The Crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recently escalated to the point where a major city of an estimated one million inhabitants has been taken  by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels. Hundreds of thousands of Congolese in the North Kivu province have been rendered homeless and displaced due to the Rwandan-backed rebel movement. OXFAM reports that "Congolese are suffering violent abuse on a massive scale – including rape, kidnap and murder."

The response from the international community has not been commensurate with the dire conditions faced by the Congolese people. In spite of several United Nations (UN) studies that document the source of the instability and the role that Congo's neighbor, Rwanda has played in arming, training and financing the destructive M23 rebel movement inside the Congo, the response from the international community has been tepid at best and equivocal at worst.

Immediate and robust diplomatic action is required at the international level particularly at the United Nations and specifically by the United States, arguably the strongest supporter of Rwanda in the global community. The recently published UN Group of Experts report documents clearly the role that Rwanda and Uganda are playing in directing the M23 rebel movement. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and International Development Secretary Justine Greening said "We judge the overall body of evidence of Rwandan involvement with M23 in the DRC to be credible and compelling.”

In light of the UN report, the UN Security Council’s own resolution calls for decisive action. Section 8 of Resolution 2076 says “Expresses its intention to consider additional targeted sanctions, in accordance with the criteria set out in resolution 1857 (2008), against the leadership of the M23 and [those providing external support to the M23] and those acting in violation of the sanctions regime and the arms embargo, and calls on all Member States to submit, as a matter of urgency, listing proposals to the 1533 Committee;”


Take Action Now!
Send a tweet to Ambassador Rice at @ambassadorrice or call the US Mission to the United Nations at 212-415-4404 and demand that the US take decisive action against Rwanda at the UN.

1. Rwanda should be explicitly named in resolutions calling for an end to the aggression against the Congolese people by the Rwanda-backed rebels.
2. Sanctions should be imposed on high-level officials in the Rwandan government who are backing the M23 such as Minister of Defense James Kabarebe and Chief of Staff, Charles Kayonga.
3. Rwanda should be sanctioned for violation of UN embargo on supplying weapons to armed militias in the DRC.

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Demand for US/UN Action Grows

Washington Post Editorial
War looms once again in Congo

The Guardian
End the impunity of Congo's war criminals
By Navi Pillay,  United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Economist
Congo’s eastern crisis: Fraying round the edges

The Telegraph
Britain's aid to Rwanda is funding a 'repressive regime' says former Kagame official

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Get the latest updates by following us on Twitter @congofriends

Visit the FOTC resource center for news, analyses, reports, resolutions, videos, interviews, Q & A  about the current crisis and more action that you can take.

Support our organizing efforts inside and outside the Congo.

The youth uprising in Kisangani has been fueled by the taking over by M23 of the city of Goma. Kisangani is a town in Orientale Province, right about North Kivu where Goma is the capital.

Since Saturday last week, the people in Kisangani are living with no electricity and no water. The population was already planning to protest against this ongoing problem. After meetings, they decided to plan a rally today and because of the situation in Goma, tension grew among the protesters.



What is going on in Kisangani?

1. PPRD office in the commune of Makiso has been set on fire. PPRD is the acronym of Congolese president Kabila's party.

2. A fire truck sent to put down the fire at the PPRD office has been set on fire by the protesters just right in front of that office.

3. The provincial office has been set on fire also.

4. Two MONUSCO offices (UN) have been set on fire.

a. The one near ONATRA has been ransacked and some parts set on fire. The guard outposts have been burned down. The entrance of the compound have been destroyed.To protect it now, they have put a trailer truck at the entrance so no more protesters come in.
b. the other near the old Mobutu house by the Congo river (in the Ex Amis Congo neighborhood) also was ransacked. People are throwing stones at that UN compound.

5. Provincial parliament building was attacked but the police is protecting it and using live bullets to disperse the protesters.

6. A church was also burned down. It is called Eglise JSS. It is located in Kabondo on 13th avenue. The founder of the church is called Jean Marie Runiga. If you have been watching the M23 news, you probably know that he left Kisangani to go join the rebels since early July. Read here!

7. CENI office has been set on fire too. CENI is the electoral commission in Congo. The police, army, and republican guards are now around it to protect it.

8. The house of the former governor of Oriental Province has been set on fire too.

9. A shop called Alimentation FOCAD in Rond Point SGA was also set on fire. The owner of this store is the current chief of staff of the ground forces of the Congolese army. Neighboring stores caught on fire and the whole side is burning.

10. IBTP (university) students in Kisangani are fighting the police as officers circled them so that they could not join the other protesters.

Support The Youth!

Click here to support the Congolese youth inside the DRC.

Contact @Kambale on Twitter for updates.

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would have liked to begin my speech with the usual formulation, “I have the honor and privilege of taking the floor before you.” Alas! The women victims of sexual violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are in dishonor. I constantly with my own eyes see the vague stare of the elder women, the children, the mothers who are dishonored. Still today, many are subjected to sexual slavery; others are used as a weapon of war. Their organs are exposed to the most heinous abuse, often without access to medical care.

And this has been going on for sixteen years! Sixteen years of wanderings; sixteen years of torture; sixteen years of mutilation; sixteen years of the destruction of women, the only vital Congolese resource; sixteen years of breakdown of an entire society. Certainly your respective countries have done much to address the consequences, and we are very grateful for that.

I would have liked to also say “I have the honor of being part of the international community that you represent here.” but I cannot. How can I say this to you, representatives of the international community, when the international community has shown its fear and lack of courage during these sixteen years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I would have liked to say as well “I have the honor of representing my country,” but I cannot. In fact, how can one be proud of belonging to a nation without defense, left to itself, completely pillaged and powerless in the face of five hundred thousands of its girls raped during sixteen years; six million of its sons and daughters killed during sixteen years without any lasting solution in sight?

No, I do not have the honor, nor the privilege to be here today. My heart is heavy. My honor, it is rather to be with these courageous women victims of sexual violence, these women who resist, these women who despite all remain standing.

Today, thanks to the report by the UN Group of Experts, the Mapping Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, and many other credible reports, no one can continue to hide behind the argument of the complexity of the crisis. We know now the motivations behind this crisis and its different actors. What is missing is the political will.

Excellencies, Ambassadors; it is with great humility that i tell you that we need courage to stop this crisis that has lasted for far too long. Sixteen years is too much. We do not need more proof. We need action, urgent action, to arrest those responsible for these crimes against humanity and to bring them to justice. And justice is not negotiable. We need your unanimous condemnation of the rebel groups who are responsible for these acts. We also need concrete actions with regard to member states of the United Nations who support these barbarities from near or afar.

We are facing a humanitarian emergency that no longer has room for equivocation. All the ingredients are there to put an end to an unjust war that has used violence against women and rape as a strategy of war. Congolese women have the right to protection just as all the women on this planet.

Shelving all these credible reports will gravely harm the credibility of the various United Nations resolutions requiring the protection of women in times of conflict and will entirely discredit our dear institution, which is supposed to ensure the non repetition of genocide.

The advances made by our civilization are declining; they are declining through new barbarities that we are seeing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Syria; but also through the deafening silence and the lack of courage of the international community. We cannot silence the truth as it is persistent. We should rather confront it to avoid betraying our ideals.

I have the honor to say that the courage of women victims of sexual violence in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will, in the end, overcome this evil.

Help them restore peace!

Thank you.

1. The Security Council expresses its deep concern regarding the deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to ongoing military and other destabilizing activities of the 23 March Movement (M23) as well as other armed groups.

2. The Security Council strongly condemns the M23 and all its attacks on the civilian population, United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian actors, as well as its abuses of human rights, including summary executions, sexual and gender based violence and large scale recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Security Council also condemns the attempts by the M23 to establish a parallel administration and to undermine State authority. The Security Council demands that the M23 and other armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), cease immediately all forms of violence and other destabilizing activities.

3. The Security Council calls for perpetrators, including individuals responsible for violence against children and acts of sexual violence, to be apprehended, brought to justice and held accountable for violations of applicable international law. The Security Council expresses its intention to apply targeted sanctions against the leadership of the M23 and those acting in violation of the sanctions regime and the arms embargo and calls on all Member States to submit, as a matter of urgency, listing proposals to the 1533 Committee.

4. The Security Council expresses its deep concern with the increasing number of displaced persons and refugees, with 320,000 people displaced from their homes in North Kivu province since the M23 mutiny started in April 2012. It calls on all parties, in particular the M23, to allow safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access to the areas under the control of M23 and in the wider region in accordance with international law, including applicable international humanitarian law and the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance. It expresses concern about the shortfall in funding for humanitarian assistance and reiterates its call on the international community to provide appropriate humanitarian support. It also expresses concern at the possible negative impact of the prevailing situation in North Kivu on the security and humanitarian situation in South Kivu.

5. The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC and emphasizes the need to respect fully the principles of non-interference, good neighborliness and regional cooperation. It reiterates its strong condemnation of any and all external support to the M23. In this regard, the Security Council expresses deep concern at reports indicating that such support continues to be provided to the M23 by neighboring countries. The Security Council demands that any and all outside support to the M23 as well as other armed groups cease immediately.

6. The Security Council calls upon all countries in the region to condemn the M23 as well as other armed groups and to cooperate actively with the Congolese authorities in disarming and demobilizing the M23 as well as other armed groups and dismantling the M23 parallel administration.

7. The Security Council emphasizes the primary responsibility of the Government of the DRC to reinforce State authority and governance in eastern DRC, including through effective security sector reform to allow army and police reform, and to end impunity for abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and urges the Government of the DRC to address issues of illegal exploitation and smuggling of natural resources.

8. The Security Council welcomes the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General as well as of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union, to restore peace and security in Eastern DRC. It also stresses the urgency of constructive engagement and dialogue between the DRC and its neighbors, especially Rwanda, and the need to address the underlying causes of the conflict in eastern DRC. It calls on the UN Secretary General to continue his good offices and to explore, when appropriate, further high-level diplomatic mechanisms to facilitate enhanced dialogue between relevant parties, including on the underlying causes of the conflict.

9. The Security Council welcomes the establishment of the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), which was launched by the ICGLR on 14 September as an important starting point for rebuilding confidence between the DRC and Rwanda. It further welcomes the support provided by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to the EJVM and encourages, in coordination with ICGLR members, the participation of MONUSCO, as appropriate and within the limits of its capacities and mandate, in the activities of the EJVM and the reporting on any flow of arms and related materiel across borders of Eastern DRC.

10. The Security Council takes note of the decisions by the ICGLR and the AU regarding the deployment of a “Neutral International Force” in eastern DRC and takes note of the ongoing coordination efforts between these organizations and the United Nations to clarify the objectives, modalities and means of the proposed Force in relation to MONUSCO.

11. The Security Council expresses its full support to the UN Group of Experts of the 1533 Committee and calls for enhanced cooperation between all States, particularly those in the region, and the Group of Experts, encourages further that all parties and all States ensure cooperation with the Group of Experts by individuals and entities within their jurisdiction or under their control and reiterates its demand that all parties and all States ensure the safety of its members, and unhindered and immediate access, in particular to persons, documents and sites the Group of Experts deems relevant to the execution of its mandate.

12. The Security Council expresses its full support to MONUSCO and commends the active measures it has taken to implement its mandate in eastern DRC, especially protecting civilians, and encourages the continuation of these efforts. The Security Council requests the Secretary General to present to the Security Council a special report on possible options, and their implications, for reinforcing the ability of MONUSCO to implement its mandate, including to protect civilians and report on flows of arms and related materiel across borders of Eastern DRC, focusing in particular on force multipliers. It calls on all parties to cooperate fully with the Mission and reiterates its condemnation of any attacks on its peacekeepers. The Security Council recalls that the Congolese Government bears the primary responsibility for ensuring security in its territory and protecting its civilians. The Security Council recalls the importance of close consultations with troop- and police- contributing countries.

Source: http://www.franceonu.org/france-at-the-united-nations/geographic-files/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/article/democratic-republic-of-congo

Dear Friends,

I greet you in the midst of these very trying times for my country. Since April, nearly a half million Congolese have been displaced and rendered homeless by a Rwandan-backed rebel movement in the east of our country. A United Nations Group of Experts report says Rwanda is training, arming and financing rebels that have destabilized the east of the Congo.

The reason we host Congo Week in the month of October is because it was in October 1996 that mainly Rwanda and Uganda first invaded the Congo and triggered the catastrophic crisis that we have endured for the past 16 years. Since we began Congo Week in 2008, sixty countries and over 300 communities have joined us to demonstrate their support and value for Congolese lives.

Due to your support along with others throughout the globe, world leaders are finally listening to Congolese voices and applying pressure to the dominant source of the instability in the east of our country. The United States, Netherlands, Sweden and a number of other donor nations are finally holding the Rwandan government accountable by withholding aid as a result of Rwanda's support for rebel groups inside the Congo.

