Democratic Republic of Congo Human Rights

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Background

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Visit to DRC

In August 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Goma, capital of North Kivu province in eastern DRC, the site of the deadliest war since World War II.  Secretary Clinton said she urged the Congolese government to do a better job of protecting its own people and to prosecute offenders in the Congolese military, which is notorious as one of the least disciplined, poorest paid armies anywhere.

“I spoke at length with President Kabila about the steps needed to be taken to protect civilians,” she said. “We believe there should be no impunity for the sexual and gender based violence, and there must be arrests and punishment because that runs counter to peace.” Secretary Clinton also addressed some of the conflict’s root causes, including Congo’s illicit mineral trade. Congo’s mines are often the unlawful prize of armed groups, and Mrs. Clinton said the world needed to take more steps to regulate the mineral trade to make sure the profits do not end up “in the hands of those who fuel the violence.” For more information, see the New York Times article on Secretary Clinton's trip.

Secretary Clinton’s statements, during public appearances in Kinshasa and in Goma, represent a substantial victory for the human rights community, including Amnesty International, which has been stressing the links between civilian deaths and rapes, conflict minerals, and impunity. The Secretary of State announced specific measures to address sexual violence, She unveiled a $17 million plan to fight Congo’s stunning levels of sexual violence. She announced that the American government would train doctors, supply rape victims with video cameras to document violence, send American military engineers to help build facilities and train Congolese police officers, especially female police officers, to crack down on rapists. A worrisome aspect of this program is sending military engineers under the aegis of the new Africa Command (AFRICOM). This might be seen as a step in the militarization of humanitarian aid to DRC.

Secretary Clinton reportedly also raised with President Kabila the problem of human rights defender Golden Misabiko, arrested and facing trial. Misabiko is charged with "threatening state security," because his organization published a report alleging state compliciity in illegal mining at a uranium mine. The prosecution claimed that by publishing the contested report, ASADHO-Katanga, through Misabiko, was effectively seeking to stir up the population of Katanga against the provincial authorities. However, Amnesty International considers Golden Misabiko a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his peaceful activities in defense of human rights. The government appears determined to silence human rights defenders by intimidation. Amnesty International is calling for urgent action on the case of Misabiko, demanding his release.

To combat the use of coltan, tin, gold and other minerals in financing ongoing fighting in Eastern Congo, including violence against women, Amnesty International USA urges members to support the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 (S.891), first of all by asking their own senators to co-sponsor the act.

Learn More:

» Violence in the DRC. Radio show with country specialist Tom Turner
» Armed groups and government forces continue to abuse women and children in North Kivu (Report)
» DRC: Open letter to all members of the Security Council
» In Congo, a Little Fighting Brings a Lot of Fear (NY Times)

Building a More Secure Environment for Human Rights

Despite an international agreement in 2003 to end the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and two further agreements at the beginning of 2008 to end fighting in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, DRC remains a combat zone. Millions of Congolese have perished, and over a million more have been displaced.

As in the past, fighting is fueled by the vast mineral resources of DRC. Armed groups control mines and export minerals illegally, using the minerals or the cash obtained for them to buy more arms. A further problem concerns contracts with foreign mining companies, often granted during the war at a time when the Congolese government was strapped for cash. The government now is attempting to renegotiate some of these contracts, in order to retain a larger share of the mining operations.

Conflict in DRC can be seen as “war against women,” in which women and girls were and are being raped in great numbers, as a means of destroying their families and communities. All sides have committed these offenses. In recent months the Congolese armed forces have been responsible for the greatest number of rapes.

© International Crisis Group

All or nearly all of the contending military forces in DRC made heavy use of minors, as combatants, as porters, as cooks, and as sex slaves. More than two years after DRC launched a countrywide program to release and reintegrate child soldiers into civilian life, at least 11,000 children are still with armed groups or are unaccounted for. The majority of girls are either abandoned or misidentified as "dependents" of adult fighters. In some areas girls make up less than two percent of the children released from armed groups and passing through the DRC's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program (DDR), despite the fact that they make up approximately 40 percent of the children used by armed groups. The government has taken no steps to trace and recover these missing children. Implementation of the demobilization program has been hampered by a lack of political and military will, serious management and technical problems and continuing insecurity in eastern DRC.

Throughout the war and the 2006 election campaign, human rights defenders have faced threats, violence, and even murder. To date, few of those responsible have been punished. Unchecked impunity reflects both a lack of will and the ineffectiveness of the Congolese criminal justice system.

The United Nations Mission in DRC -- MONUC -- plays essential roles in restoring order, particularly in eastern DRC, and in providing professional training (including training on human rights) to Congolese security forces. At the same time, some MONUC personnel have been accused of participation in human rights abuses against women and girls, and of involvement in illegal trafficking of minerals and arms.

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