New Haven Alliance for Congo

Documents On The UN Mapping Report

2010-09-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jason Stearns on his blog
Congo Siasa
3 September 2010

As I am sure you have seen, the UN High Commission for Human Rights has decided to postpone the publication of the UN mapping report for another month, so as to allow the countries concerned to formulate their responses and publish them at the same time.

In the meantime I have uploaded the leaked draft of the mapping report along with the responses of the Congolese government and the Rwandan government.

UN Mapping Report (June 2010 draft)
Congolese government response
Rwandan government response

Eastern Congo Initiative Stories of the Week, Friday August 27

2010-08-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

Eastern Congo Initiative

UN MAPPING REPORT LEAKED? CRIME OF GENOCIDE AGAINST HUTU CENTER OF CONTROVERSY

2010-08-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

by Jason Stearns

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Over a year after its completion, the UN mapping report has finally been leaked to the press. The report was mandated by the UN to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Congo between 1993 and 2003 in the hope that there could be accountability for the violence. To date, almost nothing has been done to bring those responsible to justice.

The report is huge, spanning 545 pages, and deals with war crimes committed by the security forces of Angola, Mobutu's Zaire, Uganda, Chad, Laurent Kabila's government, Joseph Kabila's government, Zimbabwe, the ex-FAR and Interahamwe (and later the FDLR), the Mai-Mai and the many other rebel groups. I will speak at length about the massacres carried out by these forces in later postings. Here, I will speak about the most controversial claim: the massacres carried out by the Rwandan army (RPA) together with the AFDL rebellion (led by Laurent Kabila) against the Hutu refugees in 1996-1997.

The striking conclusion is that the crimes committed by the RPA/AFDL against Hutu refugee and Congolese Hutu could constitute a crime of genocide. This will be a bombshell for Paul Kagame's government, which prides itself of having brought an end to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and have built their reputation and their appeal to donors on their promotion of post-genocide reconciliation. This report will rock the internet for months and years to come, its political improtance is hard to overstate.

A few words of caution. The report was not based on the same high standards of a judicial investigation, it was intended to provide a broad mapping of he most serious human rights abuses between 1993 and 2003. Indeed, the report says that an international court will have to be the final arbiter whether the RPA/AFDL did commit acts of genocide. Verbatim: "The systematic and widespread attacks described in this report, which targeted very large numbers of Rwandan Hutu refugees and members of the Hutu civilian population, resulting in their death, reveal a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide."

Nonetheless, it was their mandate to documents crimes of genocide, and they were rigorous: In total, the team gathered evidence on 600 incidents of violence (not just on the genocide allegations). Their standard was two independent sources for each incident. They interviewed 1,280 witnesses and gathered 1,500 documents. Many of the reports of killings of Congolese and Rwandan Hutu civilians were corroborated by eyewitnesses. While we always knew that there had been large massacres of Hutu refugees in the Congo, this is the first rigorous investigation, and the first time an international body has thrown its weight behind charges of genocide.

Another word of caution: This is the preliminary draft. The report is due to be released on Monday, but it has been leaked, I gather because the Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has pressed for the charges of "acts of genocide by the RPA/AFDL" to be removed. The Rwandan government has reportedly threatened to withdraw its troops from the AU mission in Darfur and I have even heard that they will withdraw from the UN all together, becoming "associate" or "observer" states. I imagine that it is to prevent such editing that the report was finally leaked.

On to the conclusion of the report:

Paragraph 512. The systematic attacks [...] resulted in a very large number of victims, probably tens of thousands of members of the Hutu ethnic group, all nationalities combined. In the vast majority of cases reported, it was not a question of people killed unintentionally in the course of combat, but people targeted primarily by AFDL/APR/FAB [Burundian army] forces and executed in their hundreds, often with edged weapons. The majority of the victims were children, women, elderly people and the sick, who posed no threat to the attacking forces. Numerous serious attacks on the physical or pyschological integrity of members of the group were also committed, with a very high number of Hutus shot, raped, burnt or beaten. Very large numbers of victims were forced to flee and travel long distances to escape their pursuers, who were trying to kill them. The hunt lasted for months, resulting in the deaths of an unknown number of people subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading living conditions, without access to food or medication. On several occasions, the humanitarian aid intended for them was deliberately blocked, in particular in Orientale Province, depriving them of assistance essential to their survival

