October, 13 2009, 10:51am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Phone,+1 617 482 1211 (Toll-free 1-800-77-OXFAM),Email,info@oxfamamerica.org
DR Congo: Civilian Cost of Military Operation is Unacceptable
Enhanced protection urgently needed due to disastrous toll on civilian populations
GOMA
The Congolese government's military operation in
eastern Congo, Kimia II, backed by United Nations peacekeepers and
aimed at neutralizing the threat from a Rwandan Hutu militia group, the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has resulted in
an unacceptable cost for the civilian population, said 84 humanitarian
and human rights groups in the Congo Advocacy Coalition today.
The coalition urged diplomats and UN officials, who are due to meet
in Washington, DC, this week to discuss the situation in eastern Congo
and the wider region, to take immediate steps to increase protection
for civilians.
"The human rights and humanitarian consequences of the current
military operation are simply disastrous," said Marcel Stoessel of
Oxfam. "UN peacekeepers, who have a mandate to protect civilians,
urgently need to work with government forces to make sure civilians get
the protection they need or discontinue their support."
Since the start of military operations against the FDLR militia in
January 2009, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed, 7,000 women
and girls have been raped, and over 6,000 homes have been burned down
in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. Nearly 900,000 people
have been forced to flee their homes and live in desperate conditions
with host families, in forest areas, or in squalid displacement camps
with limited access to food and medicine.
Satellite imagery
collected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) provides visual confirmation of the widespread destruction of
homes and villages. In Busurungi, one of the main towns in the
Walualoanda area (North Kivu) and the surrounding 100 square
kilometers, AAAS estimates that 1,494 homes and structures have been
destroyed, some as recently as September, amounting to an estimated 80%
destruction rate.
Many of the killings have been carried out by the FDLR militia who are deliberately targeting civilians
to punish them for their government's decision to launch military
operations against the group. Congolese government soldiers have also
targeted civilians through killings and widespread rape, looting,
forced labor, and arbitrary arrests.
In a bleak calculation by the coalition, for every rebel combatant disarmed during the operation,
- one civilian has been killed,
- seven women and girls have been raped,
- six houses burned and destroyed, and
- 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
Sexual violence has grown even more brutal in areas affected by the
Kimia II operation. "We're seeing more cases of mutilation, extreme
violence, and torture in sexual violence cases against women and girls,
and many more of the victims are children," said Immaculee Birhaheka of
Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Feminines (PAIF).
Some previously displaced people in the Kivus have returned home to areas that have become relatively secure. But the ongoing military operations have caused new displacement of civilians
in Masisi, Rutshuru, Lubero, Walikale, Kabare, Kalehe, Walungu,
Shabunda, and Uvira territories of North and South Kivu, as well as in
southern Maniema and northern Katanga provinces. Many civilians who
have recently left displacement camps around Goma and elsewhere have
moved on to secondary displacement sites since they fear returning home.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, has backed the
Congolese army in the Kimia II operation since March, following a joint
Rwandan and Congolese military operation against the FDLR militias,
some of whose leaders participated in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
According to UN statistics, 1,071 FDLR combatants have given up their
arms and been repatriated to Rwanda since January. The group's
estimated strength before military operations began was 6,000 to 7,000
combatants. Many reports indicate that the FDLR has recruited new
combatants to replace some of those who have been repatriated.
UN peacekeepers provide significant backing for the Kimia II
operation, including tactical expertise, transport and aviation
support, as well as food rations, fuel, and medical support to
Congolese army soldiers, at an estimated cost of well over US$6
million. Despite such support, UN peacekeepers have not used
their leverage to get the government to remove commanders with known
track records of human rights abuses from participating in the
operations.
"With an investment this big, the UN has clout and should not remain
silent when abuses occur," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior
researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The UN needs to make it clear that
if the Congolese government wants its continued military support, the
army should remove abusive soldiers from command positions and its
soldiers should stop attacking civilians."
Reprisal attacks against unarmed populations by the FDLR
militia have made the task of protecting civilians increasingly
complicated for the Congolese government and UN peacekeepers.
Yet the 3,000 additional UN peacekeepers authorized by the UN Security
Council in November 2008 are only just arriving in eastern Congo, and
the helicopters and intelligence support requested by UN officials have
still not materialized.
