Moise Katumbi: Declaration Politique (29.09.2018)

UNHCR alarm at recent attacks and rising displacement in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (28.09.2018)

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 28, 2018 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is gravely concerned for the safety of tens of thousands of civilians in the north-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where violence by armed groups has recently claimed more than 20 lives.The attacks are on the rise in the Beni area of North Kivu Province and further north in Ituri Province, both situated near the border with Uganda. It is estimated that more than a million people are displaced in North Kivu. An estimated half a million people have been forced from their homes this year alone.

UNHCR is calling on all parties involved in the conflict to protect and respect the lives of civilians displaced in a region that is already having to respond to a deadly outbreak of Ebola.

An attack by the main rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces – National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-Nalu) in the city of Beni in North Kivu last weekend killed more than 20 people, most of them civilians. While these groups have previously been active around Beni, it is the first time that fighting has reached the city itself. In another attack on Oicha, a town nearby Beni, an armed group, presumably also from ADF-Nalu, shot dead a 47-year-old man, abducted at least nine children, then looted and burned houses.

UNHCR staff report a sharp rise in abuses against civilians and in displacement in the Beni area over the past months, where alone in August some 13,000 people had to flee their homes. While rising tension and protests by the local population against the insecurity have slowed some humanitarian activities, UNHCR plans to extend its activities on behalf of the conflict-affected population.

The latest displacements in Beni further increase humanitarian misery in North Kivu – a province that has the highest number of internally displaced people in all DR Congo. The city is reported tense since Sunday with people in shock. A “Ville Morte” (“Dead City”) situation means that all shops are closed, nobody is at work, schools are closed and there has been no traffic inside the city since Monday. Many humanitarian workers have had to put activities on hold this week as a result. UNHCR is preparing shelter assistance for the most vulnerable among the displaced in the region, and other measures to improve the protection of a rising number of displaced in urban areas.

Further north, in Djugu Territory, Ituri province, a series of new attacks are destabilizing the area which was on the way to stabilization after having been shaken by massive violence in the first half of the year, displacing an estimated 350,000 people. This return to peace is now being threatened, and UNHCR staff report 16,000 people fleeing their homes, many of them for the second time in one year.

Some of the displaced in Ituri have again joined their former host families but others lack proper shelter and are forced to live in the open. They are in urgent need of shelter materials, food and medicines.

In Uganda, on the other side of the Lake Albert, the number of people fleeing the DRC has remained largely stable so far. The average arrivals rate is 200 people per day, or 6,000 new refugees per month – with a slight increase over the past few days. However, refugee arrivals represent only a tiny fraction of the much larger daily movement of people between DRC and Uganda – including traders, family visits and others.

UNHCR is meanwhile contributing to efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ugandan government to screen people crossing the border into Uganda, and has established procedures to medically screen refugees. No cases are reported in the refugee population.

UNHCR has 3 transit centres, multiple collection points and two refugee settlements in Kyangwali and Kyaka to accommodate the new arrivals from the DRC. We are working with the authorities on contingency planning and are ready to receive more refugees.

At the refugee reception and the transit centres, all new arrivals pass through the medical and hygiene screening points. Health staff screen every new arrival using the infra-red thermometer and symptom checklist that includes the villages of origin and where they have passed.

Arrangements are in place to detect suspected and alert cases who are to be isolated in the established medical isolation tents and with the district surveillance team notified.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: A family business (26.09.2018)

A new report by political and security risk consultancy A2 Global Risk offers guidance to businesses and the risks they are likely to face after Kabila steps Down.

LONDON, United Kingdom, September 26, 2018 – December’s presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ought to bring new hope, after autocratic Joseph Kabila in August finally agreed to stand down. But with leading opposition candidates barred and a Kabila loyalist lined up as successor, will it just bring more of the same? A new report by political and security risk consultancy A2 Global Risk (A2GlobalRisk.com) offers guidance to businesses and the risks they are likely to face after Kabila steps down.

Download the report: bit.ly/2R2kqs7

Although the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) is rich in natural resources, including gold, copper and cobalt, little of that wealth reaches its ordinary people; 63 per cent of the population survive on less than USD1.9 per day. Instead, recent investigations have suggested, huge sums could have ended up in the coffers of President Joseph Kabila, his family and cronies.

Analysis of public records suggests that public funds found their way into a complex network of entities controlled by Kabila, his family and allies. An assessment of interests held through Kabila’s circle in countries such as Namibia also indicates this.

