

RDC: Message de Felicitations – A Son Excellence Monsieur le President de la Republique, Chef de l’Etat, Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo – Et De Revolte du CACH Grand Bandundu (02.02.2019)








This is the 10th Ebola outbreak in the DRC and the country’s worst.
BANGKOK, Thailand, January 31, 2019 – Since the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was declared six months ago on 1st August 2018, more than 740 people – 30 per cent of whom are children – have been infected with the disease, including over 460 who have died, and 258 that have survived Ebola. Alongside the Government and partners, UNICEF is scaling up its response to assist victims, control the spread of the disease and ultimately end the deadly outbreak.
This is the 10th Ebola outbreak in the DRC and the country’s worst. It is also the world’s second largest Ebola outbreak in history after the one in West Africa in 2014-2016. The response to this latest outbreak continues to be hampered by insecurity, frequent movement of people in the affected areas, and resistance from some communities.
“While we have been able to largely control the disease in Mangina, Beni and Komanda, the virus continues to spread in the Butembo area, largely because of insecurity and population movement,” said Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF Representative in the DRC. “We are scaling up our response and deploying additional staff in the health zones of Butembo and Katwa, where 65 per cent of the new Ebola cases in the last three weeks have occurred.”
Since the beginning of the epidemic, UNICEF and its partners have deployed more than 650 staff to work with Government, civil society, churches, and non-governmental organizations – to assist people and families who’ve been infected and to raise awareness about the best hygiene and behavioural practices to prevent Ebola from spreading.
UNICEF’s Ebola response focuses on community engagement, providing water and sanitation, making schools safe from Ebola and supporting children and families infected and affected by Ebola. UNICEF aims to control and prevent the spread of the disease, and ultimately stop the outbreak; to reduce Ebola-related deaths among those infected; and to provide protection, alleviate suffering and give assistance to affected children and families.
People who’ve been infected, as well as affected families and their children, including children orphaned by Ebola and unaccompanied children, continue to receive psychosocial support to help them cope with the consequences of the Ebola disease. UNICEF is also providing a protective environment for children in schools and nutrition assistance, including to children and adults in Ebola Treatment Centers.
“Our teams in Mangina, Beni, Oicha, Komanda, Butembo and Lubero are working tirelessly with this multi-pronged approach to end the Ebola outbreak as quickly as possible, and to help affected children and families,” stressed Dr. Rotigliano.
To date, UNICEF and its partners have:

The initial investigation conducted by the Joint UN Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), attached to the mission, has concluded that in addition to the dead, 111 other villagers were wounded.
NEW YORK, United States of America, January 31, 2019 – A preliminary UN investigation into a massacre reportedly carried out in western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last month, reveals that “at least 535 civilians were killed in four attacks”, the UN Mission in the country, MONUSCO, said on Wednesday
In mid-January, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, said that according to “credible reports”, hundreds of villagers from the four communities in Yumbi, had been killed during inter-ethnic clashes between the Banunu and Batende communities, during several days, beginning on 16 December. She deplored the “shocking violence” and highlighted the importance of “investigating and bringing the perpetrators to justice”.
The initial investigation conducted by the Joint UN Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), attached to the mission, has concluded that in addition to the dead, 111 other villagers were wounded.
There has been no confirmation of exactly who carried out the killings but the mission said that “the attacks were conducted in an organized and planned manner, and were extremely violent and fast, leaving little time for the populations to flee”.
The wave of violence was allegedly triggered by a dispute over the burial of the customary chief of the Banunu community.
“The team identified a total of 59 burial sites in two of the attacked towns, but do not rule out more sites,” said a statement from MONUSCO on Wednesday. “Furthermore, 967 properties, including churches, schools and health centers were looted or destroyed, and at least 363 boats were destroyed.”
An estimated 16,000 people reportedly fled Yumbi and the surrounding area, to different locations including “some 7,000 persons who, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), sought refuge by crossing the river into the Republic of Congo. The Mission reports that the security situation is currently relatively calm, with national security forces having deployed to the area.”
In eastern DRC, the outbreak of deadly Ebola virus disease which began six months ago, has now officially become the second largest ever, the UN reported on Wednesday.
More than 740 people, 30 per cent of them children, have been infected so far, and 460 have died, with a total of 258 surviving the disease. UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, said that I was scaling up its response to help victims, as part of the Government and World Health Organization-led effort to end the outbreak – the largest in the country’s history.
“The response to this latest outbreak continues to be hampered by insecurity, frequent movement of people in the affected areas, and resistance from some communities,” said UNICEF.
“While we have been able to largely control the disease in Mangina, Beni and Komanda, the virus continues to spread in the Butembo area, largely because of insecurity and population movement,” added Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF Representative in the DRC. “We are scaling up our response and deploying additional staff in the health zones of Butembo and Katwa, where 65 per cent of the new Ebola cases in the last three weeks have occurred.”
The UN and its humanitarian partners have dispatched emergency help in the form of medicine, food, water tablets and malaria kits, and further assistance is on the way.
The head of the UNJHRO has reported that each communal grave discovered so far – reportedly dug initially by local Red Cross workers and returning family members who had fled – likely contained dozens of bodies, while there were more than 40 other individual graves unearthed, following the joint fact-finding mission that was conducted along with local authorities.
The outbreak of inter-ethnic violence in December took place just weeks ahead of crucial Presidential elections, which had been delayed for two years. Voters in Yumbi were unable to cast their votes, as the Electoral Commission building was among those totally destroyed.
MONUSCO said it “strongly condemns” the violence and is calling for a thorough investigation. The mission said it was ready to support the Congolese authorities to “bring justice to the victims, and promote reconciliation between the two communities.”



