & Sarah Laughton
• Food Prices, Food Aid and Cash Transfers. Stephen Devereux
• Is the Global Food System Broken? Steve Wiggins
• Because Food Matters: Liberia’s Response to the Food Crisis. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
• Learning to Produce Enough for the Whole Community (Pakistan) Scott Boyd
• Promoting Country-wide Food Security (Nicaragua) Jaime Tercero
• Food Prices Leave More Families in Crisis (Jordan) Dana Palade
• The Climate Change Threat to Food Security. Brett Paris
• Moving Forward: The Second Generation of Bio-fuels. David Coote
• Household Food Security in Uganda. Joe Muwonge & Fortunate Sewankambo
• How Not  to Respond to the Challenge of the Global Food Crisis. Olivier De Schutter
• Africa Think Tanks and Policy Dialogues: Time to Start Talking Again. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda
• Small Producers: A Sustainable Development Opportunity for All. Glayson Santos
• An Earth that Nurtures and Sustains All Life. Agnes Abuom

Recycle Cellphones to Benefit Congo Global Action

Collective Good has a program set up with Congo Global Action that allows you to recycle your cellphone and $1.00 will go to Congo Global Action.

Go here for more details.

Collective Good even provides shipping containers and free postage.

80% of the world’s coltan and 30% of the world’s tin reserves are located in the DR Congo. One of the causes of the current situation in the DR Congo are fights to control the access to these very valuable minerals. Many of the weapons are paid for from the profits from these minerals. Recycling cellphones is a way to eliminate some funding for the combatants.

Resource: Congo Global Action: Toolkit

Congo Global Action has a Toolkit for Making a Difference in Your Home. This is a PDF file detailing how an individual or family can help raise awareness about the situation in the DRC and press for change.

This 11 page packet has the following information in three sections.

1. Learn More:

• The Situation in the DR Congo
• About Congo Global Action

2. What You Can Do:

• Inform
• Raise Funds
• Take Action
• Contact Local Media
• Advocate

3.Tools For Making a Difference

• Sample Movie Night Invitation
• Sample House Party Invitation
• Sample Letter to Your Representative
• Talking Point for Local Lobby Visits

Enough Project Urges 16 Days of Action to Protect Women and Girls in Congo

Beginning today 25 November, the Enough Project is marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by urging 16 days of activism to raise awareness of the situation of women and girls in the Congo. They are asking everyone  sign their online petition urging the  our next president to announce his administration’s initial plan to end the scourge of violence against women and girls in eastern Congo on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2009, and then report back on his progress toward this goal one year later.

“Ordinary Americans can have an extraordinary impact in ending the violence and atrocities against women and girls in the Congo,” said Enough Co-chair John Prendergast. “We are asking everyone to help protect and empower Congo’s women and girls. Multiplied a million times, each individual action will make a powerful statement against violence,” Prendergast said.

For more information please go to their website here.

Some Key Groups Advocating for Congo

Some key advocacy groups for Congo are:

Congo Global Action

Raise Hope for Congo

Enough Project: Congo

Three Articles from CNN on Rape in the Congo

CNN is featuring three articles on the problem of rape as a weapon of war in the Congo.

Woman: They Wanted to Destroy My Body and Spirit

One Congolese Woman’s Silent Scream is Heard.

Commentary: Congolese Rape Victims Learn to Smile Again.

Resource: Remove the FDLR from Eastern Congo

From the Enough Project two resources.

A 13 page PDF document Past Due: Remove the FDLR  From Eastern Congo

and a 2 page summary which also is in PDF  Past Due: Remove the FDLR from Eastern Congo

Petition to President-elect Obama to End Violence Against Women and Girls in Eastern Congo

Raise Hope for Congo has a petition to President-elect Obama  to announce his administration’s initial plan to end the scourge of violence against women and girls in eastern Congo on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2009, and then report back on his progress toward this goal one year later.

Resource: Powerful Online Videos on the War Against Women

From CBS News 60 Minutes: The War Against Women: Rape as a Weapon of War.

This includes a 12 minute segment from 60 Minutes featuring CNN’s Anderson Cooper reporting on rape as a weapon of war in the Congo.

Also there is a one and one-half minute segment featuring Anneka Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch on why people should care about what happens in the DR Congo and to these women.

Some more links on violence against women in the Congo.

Women for Women International

Video: Women for Women International: Stop the War in the Congo: is a powerful appeal by country director Christine Karumba for women to speak up for those in the Congo, especially an appeal to US women.

Video: Women for Women International Call for Action to Stop Fighting in the Congo

Warning the video below is a powerful and graphic testimony of one woman’s story of overcoming rape as a weapon of war.Video: Women for Women International:Honorata Speaks Out About Rape in the Congo.

There are more videos on the Women for Women International Video Page

This is not an easy subject to deal with but for that very reason we must speak out about it. This must stop.

The Panzi Hospital of Bukavu

Stop Rape Now: UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Some Videos on the Situation in the DRC

Here are some videos on the situation in the DRC.

Al Jazeera: DR Congo’s displaced people.

Journeyman Pictures: Congo’s Forgotten War

Journeyman Pictures: Archives from the War

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Appeal to Call Senators to End Child Soldiers

World Vision has issued an appeal for those concerned to call their Senators to urge passage of S.3061 The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Bill which includes under Title IV Child Soldiers Prevention and Accountability. I have included the section on child soldiers here.

The whole issue of human trafficking is important let alone the section on child soldiers. Currently 8 countries which use child soldiers receive foreign assisstance from the United States this includes the DR Congo.

Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 – Prohibits, with a national interest waiver, funds for specified military and related areas from being made available to the government of a country identified by the Department as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups that recruit and use child soldiers.

Authorizes the President to reinstate assistance upon certifying to Congress that a government is implementing: (1) compliance measures; and (2) mechanisms to prohibit future use of child soldiers.

Authorizes the President to provide assistance to a country for international military education and training otherwise prohibited under this Act upon certifying to Congress that such assistance is for implementation of measures to demobilize child soldiers and for programs to support professionalization of the military.

Makes it a federal crime to recruit or use child soldiers. Makes such recruitment or use a grounds for an alien’s removal from the United States.

Some articles on Child Soldiers primarily in the Congo.

Unicef Video: Helping Former Child Soldiers in DR Congo

Al Jazeera Video: Children of Conflict Congo Part 1

Al Jazeera Video Children of Conflict Congo Part 2

Reuters AlertNet Pictures of Child Soldiers

War Child Links

Human Rights Watch: Red Hand Day Campaign

BBC: Bleak Future for Congo’s Child Soldiers

BBC: Congolese Children Forced to Fight

New York Times: Congo  Child Soldiers Mobilized

World Vision: Child Soldiers and Children in Conflict