Kinshasa, 16 October 2013: “I congratulate Dr. Mukwege from the bottom of my heart. The Civil Courage Prize is the recognition of his work and of the whole staff of Panzi Hospital. More generally, it honors all those who fight heroically against sexual violence in the eastern D.R. Congo. It sends a strong message to the Congolese people: we must stand together and put an end to these atrocious human rights violations. We must put an end to sexual…
“MONUSCO air missions shall proceed” Kinshasa, 11 October 2013 – This afternoon, an unarmed MONUSCO helicopter came under direct fire from positions held by the March 23 (M23) rebel movement in the Rumangabo region. The Head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler, condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms and recalled that MONUSCO air missions shall proceed. Mr. Martin Kobler further said: “M23 rebels will not prevent us from using the Congolese…
CPAD, an NGO organized a three-month training session in IT, marketing, English, and sewing for 50 women. MONUSCO financed this training through one of its Quick Impact Projects (QIP). On 16 August 2013, Sodeico, a Congolese recruiting agency and a partner of CPAD, organized a recruitment test for 22 women trained in IT, English and marketing in Kinshasa. On 13 September 2013, four women who passed the written tests were invited for oral…
7 octobre 2013 – As part of an official visit to countries in Africa's Great Lakes region, the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council have over the past few days met with various heads of State to discuss the implementation of the broad based peace accord agreed earlier this year. Signed in February by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) along with 10 other countries and four regional and international institutions under UN…
Kinshasa, 5 October 2013 - A delegation of the UN Security Council arrived in Kinshasa on 4 October for a three-day visit, aiming to reiterate the Council's support for the peace process, especially for the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in the D. R. Congo, Martin Kobler, who joined…
28 September 2013 – The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Saturday voiced deep concern at the escape from prison of two national army officers who were convicted of gross human rights violations, including rape and murder. A colonel in the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) escaped from Bukavu prison in the eastern province of South Kivu during the night of 21-22 September, less than two weeks after he was…
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo launches the second edition of the UNV photo contest. The photo contest is open to all those who have a volunteer mind. The winning photos will be shown at the International Volunteer Day on November 30, 2013 in Goma, and on December 5th, 2013, in Kinshasa. Send us your picture to volunteers.drc@gmail.com by November 3rd, 2013. For more information, consult the…
Kinshasa, 28 September 2013: In the night of 21-22 September 2013, one FARDC colonel escaped from Bukavu prison less than two weeks after he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Military Court of South-Kivu province. The colonel escaped along with another inmate, an FARDC Major. The two military officers were sentenced by a mobile court hearing organized with the support of MONUSCO for gross human rights violations including rape and murder…
25 September 2013 – President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) warned today that the selfishness of some States could threaten efforts to set a new sustainable development agenda for the decades ahead. "At a time when the question of post-2015 development is high on the agenda, the international community is more and more marked by the failure of certain of its members to respect the fundamental principles of…
25 September 2013 – Progress has been made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in putting in place a legal regime to combat impunity for human rights violations, but the rights situation in the east of the country continues to deteriorate, according to a new United Nations report presented to the press in Kinshasa today. The report, the latest on the rights situation in the country by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay…