UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
3 Mar
2009
News conference
MONUC special report on human rights situation in Ituri, the humanitarian situation in Kivu, the alarming epidemiological situation in the Kivus and the Special Representative?s activities are the highlights of the MONUC weekly news conference on Wednesday.
The Human Rights situation in the Ituri district, unknown to the public opinion, as of recently, is today one of the most dramatic in the world, says the report jointly published by MONUC Human Right and Child Protection Units and submitted to the UN Security Council on 9 August 2004, Patricia Tome, Head of the UN Public Information told the weekly news conference on Wednesday.
The report covers the period running from January 2002 to December 2003. It gives a detailed account of the conflict and information regarding the massacres and acts of violence perpetrated, most of which committed when attacking villages. The report also contains information about political assassinations, political opponents' harassments and the recruitment of children by armed groups between January 2002 and December 2003. It further highlights that the armed groups committed atrocities amid total impunity.
« Investigations conducted by MONUC and various Human Rights Associations say that between January 2002 and December 2003, approximately 8, 000 civilians ' even more ' were victims of deliberate murder or indiscriminate brutality. It would be impossible for the moment to give the estimated number of women raped or made sex slaves. Several women were kidnapped, some of whom were used as « war spouses» and others raped and subjected to sex atrocities before being released. Over 600,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes», Patricia Tome said. « Thousands of children aged between 7 and 17 were enrolled by force or voluntarily by armed groups, putting their lives in danger and denying them the right to enjoy childhood. Entire villages of all the ethnical groups taken together were completely destroyed including houses, medical facilities, schools and other public facilities», she added.
The acts of violence were committed by all the armed groups present in Ituri as well as by several movements not based in that district, namely the MLC, DRC component, RCD-ML and RCD-N). The ex-government component, Rwanda and Uganda provided military equipments, training or advice to the local armed groups at some point.
Referring to the situation in Kivu, the Head of MONUC Public Information Office highlighted that it continued to be tense. There are persisting rumours about weapons being supplied to the dissident Laurent Nkunda in the Kalehe district, clashes between Nkunda's troops and the DRC armed Forces (FARDC). There are also reports on incidents within the FARDC caused by the presence of the 'Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda' (FDLR)' in the DRC. « All this is alarming», Ms Tome said.
She recalled the visits of Vice-President Ruberwa to Rwanda, the FARDC Chief of Staff, General Kisempia to Bukavu yesterday, the Commander of the 10th military region, General Obed, and the Commander of the DRC Land Forces, General Sylvain Buki to the same district on Wednesday. « The aims of the visits are to definitely resolve the persisting months-long crisis in the region by deciding Laurent Nkunda's fate ». The next issue not the least important to resolve relates to the merging of the army « which is a critical step towards the stabilisation of the district as well as the transitional process», she further said.
The acting chief of the Humanitarian Section, Laurent Guépin, for his part, referred to the humanitarian consequences of the attacks and demonstrations against the UN. « Nearly 80 % of humanitarian assistance destined for 3.3 million vulnerable people were suspended», he recalled. However the relative truce in that part of the country has enabled the humanitarian community to resume their activities, he said. Quoting Kalehe's example, where hostilities continue delaying humanitarian relief to between 30 and 35,000 vulnerable and displaced persons, Mr. Guépin indicated that 200 tones of food and 7,000 kits of non-food stuffs would be donated by WFP and UNICEF. He also announced the meeting held with a view to exploring the means and ways to airlift humanitarian relief to the displaced people. MONUC mission, OCHA and NGOs will travel to the sites of difficult access, to assess the logistic needs before flying to the rescue of the populations.
Doctor Florent Ekwanzala of the World Health Organisation (WHO), in turn, briefed the press on the epidemiological situation in the DRC. « With the fast deterioration of social and economic situations as well as the liquefaction of the health system, we eyewitness an outbreak of epidemics», which he deplored. He further mentioned the outbreak of the measles epidemic in the Equateur, Eastern and North-Kivu provinces; of the 11,019 cases of meningitis, 1,357 patients died in Watsha and Equateur; 7 cases of viral hemorrhagic fever were reported since early 2004 in Bafwasende, Popo-Kabaka, Yambo, Yambuku, Idjwi, Pimu; 5511 cases of measles left 147 people dead in Kasaï Oriental, Goma, Bukavu, Kalemie. Doctor Ekwanzala also reported 80 cases of plagues identified, which left 4 people dead, in Ituri. « The WFP jointly with the Congolese ministry of Health, have put in place a screening mechanism with decentralised structures. A weekly epidemiological report is issued to enable a more swift detection and rapid response to any epidemiological situations occurring in the country», he said.
The Head of the Public Information also announced the return of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the DRC, William Lacy Swing to the DRC. He is back from a trip to the USA, mainly New York and Washington where he met with ambassadors from the 15 countries sitting on the Security Council in New York headquarters and the representatives of the American State Department. « The Security Council must define the terms of the MONUC's new mandate to start on 1st October based on the Secretary General's recommendations to the Security Council to be published next week», Patricia Tome further said.
