DR Congo: Rogue Leaders, Rebels Forcibly Recruit Youth | Human Rights Watch

DR Congo: Rogue Leaders, Rebels Forcibly Recruit Youth

December 20, 2010

Armed groups in eastern Congo are pulling youth from schools, homes, and fields and forcing them to fight. The Congolese government should urgently stop this recruitment and prosecute those responsible.Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher(Goma) – Rogue Congolese army officers and armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are forcibly recruiting and training for combat hundreds of young men and boys in new efforts to expand their ranks, Human Rights Watch said today. The wave of military recruitment, which began around September 2010, signals a possible collapse of eastern Congo’s peace process.

via DR Congo: Rogue Leaders, Rebels Forcibly Recruit Youth | Human Rights Watch.

Article Link: Call to Action:The Child Soldier Crisis – DISCOVER THE JOURNEY | SPEAK UP. ENSURE JUSTICE.

Child Soldiers

There are more than ever.

And the urgency for intervention, action, RE-action to this growing and unending phenomenon demands our world’s response.

While in Congo, finishing production on our documentary following the lives of two child soldiers, I was appalled to discover that for children like them, there is really nothing for them if they are able to leave a life of war.

There are large institutions offering institutional care, but there is not specialized, individualized, long-term rehabilitation, much less integration. With the billions of dollars of aid pouring into the country and one of the largest UN missions in the world, how can the crisis of child soldiers have gone so blatantly unaddressed?

These children, right now, leaving the armed groups, will form the future generation of Congo’s contributors to civil society. It is essential that they are targeted now, and given options besides going back to war.

via The Child Soldier Crisis – DISCOVER THE JOURNEY | SPEAK UP. ENSURE JUSTICE..

New Blog on situation in the North Kivus

A very nicely done video book on the camps of the displaced and the illegal minerals trade.

Please visit

Fishing in troubled waters

Enough Project:Raise Hope for Congo: Conflict Minerals Campaign

Raise Hope for Congo part of the Enough Project has initiated a new campaign targeting the link betwen conflict minerals and the conflict in the DRC and violence against women.

Congo’s Conflict Minerals

Can You Hear Congo Now?: Cell Phones, Conflict Minerals, and the Worst Sexual
Violence in the World (pdf file)

Conflict Minerals Pledge

Activist Pledge:
By endorsing the Conflict Minerals Pledge, organizations and individuals commit to using their voices and consumer power to influence companies to sign the pledge. Specifically, they will:

1. contact the largest makers of cell phones, portable music players, digital cameras, PC’s, and video games, and urge them to sign the pledge;
2. commit to only purchasing electronics from firms that have taken and are abiding by the conflict minerals pledge; and

3. educate fellow consumers and activists about the crisis in Congo, the role of conflict minerals, and how they can be a part of the solution.

Take Action: Urge Electronics Companies to Sign the Conflict Minerals Pledge

The new blood diamonds? Article from Fortune Magazine

Other Raise Hope for Congo action:

Congo Advocacy  Coalition Letter To United Nations: Civilian Protection Now

DRC Round-up of Links to Articles

Here are a selection of current articles on the DRC.

What do you wish for? Women speak out from Eastern Congo from Condition Critical

Haut Uélé: Psychological support a necessity for victims of violence from Condition Critical

“She longs to return to her village” from Condition Critical

Women in the torment of the war – video from Condition Critical

Condition Critical Women’s Dossiers Eyewitness Reports:

Kahindo Kahayo,18 years old and an imminent birth of her child

“I would like my daughter to live her life well, and not marry just for the sake of it.”

“If we had peace, we could start from scratch”

Refugees International on the FDLR from Stop the War in North Kivu

US playing the stick and the carrot with Rwanda

Negative hornets

Mission Accomplished?

What Sparked Rwanda’s Incursion?

Statement on women’s rights in the DRC crisis (ht Congo Resources)

From IRIN:DRC: Villages abandoned as militia rampage in the east

From IRIN: DRC: Villages abandoned as militia rampage in the east

KINSHASA, 19 March 2009 (IRIN) – Whole villages are being abandoned as civilians flee attacks by Rwandan Hutu militia and Ugandan rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, just weeks after joint army operations to oust the militias ended.

“[On] Monday and Tuesday [16 and 17 March], the FDLR [Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda] attacked a FARDC [national army] position and burned some villages … causing massive population displacement,” Joseph Malikidogo, president of the North Kivu civil society, said. The FDLR comprises militias, some of whom are blamed for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Video Interview with Congo Activist Franseca Thelin

Here is a short video interview with Congolese activist Franseca Thelin. The most striking point to me is when she comments on the Congolese peoples lack of hope-that they have no one to help them.

Some Resources from Raise Hope for Congo

Here are some links to resources from Raise Hope for Congo

Advocacy Tool Kit (pdf file)

Crisis in Congo: The Casualties of Conflict Minerals— Key Facts (pdf file)

Congo Challenge for  March: Raise Awareness

Congo Challenge Forum

Excellent Photo Series on DR Congo

An excellent series of 38 photos from the DRC is Portraits from the Congo.

