Reportages – en

By Glen Ford

Paul Kagame, the U.S.-backed warlord and dictator of Rwanda, last week accused France and Belgium of complicity in the mass killings in his country 20 years ago. It is true that France and Belgium, along with Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, are collectively responsible for the extermination of hundreds of millions – of whole peoples – all across the globe. However, in the case of the Rwanda genocide of 1994, the main criminals are Paul Kagame, himself, and his allies in neighboring Uganda and in the United States. After the frenzy of killing was done, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Ugandan strongman Yoweri Museveni then joined with Kagame to launch a war against the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo that has claimed six million lives – the greatest genocide, by far, since World War Two.

Janet McKnight
Abstract

It remains to be seen whether the past few months will mark a genuine turning point in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the rebel faction March 23 Movement (M23) announced the end of its 20-month insurgency against the government on 5 November 2013. News of the rebel group’s surrender following its political and military defeat signals an important moment of hope and renewed prospects of peace and stability in a region prone to protracted armed conflict. However, long-term stability in the country and in the region will require a multi-faceted process consisting of comprehensive accountability for human rights violations that have been committed by all parties to the conflict. In this article, I will first lay out the historical context of the fighting and the root causes of conflict present long before M23’s entrance onto the scene as a splintered rebel faction so as to understand M23’s place within the country’s history of protracted violence. Next, I will explain the violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by all possible parties, including rebel and government groups, as well as individual criminal responsibility and corporate liability. Lastly, I will chart the pathways of criminal and social accountability at various levels of international and domestic justice systems to see how the DRC may continue to build long-term local stability in the eastern parts of the country by addressing the question of accountability for international crimes. This brief analysis aims to provide a broader understanding of a complex conflict beyond the defeat and disarmament of M23, albeit a key group in a region of contentious cross-border conflict.

BISHONGERA, 9 April 2014 (IRIN) – It is difficult to identify the fighters of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), one of the many armed groups active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some of whose leaders played a key role in Rwanda’s genocide 20 years ago. Bearing neither uniform nor insignia, they are indistinguishable from the civilian population.

GOMA, 11 April 2014 (IRIN) – The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) has long been one of the most significant armed groups active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it has been based ever since its founders fled neighbouring Rwanda after playing a key role in the 1994 genocide.

NEW YORK / KINSHASA (9 April 2014) – Rape and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain very serious concerns, with thousands of victims, in particular in the east of the country, over the past four years, according to a UN report released Wednesday. The report also indicates that, while some progress has been made in the fight against impunity for sexual violence, much more needs to be done to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable.

This boy was 11-years-old when he became a child soldier with an armed group. The UN has described child soldiering in the DRC as "systemic"
KIWANJA (NORTH KIVU PROVINCE), 31 March 2014 (IRIN) – When he was seven Dikembe Muamba* became a soldier on the orders of his uncle, a chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu Province.

On November 28th 2011, Joseph Kabila was elected for his second term as President of Congo’s Third Republic. The elections were so controversial that a climate of turmoil reigned on the streets of Kinshasa for months. The political situation was complex. Etienne Tshisekedi, Kabila’s main challenger, considered himself as the legitimate winner, as did many of his followers. Opposition and majority were not on speaking terms, but the situation was also very confused and tense within both groups.

By Kris Berwouts

On Friday 7th and Sunday 9th of February, the Congolese opposition leader Vital Kamerhe and a delegation of his party tried to take a plane from Kinshasa to Goma, to complete a tour through eastern Congo. The authorities prevented his departure twice. There was also a strange indictment against him for an old case of defamation brought by MP Wivine Moleka. It’s possible that Kamerhe will now face a trial and up to 3 years imprisonment. Is Kabila’s former right hand man now becoming public enemy number one?

Nothing seems very logic in the DRC: the soft boiling Congolese kettle of small scale wars in the east and in the south of the country, of the ongoing political gossip and corruption in Kinshasa and the ongoing exploitation of minerals in the south was suddenly boiling on the 30-st of December of last when several targets in the country where attacked by the followers of a certain Paul Joseph Mukungubila.

Where children once played with beads and bicycle wheels, now stand only the shells of their homes: blackened wooden beams, cooking pots melted by fire, and mud blocks from the tumbled walls softening in the rain.