The UN Human Rights Office released a report on Friday, claiming that it had found that all parties to the bloody conflict had committed abuses since late 2024, including widespread sexual violence and summary executions in North and South Kivu provinces.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Non-state armed groups have plagued Eastern DRC, a region that borders Rwanda, for more than 30 years, and have experienced extreme violence.
The M23 armed group has seized large tracts of land in the restive region with Rwanda’s support since beginning to use arms at the end of 2021, sparking an armed conflict with the DRC military, leading to a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of thousands and displaced at least seven million people.
This is the first UN report to show that the abuses may have been crimes against humanity, despite numerous human rights organizations and the UN’s accusations of gross atrocities committed by parties involved in the conflict in the DRC.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk issued a statement in support of the atrocities described in this report, calling for victims’ accountability.
The findings “underscore the scale and widespread nature of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict, including acts that might constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the report continued.
In January, M23 took control of Goma, the largest city in the eastern DRC, and spread its gains throughout South and North Kivu.
Summary executions, torture, and arbitrary disappearances, according to the UN report, were carried out by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23, which may amount to crimes against humanity.
The group “degraded, punished, and broken the dignity of victims,” according to the report, which included gang rape, which was primarily committed against women.
There are credible allegations of Rwandan personnel being hid in M23, it added, and the Rwandan Defence Forces provided training and operational support for M23.
Rwanda claims that it supports M23 in self-defense against the army and Hutu militiamen linked to the genocide in 1994. Prior to now, M23 has denied carrying out atrocities.
Additionally, the report found that grave crimes, including gang rape, deliberate killing of civilians, and looting, had been committed by the DRC, the military, and affiliated armed groups, such as pro-government militia fighters known as Wazalendo.
A separate UN report revealed that between January and May of this year, more than 17, 000 sexually violent victims were treated by healthcare providers in the eastern region of the DRC.
The DRC and the rebels signed a declaration of principles on July 19 and agreed to begin negotiations for a peace deal in August after Qatar’s mediation.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply