Democratic Republic of Congo: New ‘Kivu Security Tracker’ Maps Eastern Violence (07.12.2017)

Over 500 Killed, 1,000 Abducted in Kivu Provinces in Past 6 Months.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, December 7, 2017 – The new Kivu Security Tracker will map violence by armed groups and Congolese security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Kivu provinces, Human Rights Watch and the New York University-based Congo Research Group said today. The joint project will monitor the worst violence in North and South Kivu provinces through maps, graphs, and analytical reports.

According to initial results from the Tracker, from June to November 2017, at least 526 civilians were killed in the Kivus, at least 1,087 people were abducted or kidnapped for ransom, and there were at least 11 incidents of mass rape.

“As civilians suffer alarming attacks in eastern Congo, the Kivu Security Tracker will provide policy makers, journalists, activists, and others with an innovative new tool to better understand the violence,” said Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “We hope the Tracker will be used to more effectively address the root causes of Congo’s conflict, support communities affected, and hold those responsible to account.”

Since the Tracker began documenting incidents in June, a team of 14 Congolese researchers based across North and South Kivu have spoken daily with victims of abuses and their families, witnesses, customary chiefs, clergy, activists, and government officials to document abuses and seek to identify the armed actors responsible. Project staff in Congo and abroad then verify their reports with reliable sources before publishing incidents on the website, providing comprehensive and timely accounts that are updated as additional information becomes available.

The Tracker records violent incidents by armed groups and members of the Congolese security forces, both in armed conflict and political violence. The data set includes violent deaths, clashes between armed groups, abductions, kidnappings, mass rapes (with at least five victims in a single attack), property destruction, and the repression of peaceful political demonstrations. Nearly 800 incidents were logged during the first six months of reporting.

The Tracker is intended to promote greater understanding of events in a country facing increased violence. Last year, 922,000 people were displaced in Congo, more than anywhere else in the world. In October, the United Nations declared a “Level 3 emergency” in Congo, a category only given to three other countries: Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The Congolese conflict, however, is marked by enormous complexity – the Tracker maps areas of control for 120 armed groups in just two of the country’s 26 provinces. This has made it difficult for policymakers to devise solutions and for media to tell the story behind the violence, the organizations said.

The Tracker helps address this challenge. By highlighting patterns and trends, and through a graphic representation of the violence, it aims to make the conflict more comprehensible. The initial findings indicate that much of the violence in the Kivus goes unreported. Ninety percent of the incidents documented on the Tracker, amounting to 70 percent of violent deaths, were not mentioned at all in international media. More than half are absent from the best available academic trackers of violence.

While many factors contribute to the violence, some trends stand out. Congolese security forces were responsible for over 100 violent deaths over the past six months, more than any single armed group and roughly one fifth of total killings documented. One of the worst single incidents documented was a massacre of at least 39 Burundian refugees by Congolese security forces in Kamanyola, South Kivu, on September 15.

The Tracker’s findings also suggest that the conflict in eastern Congo has been exacerbated by the country’s general political crisis, as President Joseph Kabila has delayed elections and used violence, repression, and corruption to entrench his hold on power beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ended on December 19, 2016. Armed groups have formed coalitions to challenge Kabila’s extended presidency, while the government has cracked down violently on peaceful protesters.

“Levels of displacement in Congo today are higher than ever recorded,” said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group. “The current political crisis is not just a question of elections, but it’s about the millions affected by persistent and deadly violence. Solving the crisis will require nuanced engagement in the conflict, but also the political will to challenge those responsible.”

Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo: Millions at Risk as Funding Dries up (06.12.2017)

With 3.2 million people desperately short of food, WFP has stepped in with emergency assistance.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, December 6, 2017 – An acute hunger emergency in conflict-ravaged Greater Kasai could turn into a long-term disaster, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. While the agency has been working against the clock to help ever more people, the cash is quickly running out.

“We’re letting down those who need us most,” said Claude Jibidar, WFP’s Representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A tightly planned surge had made a big difference, Jibidar explained, but WFP had largely funded this from its own meagre resources. “Without immediate donor support, many – particularly women and children – will die.”

The eruption of violence in what used to be a poor but peaceful region has claimed countless lives. Some 1.4 million people have been forced from their homes. Traditionally high malnutrition rates have sky-rocketed.

With 3.2 million people desperately short of food, WFP has stepped in with emergency assistance. A lull in fighting has allowed more staff to be deployed. Aid workers have fanned out into the Kasai countryside. WFP has co-ordinated multi-agency logistics and humanitarian flights. As a result, the number of people assisted has grown rapidly – from 42,000 in September to 115,000 in October and 225,000 in November. Last month, 13,500 children were given special fortified foods.

But donors’ reluctance to commit to Kasai is jeopardizing this effort. While WFP plans to feed almost half a million people in December, so depleted are the agency’s coffers that only half-rations can be distributed.

Hunger not only puts lives at risk: it forces people into prostitution and increases the risk of sexual violence, Jibidar stressed. “Government partners must do all in their power to spare Kasai from the kind of decades-long humanitarian catastrophe that has plagued other DRC regions.”

 

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Opinion: USA needs to pull-out troops world-wide since they pulling out of UN Global Compact on Migration!

Now the that United States of America, the US Government officially pulled out of the United National Global Compact on Migration. This happens as the Phase 1 of negotiations are going on and the 24 elements was agreed upon in the New York Declaration. Which are elements that are vital for working of security, stability and human rights for the migrants, as stated as this: “improving cooperation in this regard between countries of origin and destination.” (Global Compact on Migration, 13.03.2017).

So now that the International Community at large are going into Phase II: “Phase 2, Stock-taking. After the consultations, there will be an intergovernmental stock-taking conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, in early December, where inputs from the consultations will be presented and discussed, then consolidated as the basis for a draft. The co-facilitators– the Swiss and Mexican governments– will produce a first draft of the Global Compact on Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration by February 2018 which will be the basis for the intergovernmental negotiations culminating in the compact (Phase 3). Negotiations should be concluded by the end of July ahead of the September conference” (Global Compact on Migration, 13.03.2017).

This meaning that the elements and pillars of rights for migration and co-operations between states will be set by the paradigm made by the consultations and previous declarations. Clearly, the United States don’t want to participate or even set agenda for positive change. They want to become a pariah state. The United States under President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are planning to become hated worldwide, to a level even President George W. Bush didn’t even achieve. By the way, that is impressive.

Why I dislike the pulling out of the United States in the UN Global Compact, is for the simple reason. They are involved in so many conflicts, they are trading so much arms and weapons worldwide. That the ones that are a warlord, are a supporter of conflicts and is initiating it too. Should take responsibility and actually make sure the refugees and the migrants from crisis are getting a new home. That should make sense for all. The US Army has troops in Somalia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Poland, Ukraine, Niger, Japan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Sudan, Estonia, Norway, South Korea, Israel and Bahrain.

So the US Army and Navy are stationed everywhere and has bases all over the globe. They are even involved and has Guam, who has been in the spotlight in the fist-fight between North Korean President Kim Yung-Un and President Trump. What is also worrying and hard to know is the estimates of trade of arms and weapons to all parts of the world. This also small-arms, fighter-planes and equipment that used to keep both allies and undemocratic regimes in power. Either for internal conflicts or for loyalty to the US. Therefore, the creation of UN Compact is so important to put migration and refugees in center, as they are fleeing conflicts in their homes and nations to get to safety. That is why the world has to make sure they have provisions and plans to shelter these individuals. They deserve better, especially from the United States.

The world cannot trust the Trump Administration, neither their actions. They should stop dropping drone attacks world-wide. They should stop supporting the Saudi Arabia’s attacks in Yemen. Their bombings in Somalia. Their initial warfare in Afganistan, they shouldn’t be involved around the Lake Chad and Nigeria, Cameroon and Sahel Region. They are just creating more refugees and migrants. While they have no honor and no pride, to actually shelter them and make sure there is international laws to cover their hurt. We know that now, Nikki Haley and the US Government has decided so.

The bravery and the proud American state is failing. The next Banana Republic with huge debt and deficit. Cannot take of their own poor and now want to make sure they are not friendly with the international community and taking responsibility for their actions. We know that now, the US is irresponsible and irrational. The Trump Administration can screw themselves in the oval office in Washington. We cannot trust the Americans anymore, they are just thinking about themselves and not about the greater good. United States is a selfish state who don’t take responsibility and that should be sanctioned, like they sanctions others. Peace.

United States Ends Participation in Global Compact on Migration (02.12.2017)

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