The coalition said that disarming the FDLR militia should remain a
top priority for the Congolese government and UN peacekeepers, but that
they need to act urgently to improve protection of civilians. The
coalition urged diplomats and UN officials meeting in Washington, DC,
at the Great Lakes Contact Group, to:
- Press for a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach toward disarming the FDLR militia
that emphasizes protecting civilians. This would include taking into
custody and opening judicial proceedings against those wanted for
genocide and other more recent serious crimes, including the FDLR
leadership based in Europe and elsewhere, and reforming the disarmament
and demobilization program, among other measures. - Push
for accountability to ensure that those responsible for serious human
rights abuses, including sexual violence, are prosecuted
regardless of rank. Press the UN to make its support conditional on
effective action by military authorities to curb abuses against
civilians. - Press the Congolese government to develop and put into effect an action plan to prevent and end the recruitment of children
into the Congolese army and other armed groups, and insist that
commanders cooperate with child protection specialists screening troops
for children among their ranks. - Support comprehensive military reforms by the Congolese government, with strict controls on how donor funds are used.
- Ensure that UN peacekeepers have the resources urgently needed to carry out their mandate to protect civilians.
For more of the work of the Congo Advocacy Coalition, please visit the following:
- DR Congo: Groups Fear for Civilian Safety (February 2009 news release)
- DR Congo: Clinton Should Highlight Rape and Justice Issues (August 2009 news release)
- More on Oxfam's response to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Oxfam International is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. We are working across regions in about 70 countries, with thousands of partners, and allies, supporting communities to build better lives for themselves, grow resilience and protect lives and livelihoods also in times of crisis.
LATEST NEWS
UN Chief Warns of Israel's Syria Invasion and Land Seizures
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the "urgent need" for Israel to "de-escalate violence on all fronts."
Dec 12, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by Israel's "recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," including a ground invasion and airstrikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the war-torn Mideastern nation.
Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
While Israel argues that its invasion of Syria does not violate a 1974 armistice agreement between the two countries because the Assad dynasty no longer rules the neighboring nation, Dujarric said Guterres maintains that Israel must uphold its obligations under the deal, "including by ending all unauthorized presence in the area of separation and refraining from any action that would undermine the cease-fire and stability in Golan."
Israel conquered the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights in 1967 and has illegally occupied it ever since, annexing the seized lands in 1981.
Other countries including France, Russia, and Saudi Arabia have criticized Israel's invasion, while the United States defended the move.
"The Syrian army abandoned its positions in the area... which potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing earlier this week. "Israel has said that these actions are temporary to defend its borders. These are not permanent actions... We support all sides upholding the 1974 disengagement agreement."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sanders Says 'Political Movement,' Not Murder, Is the Path to Medicare for All
"Killing people is not the way we're going to reform our healthcare system," he said. "The way we're going to reform our healthcare system is having people come together."
Dec 12, 2024
Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
"Look, when we talk about the healthcare crisis, in my view, and I think the view of a majority of Americans, the current system is broken, it is dysfunctional, it is cruel, and it is wildly inefficient—far too expensive," said Sanders (I-Vt.), whose position is backed up by various polls.
"The reason we have not joined virtually every other major country on Earth in guaranteeing healthcare to all people as a human right is the political power and financial power of the insurance industry and drug companies," he told Jacobin. "It will take a political revolution in this country to get Congress to say, 'You know what, we're here to represent ordinary people, to provide quality care to ordinary people as a human right,' and not to worry about the profits of insurance and drug companies."
Asked about Thompson's alleged killer—26-year-old Luigi Mangione, whose reported manifesto railed against the nation's expensive healthcare system and low life expectancy—Sanders said: "You don't kill people. It's abhorrent. I condemn it wholeheartedly. It was a terrible act. But what it did show online is that many, many people are furious at the health insurance companies who make huge profits denying them and their families the healthcare that they desperately need."
"What you're seeing, the outpouring of anger at the insurance companies, is a reflection of how people feel about the current healthcare system."
"What you're seeing, the outpouring of anger at the insurance companies, is a reflection of how people feel about the current healthcare system," he continued, noting the tens of thousands of Americans who die each year because they can't get to a doctor.
"Killing people is not the way we're going to reform our healthcare system," Sanders added. "The way we're going to reform our healthcare system is having people come together and understanding that it is the right of every American to be able to walk into a doctor's office when they need to and not have to take out their wallet."
"The way we're going to bring about the kind of fundamental changes we need in healthcare is, in fact, by a political movement which understands the government has got to represent all of us, not just the 1%," the senator told Jacobin.
The 83-year-old Vermonter, who was just reelected to what he says is likely his last six-year term, is an Independent but caucuses with Democrats and sought their presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. He has urged the Democratic Party to recognize why some working-class voters have abandoned it since Republicans won the White House and both chambers of Congress last month. A refusal to take on insurance and drug companies and overhaul the healthcare system, he argues, is one reason.
Sanders—one of the few members of Congress who regularly talks about Medicare for All—isn't alone in suggesting that unsympathetic responses to Thompson's murder can be explained by a privatized healthcare system that fails so many people.
In addition to highlighting Sanders' interview on social media, Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) pointed out to Business Insider on Wednesday that "you've got thousands of people that are sharing their stories of frustration" in the wake of Thompson's death.
Khanna—a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act, led in the House of Representatives by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)—made the case that you can recognize those stories without accepting the assassination.
"You condemn the murder of an insurance executive who was a father of two kids," he said. "At the same time, you say there's obviously an outpouring behavior of people whose claims are being denied, and we need to reform the system."
Two other Medicare for All advocates, Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), also made clear to Business Insider that they oppose Thompson's murder but understand some of the responses to it.
"Of course, we don't want to see the chaos that vigilantism presents," said Ocasio-Cortez. "We also don't want to see the extreme suffering that millions of Americans confront when your life changes overnight from a horrific diagnosis, and people are led to just some of the worst, not just health events, but the worst financial events of their and their family's lives."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
"Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far," she continued. "This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the healthcare to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone."
After facing some criticism for those comments, Warren added Wednesday: "Violence is never the answer. Period... I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Reports Target Israeli Army for 'Unprecedented Massacre' of Gaza Journalists
"In Gaza, the scale of the tragedy is incomprehensible," wrote Thibaut Bruttin, director general of Reporters Without Borders.
Dec 12, 2024
Reports released this week from two organizations that advocate for journalists underscore just how deadly Gaza has become for media workers.
Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2024 roundup, which was published Thursday, found that at least 54 journalists were killed on the job or in connection with their work this year, and 18 of them were killed by Israeli armed forces (16 in Palestine, and two in Lebanon).
The organization has also filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court "for war crimes committed by the Israeli army against journalists," according to the roundup, which includes stats from January 1 through December 1.
"In Gaza, the scale of the tragedy is incomprehensible," wrote Thibaut Bruttin, director general of RSF, in the introduction to the report. Since October 2023, 145 journalists have been killed in Gaza, "including at least 35 who were very likely targeted or killed while working."
Bruttin added that "many of these reporters were clearly identifiable as journalists and protected by this status, yet they were shot or killed in Israeli strikes that blatantly disregarded international law. This was compounded by a deliberate media blackout and a block on foreign journalists entering the strip."
When counting the number of journalists killed by the Israeli army since October 2023 in both Gaza and Lebanon, the tally comes to 155—"an unprecedented massacre," according to the roundup.
Multiple journalists were also killed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Sudan, Myanmar, Colombia, and Ukraine, according to the report, and hundreds more were detained and are now behind bars in countries including Israel, China, and Russia.
Meanwhile, in a statement released Thursday, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) announced that at least 139 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since the war in Gaza began in 2023, and in a statement released Wednesday, IFJ announced that 104 journalists had perished worldwide this year (which includes deaths from January 1 through December 10). IFJ's number for all of 2024 appears to be higher than RSF because RSF is only counting deaths that occurred "on the job or in connection with their work."
IFJ lists out each of the slain journalists in its 139 count, which includes the journalist Hamza Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, Wael Al-Dahdouh, who was killed with journalist Mustafa Thuraya when Israeli forces targeted their car while they were in northern Rafah in January 2024.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular