2 May 2008
analysis
Washington, DC — "On January 23, 2008, after weeks of talks, the Congolese government signed a peace agreement in Goma, North Kivu, with 22 armed groups committing all parties to an immediate ceasefire and disengagement of forces from frontline positions. Yet since the signing, scores of civilians have been killed, hundreds of women and girls raped, and many more children recruited into armed service ..." - report from 63 Congolese and international NGOs
In January, a major step towards peace in eastern Congo was taken at the Conference on Peace, Security and Development in the Kivus, held in Goma from 6 to 25 January with some 1,250 delegates, including representatives of Congolese armed groups, local communities, local authorities, political parties and civil society. The work of the conference was conducted in two seminars, one for North Kivu and one for South Kivu. The participants adopted a wide range of recommendations and commitments to resolve the main problems facing the populations of the Kivus, including agreements to a ceasefire and demobilization of militia groups, as well as providing for return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
Implementation of the agreement, however, remains problematic.
This issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin contains (1) a press release from this group of NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Oxfamm CRONGD (North Kivu), Centre Olame (South Kivu), Enough, Global Witness, and International Rescue Committee, (2) a report on a recent statement by Alan Doss, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Democratic Republic of Congo, and a report from IRIN on the continuing threat of land mines in the Congo..
Articles on other recent developments in the Congo include
an Inter Press Service report on the indictment of militia leader Bosco Ntaganda for a consistent pattern of war crimes.
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200805010667.html)
a Washington Post article on road reconstruction in the Congo, highlighting as an example new opportunities for the village of Kilongo, only 30 miles from the city of Lubumbashi, but until recently almost cut off by the lack of a passable road (http://tinyurl.com/3wtfu3)
Human Rights Watch calls for transparency in investigation of charges against UN peacekeepers.
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200805020178.html)
The latest report of the UN Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (April 2, 2008) is available at: http://www.monuc.org/downloads/25SGreportENG.pdf
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and related links, see
http://www.africafocus.org/country/congokin.php
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DR Congo: End the Horrific Suffering in Eastern Congo
63 Leading NGOs Press for Urgent Implementation of Goma Peace Agreement
(London, April 23, 2008) - The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the armed groups, and international parties to the Goma peace agreement should urgently implement the accord and end the horrific suffering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children facing brutal violence and deadly diseases in eastern Congo, 63 international and Congolese human rights and aid groups said in a joint statement today.
The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are urging the United Nations and the international players that helped negotiate the Goma agreement to appoint a high level independent special advisor on human rights for eastern Congo to focus attention and ensure action on protecting civilians at risk, specifically women and girls threatened by sexual violence. It also urged the international players such as the African Union, European Union, and the United States to support the appointment politically and financially.
"Hundreds of thousands of victims clung to the hope that the peace deal would end their suffering. Sadly, no meaningful progress has been made on human rights commitments," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch. "We urge for the immediate appointment of a special advisor on human rights to help the parties honor their human rights commitments and to provide a voice for the victims who suffer in silence."
On January 23, 2008, after weeks of talks, the Congolese government signed a peace agreement in Goma, North Kivu, with 22 armed groups committing all parties to an immediate ceasefire and disengagement of forces from frontline positions. Yet since the signing, scores of civilians have been killed, hundreds of women and girls raped, and many more children recruited into armed service, adding to the extraordinarily high number of civilians who have already endured such crimes over the past decade.
An estimated 1.1 million people are displaced in North and South Kivu provinces, of which 550,000 fled from the fighting since 2007.
Malnutrition, cholera, malaria and other preventable diseases are taking their lives at an alarming rate.
"This is a humanitarian catastrophe on an enormous scale. It demands urgent and concrete action by all parties to the agreement as well as by the international community," said Colin Thomas-Jensen, Policy Advisor of ENOUGH, a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. "Getting the parties to sign an agreement was an important first step, but now we must move to the next step of helping people return home in safety and security."
Humanitarian agencies still face difficulties accessing civilians at risk and human rights defenders who have raised concerns about the abuses face threats and harassment. Armed groups, as well as the Congolese military, continue to illegally exploit natural resources and use the profits to fuel the conflict.
Special envoys from the African Union, the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region played a vital role in negotiating the Goma agreement. They agreed to continue to play an active role in monitoring and implementing its terms.
Under the terms of the peace accord, the parties agreed to respect international humanitarian and human rights law, including ending all acts of violence against civilians, halting the recruitment of child soldiers, assuring the release of political prisoners, and allowing access for humanitarian agencies.
Last week, Human Rights Watch made detailed recommendations on ways to appoint the special advisor on human rights for Eastern Congo to Abb‚ Apollinaire Malu Malu, the independent national-coordinator appointed by the Congolese government to lead its peace efforts, and the international community representatives. The organization urged Abb‚ Malu Malu to bring about this appointment, emphasizing that since human rights concerns were central to the conflict, failure to respond to such issues could cause the peace process to collapse.
The recommendations included that the special advisor be appointed either by the signatories to the Goma agreement, by the Secretary General of the United Nations, or by the international sponsors of the agreement.
Juliette Prodhan, Head of Oxfam in DRC said, "Without the appointment of a special advisor on human rights it will be far harder to hold parties to account for violating the peace agreement. For the sake of the Congolese people and the whole Great Lakes region, this investment in human rights is needed to help avoid a return to conflict that has already claimed too many lives."
For further information please contact:
For Human Rights Watch: Anneke Van Woudenberg in London on +44 (0)20 7713 2786 or +44 (0)7711 664960 (English, French)
For Oxfam: Rebecca Wynn in Oxford on +44 (0) 1865 472530 or + 44 (0) 7769 887139 (English)
For CRONGD (North Kivu): Kubuya Muhangi in Goma on +243 (0)99 861 0651 (French, Swahili)
For Centre Olame (South Kivu): Mathilde Muhindo, in Bukavu on +243 998755223 (French, Swahili)
For Enough: Colin Thomas-Jensen in Washington DC on + 1 202 682 6136 (English)
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