Hate speech has cost the lives of UN peacekeepers and civilians on the ground they are there to protect in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the head of MONUSCO, the UN mission there, has said, but new initiatives to counter the scourge are making a difference. 

Bintou Keita, who’s also the UN Special Representative in DRC, told UN News MONUSCO was countering fake-news and intolerance online, and the Government is working effectively to crack down on hate. 

She began by telling Alban Mendes de Leon about the growing instability in eastern DRC caused by the many armed groups operating in the area, including M23 and the ADF – noting that despite the fighting across three provinces, most of the country was relatively secure and peaceful.