Paragraph 513. At the time of the incidents covered by this report, the Hutu population in Zaire, including refugees from Rwanda, constituted an ethnic group as defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Moreover, as shown previously, the intention to destroy a group in part is sufficient to be classified as a crime of genocide. Finally, the courts have also confirmed that the destruction of a group can be limited to a particular geographical area. It is therefore possible to assert that, even if only a part of the Hutu population in Zaire was targeted and destroyed, it could nonetheless constitute a crime of genocide, if this was the intention of the perpetrators. Finally, several incidents listed also seem to confirm that the numerous attacks were targeted at members of the Hutu ethnic group as such. Although, at certain times, the aggressors said they were looking for the criminals responsible for the genocide committed against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, the majority of the incidents reported indicate that the Hutus were targeted as such, with no discrimination between them. The numerous attacks against the Hutus in Zaire, who were not part of the refugees, seem to confirm that it was all Hutus, as such, who were targeted. The crimes committed in particular in Rutshuru (30 October 1996) and Mugogo (18 November 1996), in North Kivu, highlight the specific targeting of the Hutus, since people who were able to persuade the aggressors that they belonged to another ethnic group were released just before the massacres. The systematic use of barriers by the AFDL/APR/FAB, particularly in South Kivu, enabled them to identify people of Hutu origin by their name or village of origin and thus to eliminate them. Hundreds of people of Hutu origin are thus thought to have been arrested at a barrier erected in November 1996 in Ngwenda, in the Rutshuru territory, and subsequently executed by being beaten with sticks in a place called Kabaraza. In South Kivu, AFDL/APR/FAB soldiers erected numerous barriers on the Ruzizi plain to stop Rwandan and Burundian refugees who had been dispersed after their camps had been dismantled.

514. Several incidents listed in this report point to circumstances and facts from which a court could infer the intention to destroy the Hutu ethnic group in the DRC in part, if these were established beyond all reasonable doubt. Firstly, the scale of the crimes and the large number of victims are illustrated by the numerous incidents described above. The extensive use of edged weapons (primarily hammers) and the systematic massacre of survivors, including women and children, after the camps had been taken show that the numerous deaths cannot be attributed to the hazards of war or seen as equating to collateral damage. The systematic nature of the attacks listed against the Hutus also emerges: these attacks took place in each location where refugees had been identified by the AFDL/APR, over a vast area of the country. Particularly in North Kivu and South Kivu but also in other provinces, the massacres often began with a trick by elements of the AFDL/APR, who summoned the victims to meetings on the pretext either of discussing their repatriation to Rwanda in the case of the refugees, or of introducing them to the new authorities in the case of Hutus settled in the region, or of distributing food. Afterwards, those present were systematically killed. Cases of this kind were confirmed in the province of North Kivu in Musekera, Rutshuru and Kiringa (October 1996), Mugogo and Kabaraza (November 1996), Hombo, Katoyi, Kausa, Kifuruka, Kinigi, Musenge, Mutiko and Nyakariba (December 1996), Kibumba and Kabizo (April 1997) and Mushangwe (around August 1997); in the province of South Kivu in Rushima and Luberizi (October 1996), Cotonco and Chimanga (November 1996) and Mpwe (February 1997) and on the Shabunda-Kigulube road (February-April 1997); in Orientale Province in Kisangani and Bengamisa (May and June 1997); in Maniema in Kalima (March 1997) and in Équateur in Boende (April 1997). Such acts certainly suggest premeditation and a precise methodology. In the region south of the town of Walikale, in North Kivu (January 1997), Rwandan Hutus were subjected to daily killings in areas already under the control of the AFDL/APR as part of a campaign that seemed to target any Hutus living in the area in question.

515. Several of the massacres listed were committed regardless of the age or gender of the victims. This is particularly true of the crimes committed in Kibumba (October 1996), Mugunga and Osso (November 1996), Hombo and Biriko (December 1996) in the province of North Kivu, Kashusha and Shanje (November 1996) in the province of South Kivu, Tingi-Tingi and Lubutu (March 1997) in Maniema Province, and Boende (April 1997) in Équateur Province, where the vast majority of victims were women and children. Furthermore, no effort was made to make a distinction between Hutus who were members of the ex-FAR/Interahamwe and Hutu civilians, whether or not they were refugees. This tendency to put all Hutus together and “tar them with the same brush” is also illustrated by the declarations made during the “awareness-raising speeches” made by the AFDL/APR in certain places, according to which any Hutu still present in Zaire must necessarily be a perpetrator of genocide, since the “real” refugees had already returned to Rwanda. These “awareness-raising speeches” made in North Kivu also incited the population to look for, kill or help to kill Rwandan Hutu refugees, whom they called “pigs”. This type of language would have been in widespread use during the operations in this region.

516. The massacres in Mbandaka and Wendji, committed on 13 May 1997 in Équateur Province, over 2,000 kilometres west of Rwanda, were the final stage in the hunt for Hutu refugees that had begun in eastern Zaire, in North and South Kivu, in October 1996. Among the refugees were elements of the ex-FAR/Interahamwe, who were disarmed by the local police force as soon as they arrived. In spite of everything, the AFDL/APR opened fire on hundreds of defenceless Hutu refugees, resulting in large numbers of victims.