A presidential election ought to present an opportunity for a fresh start after 17 years of Kabila as president. However, A2 Global Risk Senior Analyst and Sub-Saharan Africa analyst Olivier Milland, author of the report Business risks and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: What happens when Kabila steps down?, is less optimistic.

‘The signs are that there will be little real change. The front man will change, but business will likely continue as before.’

Indicators suggest that investment risk will remain high in the wake of the election, A2 Global assesses. These include:

  • The December election is unlikely to be free and fair, raising the potential for civil unrest and violence
  • Kabila has taken steps to ensure that a staunch supporter succeeds him, reducing the risk of possible prosecution after he steps down
  • Meanwhile, Kabila’s immediate circle of relatives and friends dominates an opaque business community that is likely to maintain control of much of the wealth in the DRC in the medium term

‘With so many vested interests intent in retaining the status quo, this leaves foreign businesses considering market entry in a difficult position

‘On one hand, they could face unfair competition from companies with Kabila connections; while on the other they must ensure that dealings do not violate the multitude of national and extra-territorial anti-money-laundering regulations.’

RDC: Message de Son Excellence Monsieur le Ministre de la Sante suite aux Incidents survenus dans la ville de Beni ce samedi 22 septembre 2018 (24.09.2018)

RDC: Comite Laic de Coordination – Appel du CLC – Les Elections Credibles le 23 decembre 2018 ou rien… ! (24.09.2018)

DRC: ICC – Public: Decision on Bemba Defence Request Following DRC Election Decision (14.09.2018)

RDC: Leopards Medias – Communique – “a Direction générale de Politico.CD exige la libération immédiate de son Directeur de Publication Fiston Larousse, arrêté arbitrairement ce matin à Lubumbashi” (16.09.2018)

RDC: Ministere des Affaires Etrangere et Integration Regionale – Communique de Mise au Point (15.09.2018)

RDC: Opposition Politique Congolaise – Communique (15.09.2018)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: new cases of deadly Ebola virus, as UN steps up response (14.09.2018)

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN has stepped up community-based efforts to tackle Ebola disease, following confirmation that the virus has reached the city of Butembo, near the Ugandan border, where it has claimed three lives.

DAKAR, Senegal, September 14, 2018 –  On Friday, WHO, the World Health Organization, said that there were 137 confirmed and probable cases and 92 deaths in the latest outbreak in the east of the country.

UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, announced that “everything is being done” to ensure that the disease in controlled in Butembo “at this early stage”.

Working with the communities, alerting them, informing them, and getting them to treat Ebola cases… is the challenge – Christian Lindmeier, WHO

Apart from widespread insecurity, one of the biggest challenges is overcoming communities’ hostility to strict health directives, that go against centuries-old cultural traditions, including burial practices.

“I remember when I was going in West Africa a few years ago during the Ebola (outbreak) how dangerous it was to go to some villages,” spokesperson Christophe Boulierac said.

“We know, based on our experience and our work, that it should never be underestimated, this community resistance. And it’s an incentive to work at a more deeper level,” he added.  “It’s an incentive to understand more accurately what people feel and why…What are the cultural beliefs?”

He added that it was important to respond on that level, “using agents of change, using people who have some influence in the community.”

In a bid to help protect communities, UNICEF has dispatched a team of 11 specialists in community communication, education and psycho-social assistance, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene. The UN agency is also working with anthropologists specializing in local cultural beliefs and practices to help overcome possible concerns.

“If we don’t do that, this resistance can really increase and can really cause serious obstacles to the fight against the disease,” Mr. Boulierac said. “It’s about knowing the people to whom we are talking.”

More than 250 community leaders have also been alerted about the outbreak in Butembo, along with religious leaders and journalists. They have been told about prevention measures and an emergency number to call to treat anyone with Ebola-like symptoms.

The current Ebola outbreak in the Kivus region is DRC’s 10th since 1976. It was officially declared on 1 August. More than 1,750 people are under active surveillance, according to World Health Organization, WHO, and more than 52 vaccination “rings” have been set up around known Ebola patients.

“Working with the communities, alerting them, informing them, and getting them to treat Ebola cases or suspected Ebola cases in the right way, is the challenge,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.

In total, more than 8,900 people have been vaccinated, including more than 2,000 children. Treating the sick and protecting people who have come into contact with them is complicated, because the vast Kivus area is home to more than 100 armed groups.

The last Ebola outbreak in DRC was some 2,000 miles away, to the west, in Equateur province, which includes the Congo River. It was declared over in July after claiming 33 lives.