Raise Hope for Congo: Take the Challenge Video

Raise Awareness

Raise Your Voice

Raise the Profile

Raise Hope for Congo

New Raise Hope for Congo Video

More on Violence Against Women In the DR Congo

Here are a few more articles concerning the violence against women in the DR Congo.

Band of Congo Radio Reporters Aid Rape Victims

By Dominique Soguel
WeNews correspondent

In eastern DRC, a group of female journalists is managing to change the cultural acceptance of rape. Despite safety risks and chronic equipment problems, the members are persuading rural rape survivors to tell their stories and learn their rights.

Mass Stigma Scars Congo’s Rape Survivors

By Dominique Soguel
WeNews correspondent

A psychologist in a Congo hospital says decades of war have produced a rape-friendly culture with a double standard. While perpetrators go unpunished the victims, including children, are ostracized. Amnesty International has issued a new warning.

Secretary-General meets with female victims of DR Congo conflict

28 February 2009 – 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.

UNICEF campaign launches US tour to highlight DR Congo rape crisis

11 February 2009 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is kicking off a five-city tour of the United States aimed at highlighting the horrors faced by thousands of Congolese rape victims, while calling for an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the worst kinds of sexual violence.

Simple everyday tasks, such as gathering wood and fetching water, expose thousands of girls and women to vicious abuses in the conflict-ridden eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), “where rape is used as a weapon of war,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Some Articles on DRC

Here are links to some articles on the situation in the DR Congo.

Notable rise in violence against civilians, aid workers in DR Congo, UN reports

27 February 2009 – There has been a notable rise in violations against civilians and attacks on humanitarian workers in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leading to new displacement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

The UN Must Protect Congo’s Civilians – THE GUARDIAN

Nothing much changed in the humanitarian equation: north of Goma and stretching across this scenic region of Africa’s great lakes, civilians need food and shelter, water and sanitation, blankets and cooking pots. For lasting peace to take hold in eastern Congo new military alliances are not enough: a political solution must be found, one that recognises the complexity and root causes of the conflict here. The report released by the UN suggests that it could play a more robust role in reining in the armed groups to ensure that civilian populations are not targeted. The UN has taken one step by beefing up its own presence in eastern Congo recently. Now all those serving in the mission here must respect the terms of the UN resolution: their task, first and foremost, is to protect civilians. Those of us in the humanitarian community here hope that the secretary general will share this conviction as his convoy bumps around on Goma’s potholes, puddles and lava.

Have Rwandan Troops Left?

Turns out, not so much. More and more evidence emerging that many of the Rwandan troops may not have left, after all. More and more allegations that Rwanda’s installed a new set of Banyarwanda overlords in North Kivu. More and more proof that Congolese have finally said Ilunga! and begun to challenge Kabila’s authority. We’ll see how this turns out, but I get the feeling that this is one story that has only just begun.

Le Phare: Rwandan Troops Posing as CNDP to Infiltrate FARDC

Le Phare says that Rwandan troops are infiltrating FARDC under the guise of being ex-CNDP militia seeking to integrate into the national army.

VIDEO: Ugandan rebels wreak havoc in Congo

Child Labor in Congo

DR Congo: UN must put protection first, not combat, warns World Vision

“Any aggressive military action by MONUC in collaboration with the Congolese army to forcibly disarm the FDLR will drastically compromise the peacekeepers’ primary responsibility to protect civilians,” said World Vision’s Advocacy Advisor in Goma, Carrie Vandewint.

“East DRC has been plagued by brutal conflict for more than a decade. The spotlight should be put on a rigorous peace process not more violence, which will only lead to more suffering,” said Vandewint.

As a humanitarian organisation, World Vision is also concerned that military action by MONUC against a rebel group, which characteristically integrates itself with the local population, will increase the vulnerability of aid agencies working to reach those most in need.

Aid Worker’s Blog: Providing Basic Care in DRC

UN says free Congo’s 3,500 child soldiers

KINSHASA, DRC (AFP) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called Friday on armed groups to free the 3,500 or so children still serving as child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“We call for a clear timetable for the voluntary release of all children,” UNICEF’s deputy executive director Hilde Johnson said in a statement.

UNICEF said that since 2004 it had helped reintegrate more than 30,000 child soldiers forced to fight by armed groups in the country.

‘Ruined,’ a Drama of Sexual Violence in Congo War

Sexual violence has become a signature of the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Women and even young girls have been raped in front of family members, kidnapped into sexual slavery, and sexually mutilated. The suffering of victims, and their attempts to rebuild their lives, is the subject of the new play Ruined, now at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club. Ruined has been praised by critics as “heart-wrenching,” “riveting,” “beautiful and hideous.”

Congo Advocacy  Coalition Letter  To United Nations: Civilian Protection Now

Good Question: How many people have to die in the DRC to appear in the New York Times?

The author of Stop the War in North Kivu asks:How many people have to die in the DRC to appear in the New York Times?

Also check out the graphics from Stealth Conflicts.

Good Question?

Although the story has appeared occaisionally in the New York Times and in other mainstream media it certainly does not get the press it deserves. Why?

