In Sange, Martin Kobler promises the displaced from Mutarule he will plead their case with the Congo

6 mai 2015

In Sange, Martin Kobler promises the displaced from Mutarule he will plead their case with the Congo

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in the DR Congo made that promise on Monday, 4 May 2015 during his security evaluation trip to Uvira territory, South Kivu. On this visit, his third to the region in 11 months, Martin Kobler observed that little had been done for people displaced from Mutarule nearly a year ago to return to their village. Mr. Kobler promised he would continue advocating with the provincial and national authorities to address the case of the Ruzizi Plain in general and Mutarule in particular.


Uvira, 4 May 2015 -
Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, paid a working visit to Uvira territory, South Kivu province, on Monday, 4 May 2015.

He was accompanied by Mr José Maria Aranaz , Director of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC, Mme Christine Kapalata, Acting Head of MONUSCO Office in South Kivu, and General Ayyaz Massod, Commander of the South Kivu Brigade of MONUSCO.

Authorities of Uvira territory and representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Commission for Refugees (CNR) also joined Mr. Kobler in Mutarule where he began his visit by paying homage at the graves of the victims of the August 2013 and June 2014 massacres.

From Mutarule, Mr. Kobler returned to Sange, which is about 15 km away. There he first met with a delegation of the population displaced from Mutarule. Once again he expressed his sympathy and promised that MONUSCO would continue to plead with the national and provincial authorities to create the conditions in Mutarule and the entire Ruzizi Plain for these people to return to their homes.

Mr. Kobler heard the same message from all his interlocutors, including representatives of the displaced from Mutarule and the Coalition of Women Members of the Local Protection Committee (representing all the communities). They all said the conditions necessary for their return to Mutarule were far from being met.

On this visit, Mr. Kobler sought to understand why nearly one year after the massacres of June 2014, people who had fled from Mutarule to Sange and its surroundings have still not returned to their area of origin. Addressing them Mr. Kobler said: “This is the third time in less than a year that I come here, and I see that not much has changed. Help me to understand what is preventing you from returning to your homes.” He added: « Let me know your demands so I can convey them to the Government.”

The displaced presented a list of demands. These included restoring security which they said is dependent on the disarmament of all the militia groups sustained by the different communities, or on the erection of a security cordon around Mutarule to prevent any militia infiltration; and removing the commanders of the FARDC regiments (3304 and 3305), who, they said, are suspected to have participated or at least turned a blind eye to the 2014 massacres. Moreover, they demanded rehabilitation of houses, schools, health centers and other infrastructure that were destroyed; provision of food and non-food assistance, as well as micro-credits to allow them to start small development projects to fight the poverty that prevails in their community.

Martin Kobler and his delegation took note of these grievances and promised « to do every effort to ensure the question of Mutarule is not forgotten, ». The Special Representative recalled however that MONUSCO was not there to replace the Government, but he said he continue to plead the cause of Mutarule within the framework of the regular exchanges with the Congolese authorities.

From Sange, the Special Representative flew to Uvira where he interacted with Burundian refugees in the HCR transition camp at Kavimvira. Martin Kobler listened to the grievances of these men and women who said they had fled insecurity in their country and who, while praising the work being done by HCR and its partners, said they were living in difficult conditions. They said many of them were still in the forests and that others were sleeping out in the open without assistance and were suffering from numerous diseases. They expressed their wish to be all assembled on the same site. Martin Kobler promised the UN family would not abandon them.

It was shortly before 17:00 (local time) when the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General in the DRC and his delegation left Uvira heading for for Goma, in North Kivu.

Jean-Tobie Okala/MONUSCO