Goma, 6 July 2011 - The area of Lukweti/Mutongo, that lies between Masisi and Walikale territories, in Nord Kivu province, has in recent times been a battlefield for different armed groups. These battles, the root causes of which are mainly tribal, have sadly left in their trails virtually empty villages. More than 20,000 people have been displaced and their plight is being aggravated by among other things, reported incessant sexual assault by…
Bukavu, 4 July 2011 – When 17 staff members of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Roads Department of the DRC embarked on a journey from Bukavu to Sabunda on 12 June little did they know what was ahead of them. For security reasons they were escorted by 40 elements of the Sud-Kivu brigade. This was…
Kinshasa, 10 July 2011: The United Nations in the DRC expresses its solidarity with the Congolese Government and people after the crash on Friday 8 July of a passenger airliner at Kisangani airport. In this regard, the United Nations also wishes to express its condolences to the families of those killed and injured, and to offer within available resources all possible support to the Congolese authorities. To this end, MONUSCO's Bangladeshi and…
Kinshasa, 7 July 2011 - As they rose from their three-day meeting in Kinshasa today, Heads of Offices of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) will be returning to their various bases satisfied that they were better equipped to successfully translate the new Security Council Resolution, 1991 that extended the Mission's mandate for another year into action. They were in Kinshasa for…
Investigation into mass rapes and other human rights violations in Walikale reveals prevailing lack of accountability Kinshasa/Geneva, 6 July 2011: A UN investigation into serious human rights violations perpetrated in Walikale territory, North Kivu, where more than 387 people were raped between 30 July and 2 August last year, reveals continuing lack of accountability, justice and security for victims, according to a report released today. The…
Kinshasa, 4 July 2011 - Four years on, exactly since July 2007, the Civil Affairs Section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and its partners, including the European Union (EU), the South African-based Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA), and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), in cooperation with the Congolese Ministry of Planning, have bolstered…
Goma, 23 June 2011 – The Indian Battalion of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) inaugurated a community centre along with a kindergarten block in Kurumba, a small towm located some 200 km north of Goma, the provincial capital of Nord-Kivu on 14 June. Through this initiative, the Indian peacekeepers are expected to provide basic English courses, sewing, and the use of computers for young men and…
Beni, 25 June 2011 – The United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) lent its support to the High Court of Goma to set up a mobile court in Kasindi, a town in Nord-Kivu province, at the border with Uganda. The five-day trial opened on 23 June 2011. This activity is part of MONUSCO'S legal assistance to the DRC's judiciary system pursuant to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program of the Canadian…
Kinshasa, 24 June 2011 - The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, held annually on 26 June, was celebrated In Kinshasa on the 24 of June. Key official figures who attended the ceremony included the Minister of Human Rights and Justice, Mr. Luzolo Bambi, and the Deputy-Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in DRC, Ms Leila Zerrougui. Along with them were several representatives of human rights and civil…
Beni, 25 June 2011 – The Nord Kivu-based office of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) organized between 17 and 25 June an all-encompassing sensitization program for sections of the Congolese National Armed Forces (FARDC), National Police (PNC), National Intelligence Agency (ANR), civil society organizations and community leaders. The participants were drawn from the districts of Luna, Mutwanga…