Democratic

Congolese flee inter-ethnic violence in Equateur province

DR Congo: UN rushes food to thousands displaced by ethnic fighting

31 December 2009
The United Nations is rushing food to thousands of displaced Congolese in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where tribal clashes have driven 130,000 people from their homes.
MONUC backs DRC campaign to disarm national and foreign armed groups (file photo)

DR Congo: UN condemns death threats to its staff, human rights groups

30 December 2009
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today voiced its deep concerned over recent death threats against its human rights staff and local human rights organizations in Kalemie, in the African nation’s far east, urging the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety.
Alan Doss, Special Envoy for the DR of Congo

DR Congo: blue helmets protect thousands daily, says top UN envoy

28 December 2009
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) upholds the human rights of thousands of people every day, the top UN envoy to the African nation said today, rejecting criticism from a non-governmental organization that blue helmets are “complicit” in abuses committed by the Congolese army.
FARDC troops rest outside the MONUC Mobile Operating Base in North Kivu, DRC

DR Congo: UN peacekeepers to use ‘all necessary means’ to protect civilians

23 December 2009
Faced with widespread reports of massacres and other serious human rights abuses by Government soldiers and rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Security Council today again called on United Nations peacekeepers to “use all necessary means” to protect civilians from threats from any party.
A military rations warehouse at the MONUC training facility in South Kivu, DRC

DR Congo: UN forces, army adopt new directives with civilian protection at core

16 December 2009
United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the national army adopted new directives today for operations against rebels with the protection of civilians as the core focus following reports of massacres and other serious human rights violations by Congolese soldiers.
UN peacekeepers serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Efforts to thwart rebels in eastern DR Congo a mixed bag, says Ban

8 December 2009
Progress in bringing stability to the war-wracked east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is mixed, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, noting the heavy humanitarian toll wrought by a military operation to flush out a notorious ethnic Hutu militia.
Internally displaced Congolese on the move in North Kivu province after an FDLR attack

Global minerals, arms smuggling networks fuel DR Congo conflict – UN report

7 December 2009
Minerals and arms smuggling worth millions of dollars persists in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) despite international sanctions, fuelling rebel strength despite national army operations, and army and rebel soldiers continue to kill civilians, according to a new United Nations report that calls on the Security Council to take action to plug the gaps.