Mr. Swing is due to attend the closing ceremony of the ongoing seminar for the Congolese police on Friday, 13 August 2004 in Kinshasa. The seminar started on Monday, she said. Provincial and national police inspectors and their deputies, national army staff and MONUC Civilian Police attend the seminar. « The objective of the seminar is to come up with a report proposing a future strategy on the police force to the Government», Ms Tome said
Mr. Swing is also due to fly to Bunia and Kisangani over the week end as part of his regular visits to MONUC premises across the country, she indicated.
The report covers the period running from January 2002 to December 2003. It gives a detailed account of the conflict and information regarding the massacres and acts of violence perpetrated, most of which committed when attacking villages. The report also contains information about political assassinations, political opponents' harassments and the recruitment of children by armed groups between January 2002 and December 2003. It further highlights that the armed groups committed atrocities amid total impunity.
« Investigations conducted by MONUC and various Human Rights Associations say that between January 2002 and December 2003, approximately 8, 000 civilians ' even more ' were victims of deliberate murder or indiscriminate brutality. It would be impossible for the moment to give the estimated number of women raped or made sex slaves. Several women were kidnapped, some of whom were used as « war spouses» and others raped and subjected to sex atrocities before being released. Over 600,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes», Patricia Tome said. « Thousands of children aged between 7 and 17 were enrolled by force or voluntarily by armed groups, putting their lives in danger and denying them the right to enjoy childhood. Entire villages of all the ethnical groups taken together were completely destroyed including houses, medical facilities, schools and other public facilities», she added.
The acts of violence were committed by all the armed groups present in Ituri as well as by several movements not based in that district, namely the MLC, DRC component, RCD-ML and RCD-N). The ex-government component, Rwanda and Uganda provided military equipments, training or advice to the local armed groups at some point.
Referring to the situation in Kivu, the Head of MONUC Public Information Office highlighted that it continued to be tense. There are persisting rumours about weapons being supplied to the dissident Laurent Nkunda in the Kalehe district, clashes between Nkunda's troops and the DRC armed Forces (FARDC). There are also reports on incidents within the FARDC caused by the presence of the 'Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda' (FDLR)' in the DRC. « All this is alarming», Ms Tome said.
She recalled the visits of Vice-President Ruberwa to Rwanda, the FARDC Chief of Staff, General Kisempia to Bukavu yesterday, the Commander of the 10th military region, General Obed, and the Commander of the DRC Land Forces, General Sylvain Buki to the same district on Wednesday. « The aims of the visits are to definitely resolve the persisting months-long crisis in the region by deciding Laurent Nkunda's fate ». The next issue not the least important to resolve relates to the merging of the army « which is a critical step towards the stabilisation of the district as well as the transitional process», she further said.
The acting chief of the Humanitarian Section, Laurent Guépin, for his part, referred to the humanitarian consequences of the attacks and demonstrations against the UN. « Nearly 80 % of humanitarian assistance destined for 3.3 million vulnerable people were suspended», he recalled. However the relative truce in that part of the country has enabled the humanitarian community to resume their activities, he said. Quoting Kalehe's example, where hostilities continue delaying humanitarian relief to between 30 and 35,000 vulnerable and displaced persons, Mr. Guépin indicated that 200 tones of food and 7,000 kits of non-food stuffs would be donated by WFP and UNICEF. He also announced the meeting held with a view to exploring the means and ways to airlift humanitarian relief to the displaced people. MONUC mission, OCHA and NGOs will travel to the sites of difficult access, to assess the logistic needs before flying to the rescue of the populations.
Doctor Florent Ekwanzala of the World Health Organisation (WHO), in turn, briefed the press on the epidemiological situation in the DRC. « With the fast deterioration of social and economic situations as well as the liquefaction of the health system, we eyewitness an outbreak of epidemics», which he deplored. He further mentioned the outbreak of the measles epidemic in the Equateur, Eastern and North-Kivu provinces; of the 11,019 cases of meningitis, 1,357 patients died in Watsha and Equateur; 7 cases of viral hemorrhagic fever were reported since early 2004 in Bafwasende, Popo-Kabaka, Yambo, Yambuku, Idjwi, Pimu; 5511 cases of measles left 147 people dead in Kasaï Oriental, Goma, Bukavu, Kalemie. Doctor Ekwanzala also reported 80 cases of plagues identified, which left 4 people dead, in Ituri. « The WFP jointly with the Congolese ministry of Health, have put in place a screening mechanism with decentralised structures. A weekly epidemiological report is issued to enable a more swift detection and rapid response to any epidemiological situations occurring in the country», he said.
The Head of the Public Information also announced the return of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the DRC, William Lacy Swing to the DRC. He is back from a trip to the USA, mainly New York and Washington where he met with ambassadors from the 15 countries sitting on the Security Council in New York headquarters and the representatives of the American State Department. « The Security Council must define the terms of the MONUC's new mandate to start on 1st October based on the Secretary General's recommendations to the Security Council to be published next week», Patricia Tome further said.
Mr. Swing is due to attend the closing ceremony of the ongoing seminar for the Congolese police on Friday, 13 August 2004 in Kinshasa. The seminar started on Monday, she said. Provincial and national police inspectors and their deputies, national army staff and MONUC Civilian Police attend the seminar. « The objective of the seminar is to come up with a report proposing a future strategy on the police force to the Government», Ms Tome said
Mr. Swing is also due to fly to Bunia and Kisangani over the week end as part of his regular visits to MONUC premises across the country, she indicated.