I would hate to think it is because somehow those in the media believe African lives are not as valuable. There certainly is more than enough coverage in blogs and humanitarian organizations websites. Stop the War in North Kivu is a great example and is in my opinion one of the best blogs on the situation in the DRC.

Or could it be that those profiting from the unrest in the eastern DRC use their influence to squelch the story. I would hate to be that cynical. But something is wrong, very wrong.

Or is it because, sadly, most Americans could not locate the DR Congo on a map? And so they care so little about the people there.

Whatever the reason it is both sad and despicable.

Human Rights Watch Calls on UN to Send More Troops to Congo

Human Rights Watch has called on the UN to send more troops to the Northern DR Congo due to the grave dangers to the civilian population caused by the activities in that area of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

They have also released a 67 page report:  The Christmas Massacres: LRA attacks on Civilians in Northern Congo.

More information is available at their website.

Outstanding Congo Resource

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum websites Conscience section is an outstanding resource for the situation in the DR Congo. The quality of the writing and photos are excellent. A related site of equal excellence is their “World is Witness” site.

Here are some highlights from both. A nice feature of the site is that when dealing with sensitive material there is a seperate link and warning.

The Current Situation in the DRC

The End of Nkunda?

An Eyewitness to Atrocities in Kiwanja

Situation Update: Goma Banditry

Women in War Zones

A Gallery of Photos These are excellent very high quality photos. These photos are haunting these are real people and real situations. The world must wake-up and stop this brutality, this obsenity, this horror.

Women of War in South Kivu

Afraid to Sleep in Walungu This is the story of one woman Lucienne and the brutality that she suffered. Her suffering is even written on her face and in her eyes. She was enslaved for months by the FDLR in Congo.

Horror and Hope at Panzi Hospital

Shattered Youth

Oxfam America Campaign to Urge a Special Envoy be sent to DRC

Oxfam America has a campaign to urge President Obama to send a special envoy to the DR Congo. Go here to learn more and send a message to the President.

Dr. Denis Mukwege on Democracy Now

Dr. Denis Mukwege the founder of Panzi Hospital in the Eastern DR Congo was a guest today 9 February 2009 on Democracy Now. Audio and Video of the show as well as the transcript of the show are available here at the Democracy Now website. Appearing with him was Eve Ensler who has been a vocal advocate to ending violence against women. Dr. Mukwege and his hospital specializes in treating the women who have been violently tortured and raped in the Eastern DRC.

Dr. Mukwege also comments on the Rwandan soldiers currently in the Congo.

A Few Interesting Articles on the Situation in the DRC This Week

Here are just a few articles of note.

It’s Ilunga Time for the Congolese

The Congolese believe that the Rwandans and Ugandans have entered the Congo to establish, under the auspices of the international community, some sort of “free trade zone” in the Kivus and Ituri with the express purpose of exploiting their country’s natural resources. And this prospect is infuriating the Congolese in a way that even the 1996 and 1998 invasions did not. They feel like they’re being sold out, as much by France and the United States as by their own president.

Stop Ripping Off Your Country–A How-To Guide for African Presidents

Question: But what happens when the governments aren’t interested in using the resources for development? What if they’re mostly interested in using them to pay off friends and buy off enemies? It’s not exactly a hypothetical question. What’s the agenda for activists in Africa, and their allies here in the developed world, to force them to use these resources for good?

Global Witness: The Most Relevant NGO of them All

Global Witness has just published a letter it sent to MONUC chief Alan Doss asking that MONUC take a more active role in policing natural resources. Needless to say, I think it puts its finger on exactly what is needed.

You Heard It There First

The New York Times confirms a story that first appeared in the Ugandan newspaper New Vision nearly two months ago: that the US military aided Operation Lighting Thunder.

Congo’s east improving but don’t expect miracle -UN

KIBATI, Congo, Feb 7 (Reuters) – A top U.N. aid official said on Saturday the situation in Congo’s war-torn east was beginning to change but the thousands of displaced should not expect “miracles” from the United Nations.

Several Interesting Articles from Friends of the Congo

Friends of the Congo has several very interesting articles on their blog.

Laurent Nkunda’s “Arrest:” Rwanda’s Latest Shell Game in Response to International Pressure

Over the past week, events have unfolded at a dizzying pace in the Central Africa region; hence Friends of Congo thought it would be useful to add some context to the situation based on questions posed to us.

Is Laurent Nkunda’s arrest a positive development?

U.S. Trained Rwandan Soldiers Not the Answer

Let us see if we got this right. The United Nations publish a groundbreaking study that affirms what the Congolese people have been saying since 1996, that U.S. backed Rwandan aggression against the Congo has not ceased since that time. The report documented Rwanda’s support of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda. So in response, the Congolese government invite to its capital one of the most infamous butchers on Congo’s soil, James Kabarebe, Chief of General Staff of the Rwandan Defense Forces and former private secretary and aide-de-camp of Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame. Both Kabarebe and current Congolese President Joseph Kabila were a part of the human slaughter of Congolese and Hutu refugees (men, women and children) in 1996/’97.