As youth and future leaders of our country, we are clear that Congo's challenge is both external and internal. Young people will gather throughout the country during Congo Week (October 14 - 20, 2012) to discuss and examine the path that Congo took to arrive in its current condition and build on strategies for realizing peaceful and lasting change.

We call on you to join us in addressing our external challenges as we face and tackle the various internal forces that have rendered our country dependent, impoverished and unstable.

This is an historic opportunity for you to be a part of the global movement to bring an end to what is described as the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century and the deadliest conflict since World War Two.

We encourage you to seize the moment and become a part of a noble pursuit for justice and human dignity in the heart of Africa, my home, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Samya Lugoma
Student Coordinator
Friends of the Congo

Sign-up for Congo Week!
http://congoweek.org/participation-form.html

Support Congo Week!
http://www.congoweek.org/donate.html

Remember to post your event on the events calendar:
http://congoweek.org/component/events/

Share the Congo Week promotional video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0AWeWvMkHk

Download Congo Week Organizers Tool Kit and Materials:
http://congoweek.org/downloads.html

Screen our film Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth
http://congojustice.org

Participate in the CELL-OUT, on October 17, 2012. The CELL-OUT is a one-hour digital moment of silence in support of the Congolese people.
http://congoweek.org/the-cell-out.html

Follow us on Twitter @congofriends and tweet your support using hashtags #CongoWeek and #CW2012 leading up to and during Congo Week.

Since the middle of July, religious leaders throughout the Congo have been organizing to collect signatures from Congolese citizens as a form of demonstration against Rwanda's aggression against the Congolese people through support of the rebel group M23.

The petition touch on several key themes:
1. No to the balkanization (break up) of the Congo.

2. A cessation of Rwandan aggression against the Congolese people.

3. No negotiations with the rebel group M23.

4. Calls for justice for the people of the Congo who have been victims of myriad war criminals.
Radio Okapi reported that the church leaders collected 1 million signatures.

The petitions have already been presented to the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raymond Tshibanda. The petitions will next be presented to the United Nations. The key ask from the petition is for the United Nations and the international community to help bring an end to the ongoing conflict in the Congo.

13.1 On DRC,  Summit noted with great concern that  the security situation in the Eastern  part of  DRC has deteriorated in the last  three (3) months, causing displacement of people and loss of lives and property. Summit  also  noted that this is being perpetrated by rebel groups with assistance of Rwanda, and urged the latter to cease immediately its interference that constitutes a threat to peace and stability, not only of the DRC, but also of the SADC Region.4 This situation has called for renewed and urgent attention by the Summit which fielded an Assessment Mission to the DRC. Summit endorsed a Report of the Mission which recommended appropriate action to address the security situation in the Eastern part of DRC.  Summit further mandated the Chairperson of SADC to undertake a mission to Rwanda to engage the Government of Rwanda with the aim of urging Rwanda to stop military support to armed rebels in the DRC, the so-called M23. Summit  also urged  Member States and the international Community to provide humanitarian relief to the displaced people in the Eastern part of DRC.

13.2 Summit directed the SADC Secretariat to collaborate with the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region Secretariat in pursuit of peace and security in the Eastern DRC.

Click here to download entire communique!

Keris Dahlkamp began his 22 mile 14 hour swim for Congo across Lake Tahoe today at 1:00 AM. Keris is using his talent to raise awareness about the situation in the Congo and raise funds (click here to make a contribution) for the Congo Connect Youth Initiative.


Follow Keris' swimmer via @kambale on twitter. Below are a few updates:










kambale

The Obama Administration Withholds Military Aid From Rwanda
On Saturday, July 21, 2012 the United States officially announced that it was withholding $200,000 in military aid from the Rwandan government. Although a materially insignificant sum, the symbolism has serious implications for Rwanda's image and reputation in the global community.

In withholding aid from Rwanda, President Obama is following in the footsteps of the Bush administration who pressured Rwanda to withdraw its soldiers from the Congo in 2002. In addition, the Obama administration has taken a small step in implementing the Democratic Republic of Congo Relief Security and Democracy Promotion Act, PL 109-456 - a law that he sponsored as Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-sponsored. Section 105 of the law says:

"The Secretary of State is authorized to withhold assistance made available under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), other than humanitarian, peacekeeping, and counter terrorism assistance, for a foreign country if the Secretary determines that the government of the foreign country is taking actions to destabilize the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

Friends of the Congo maintains that Rwanda's repeated interventions in the Congo since 1996 has been the major obstacle to peace and stability in the region. Rwanda along with its ally Uganda have invaded the Congo twice (1996 & 1998); occupied the Congo 1997 - 2002; sponsored proxy rebel groups, mainly the Rally For Congolese Democracy (RCD), National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), and M23; fought a "six-day war" against Uganda on Congolese soil over diamonds in Kisangani in 2000 killing over 1,000 Congolese and injuring scores. Yet, Rwanda has escaped serious sanctions and have operated with impunity in the Congo primarily via its support of rebel groups with devastating consequences for Congolese civilians.

