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 Loading... Congo atrocities test UN human rights body
swissinfo
Geneva, Simon Bradley / swissinfo - Diplomats at the Geneva-based council are on Friday holding an emergency meeting to examine allegations of mass killings, rape and torture committed by DRC government soldiers and rebels, as described in a new UN report. The report published last week by the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said members of the Congolese army and national police "were responsible for a large number of serious human rights violations … namely arbitrary executions, rape, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment." Congolese Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda’s Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP), other rebel groups and Rwandan militia accused of taking part in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, "perpetrated serious human rights abuses with impunity", it stated. The UN report, which covers conditions between July and November, said the crisis in North Kivu had "entered a critical phase" and, if allowed to fester, would deepen ethnic conflicts in the region. In the current climate, the possibility of massacres of civilians cannot be ruled out, it declared. "Unfortunately there is a major risk of inter-communal violence," Bob Kabamba, professor at Liège University and Congo specialist, told swissinfo. "Groups will form together and want to start attacking other communities and this action will result in reprisals." The details of mass killings and rapes emerged as Human Rights Watch released a separate report estimating that as many as 500 political opponents of President Joseph Kabila’s government had been murdered since 2006 elsewhere in Congo. It described the human rights situation in the DRC as "a cause for grave concern" despite a current lull in fighting. Aid agencies say up to 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the past few months in the east for crowded, chaotic and unsanitary refugee camps, falling prey to the DRC’s army, rebel groups and other militias. The Kinshasa authorities do not grasp the seriousness of what is going on in the east of their country, said Kabamba. "An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is taking place in the east but there are no central government officials there helping the province deal with the crisis," he said. Speedy response The Geneva meeting was called at the request of mainly European and Latin American states following a request from 50 activist groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, for the 47-nation council to take action over the Congo crisis. French Mission spokesman Gael Morand said European countries gathered the necessary 16 signatures from council members late Tuesday to call an urgent session of the Geneva-based council within 48 hours. In total the request was signed by 39 states, including Argentina, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and Ukraine. "Switzerland is associated with this call for a special session as we feel the violations in the region are particularly serious and require a speedy response," Swiss human rights diplomat Muriel Berset told a UN meeting on Wednesday. "We need to bring on board all countries, especially those from the region… as the council will be judged on its capacity to react to human rights violations in eastern DRC." Credible consensus? African countries were noticeably absent from discussions earlier in the week. But according to the representative of the African regional group, Deputy Representative of the Egyptian Mission Ihab Gamaleldin, the African group is keen to dispel misconceptions and to "reach consensus" on the situation. "The African group has never been against holding a special session on the DRC," said Gamaleldin on Thursday, adding that extra time was necessary for the arrival of a high-level DRC government representative on Friday. "This is a very important signal," said Berset, echoing many other states. The drafts presented by the EU and African groups were due to be examined late on Thursday with the aim of agreeing on a joint text for discussion on Friday. The main proposals of the EU text included a strong message of condemnation of violations, commitment to fight impunity, support for international and regional peace efforts and stronger investigative mechanisms, allowing thematic special rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions to join a panel which will report back to the council in March 2009. "The situation in North Kivu is a matter of serious concern," said French diplomat Daniel Vosgien, representing the EU group. "The credibility of the council is at stake." Julie de Rivero, the Geneva director of Human Rights Watch, echoed this sentiment. "We’d like to see the Human Rights Council actually make a difference," she said. "I think its credibility is very much at stake as this is a very clear-cut case of gross and systematic human rights violations on an enormous scale. The council needs to send a strong message to all the warring parties that there are consequences for their acts and that these violations constitute war crimes for which they can be made accountable." See online: 8th Special session of the Human Rights Council
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