Hier, le gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo a sommé l’ambassadeur représentant l’Union européenne de quitter le pays. Rien ne saurait justifier cet acte arbitraire.
Quant à la réciprocité invoquée suite aux sanctions individuelles adoptées à l’encontre de certains citoyens congolais, l’UE tient à rappeler que ces mesures sont liées aux violations des droits de l’homme et aux obstacles créés à une sortie pacifique de la crise en RDC. Elles ont été adoptées le 12 décembre 2016 et le 29 mai 2017 à l’unanimité des 28 Etats membres de l’UE, et seront examinées à nouveau compte tenu des élections en RDC, en les adaptant éventuellement en conséquence.
L’UE est un partenaire de premier plan de la RDC et de sa population, en y maintenant une coopération importante. A la veille d’élections cruciales pour le pays, elle estime que cette décision est totalement contre-productive, nuisant aux intérêts de la population.
Comme la Haute Représentante Federica Mogherini l’avait déclaré au nom de l’UE le 22 novembre, la tenue d’élections inclusives, transparentes, crédibles et pacifiques sera importante pour l’engagement futur de l’Union européenne en RDC. L’UE partage entièrement la préoccupation manifestée par les leaders de la région réunis en urgence à Brazzaville ce 26 décembre, et leur appel à l’apaisement et la retenue en vue de la tenue des scrutins dans la sérénité.

SG/SM/19420
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
As the Democratic Republic of the Congo prepares for presidential, legislative and provincial elections on 30 December, the Secretary-General calls on the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, political leaders on all sides, the Commission électorale nationale indépendante and civil society to continue working together to ensure an environment free of violence so that all eligible voters can cast their ballots peacefully on election day.
The Secretary-General further encourages citizens to seize this historic opportunity to participate in the consolidation of the country’s democratic institutions.
The Secretary-General reminds all actors that they have a critical role to play in preventing electoral violence, by refraining from any form of provocation and showing maximum restraint in their words and actions. He also calls on everyone to protect and ensure safe access to health facilities in Ebola impacted areas.
The Secretary-General reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations to support a peaceful transition of power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
28 December 2018
Statement | Geneva
WHO and partners are continuing to respond to the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite a deterioration of the security situation since yesterday morning.
Yesterday our teams in Beni were unable to carry out critical field work, including vaccinations, contact tracing, and following up on alerts of potential new cases. Protests at government buildings in Beni spilled over to an Ebola transit centre, frightening people waiting for Ebola test results and the staff who were caring for them. Staff at the centre temporarily withdrew and most suspected cases were transferred to a nearby treatment centre.
In Butembo, some alerts of potential cases were investigated and confirmed cases were referred to treatment centres but teams were unable to trace contacts or to conduct vaccinations.
Response activities have not been interrupted in other affected areas.
We have reached a critical point in the Ebola response. After an intensification of field activities, we were seeing hopeful signs in many areas, including a recent decrease in cases in Beni.
These gains could be lost if we suffer a period of prolonged insecurity, resulting in increased transmission. That would be a tragedy for the local population, who have already suffered too much.
Our teams in Beni and Butembo are doing everything possible to continue responding, despite the challenging security environment. For example, in Beni, contact tracing is being resumed with the support of local community relays, and WHO is supporting local health authorities to undertake other critical surveillance functions where possible.
In general, the communities in affected areas have been supportive of the response. We ask for everyone to protect health facilities and provide access for responders to the affected populations so that we can stop this outbreak. The population must also have safe access to transit and treatment centres that save lives and stop the spread of Ebola.
Working side by side with the Ministry of Health and our partners, our priority is to end the outbreak. We hope to return to full operations as soon as possible while remaining committed to ensuring the safety of all staff deployed. We cannot afford to take a step back at this critical point in the response.