The withholding of aid by the United States government is significant because, it:
1. Sends a strong signal to Paul Kagame and the Rwandan government that they no longer have carte-blanche to destabilize the Congo.

2. Endorses the UN Group of Experts findings, which Rwanda vehemently denies.

3. Communicates a clear message to Rwanda that although its people are victims of a genocide it does not entitle the government to sponsor mayhem and atrocities in the Congo.

4. Clears the way for other donors to follow the US lead in withholding aid from Rwanda. The Netherlands is the first nation to follow in the footsteps of the United States by withholding aid from Rwanda.

5. Announces to the global community that it will no longer provide diplomatic cover for Rwanda's aggression against the Congo.

6. Sets in motion a process that will increasingly hold Rwanda to account for destabilizing the Congo. See Stephen Rapp's statements about the possibility of Paul Kagame facing prosecution at the international criminal court for arming groups responsible for atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

7. Says to Rwanda that good management of aid dollars does not give it license to flagrantly violate international law and destabilize a neighbor.

8. Establishes standards or parameters for accountability at the international level.

9. Hits Rwanda with the reality that it is not beyond reproach even if it has friends in high places (President Clinton, a staunch supporter of President Paul Kagame had just left Rwanda when the State Department announced the cutting of aid).

10. Injects a critical variable into the equation when Rwanda contemplates the implications for destabilizing the Congo in particular and the region in general.

The Congolese people are yearning for some measure of accountability, justice and an end to the impunity, not only locally but also regionally and internationally. The United States has the tools at its disposal to play a key constructive role in advancing peace and stability in the region. As the United States continue "to assess whether other steps should be taken," the government ought to be encouraged and pressured to do more until the political, military and economic stranglehold that Rwanda has on eastern Congo via its proxies is broken. Peace and stability in the region can be advanced significantly should Rwanda cease its support of rebel groups, initiate an inter-Rwandan dialogue and scale back its ambitions to control the Kivus for its economic benefit.

The US Government Statement on Withholding Aid From Rwanda
http://congofriends.blogspot.com/2012/07/us-statement-on-withholding-aid-from.html

FOTC Petition Calling on the US To Enforce Public Law 109-456
http://www.change.org/petitions/secretary-of-state-hillary-clinton-help-end-the-conflict-in-the-congo

Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth
http://congojustice.org

In light of information that Rwanda is supporting armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Department of State has decided it can no longer provide Foreign Military Financing (FMF) appropriated in the current fiscal year to Rwanda, considering a restriction imposed by the 2012 appropriation act.

As a result, we will not obligate $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2012 FMF funds that were intended to support a Rwandan academy for non-commissioned officers.  These funds will be reallocated for programming in another country.

We will continue to provide assistance to Rwanda to enhance its capacity to support peacekeeping missions.

The Department continues to assess whether other steps should be taken in response to Rwanda’s actions with respect to the DRC.

The United States government is deeply concerned about the evidence that Rwanda is implicated in the provision of support to Congolese rebel groups, including M23.

The United States has been actively engaged at the highest levels to urge Rwanda to halt and prevent the provision of such support, which threatens to undermine stability in the region.

Restraint, dialogue, and respect for each other’s sovereignty offer the best opportunity for Rwanda and the DRC, with the support of their partners, to resume the difficult work of bringing peace and security to the broader region.

We are encouraged by the ongoing high-level dialogue among the states of the Great Lakes region, and we join the Security Council in taking note with interest of the communiqué issued by the eleven member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on July 12.

Developing a disciplined and unified army as part of a comprehensive security sector reform process remains critical to the stabilization of the DRC.

We support efforts to bring to justice alleged human rights abusers among the mutineers, including Bosco Ntaganda, who is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. We are concerned by reports that the mutineers have forcibly recruited child soldiers.

Hilary Fuller Renner
Spokesperson
Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Department of State