517. The systematic and widespread attacks described in this report, which targeted very large numbers of Rwandan Hutu refugees and members of the Hutu civilian population, resulting in their death, reveal a number of damning elements that, if they were proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide. The behaviour of certain elements of the AFDL/APR in respect of the Hutu refugees and Hutu populations settled in Zaire at this time seems to equate to “a manifest pattern of similar conduct directed against that group”, from which a court could even deduce the existence of a genocidal plan. “Whilst the existence of such a plan may contribute to establishing the required genocidal intention, it is nonetheless only an element of proof used to deduce such an intention and not a legal element of genocide.” It should be noted that certain elements could cause a court to hesitate to decide on the existence of a genocidal plan, such as the fact that as of 15 November 1996, several tens of thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees, many of whom had survived previous attacks, were repatriated to Rwanda with the help of the AFDL/APR authorities and that hundreds of thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees were able to return to Rwanda with the consent of the Rwandan authorities prior to the start of the first war. Whilst, in general, the killings did not spare women and children, it should be noted that in some places, at the beginning of the first war, Hutu women and children were in fact separated from the men, and only the men were subsequently killed.

518. Nonetheless, neither the fact that only men were targeted during the massacres, nor the fact that part of the group were allowed to leave the country or that there movement was facilitated for various reasons, are sufficient in themselves to entirely remove the intention of certain people to partially destroy an ethnic group as such. In this respect it seems possible to infer a specific intention on the part of certain AFDL/APR commanders to partially destroy the Hutus in the DRC, and therefore to commit a crime of genocide, based on their conduct, words and the damning circumstances of the acts of violence committed by the men under their command. It will be for a court with proper jurisdiction to rule on this question.

NEW HAVEN ALLIANCE FOR CONGO TO LAUNCH CONFLICT-FREE CAMPUS CAMPAIGN

2010-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

STAY TUNED

SOME 200 WOMEN GANG-RAPED OVER 4 DAYS NEAR CONGO U.N. BASE

2010-08-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

Source

MICHELLE FAUL | 08/23/10 05:17 PM | AP

JOHANNESBURG — Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said Monday.

Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said aid and U.N. workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30.

More than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a U.N. military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday that a U.N. Joint Human Rights team verified allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by combatants from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. He said the victims are receiving medical and psycho-social care.

Nesirky said the U.N. peacekeeping mission has a military company operating base in Kibua, some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the village, but he said FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point.

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.

"When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return," Masudi said.

There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just "lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women."

Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months.

"Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men," Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.

International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.

"We keep going back and identifying more and more cases," he said. "Many of the women are returning from the forest naked, with no clothes."

He said that by the time they got help it was too late to administer medication against AIDS and contraception to all but three of the survivors.

Spokeswoman Stefania Trassari said her U.N. Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid was monitoring the situation but that access for humanitarian workers remains "very limited due to insecurity."

Luvungi is a farming center on the main road between Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and the major mining town of Walikale.

Kacha said on one day during the rebel occupation Indian peacekeepers had provided a military escort against the rebels to a large commercial truck traveling from Kemba to Luvungi, which is near a cassiterite mine and about 88 miles (140 kilometers) south of Goma.

U.N. mission spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai promised to get military comment on the assumption that the peacekeepers were protecting commercial goods but not civilians, which is their primary mandate.

Survivors said their attackers were from the FDLR that includes perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide who fled across the border to Congo in 1994 and have been terrorizing the population in eastern Congo ever since, according to Cragin. The Rwandans were accompanied by Mai-Mai rebels, he said, quoting survivors.

Masudi, the civil society leader, said the rebels arrived after Congolese army troops without explanation redeployed from Luvungi and its surroundings to Walikale. He said this happened after some soldiers deserted and joined rebels in the forest.

Rape as a weapon of war has become shockingly commonplace in eastern Congo, where at least 8,300 rapes were reported last year, according to the United Nations. It is believed that many more rapes go unreported.

Congo's army and U.N. peacekeepers have been unable to defeat the many rebel groups responsible for the long drawn-out conflict in eastern Congo, which is fueled by the area's massive mineral reserves. Gold, cassiterite and coltan are some of the minerals mined in the area near Luvungi, with soldiers and rebels competing for control of lucrative mines that give them little incentive to end the fighting.

"The minerals are our curse with the FDLR looting on one side and the soldiers looting on the other," said Masudi.

The Congolese government this year has demanded the withdrawal of the $1.35 billion-a-year U.N. mission, the largest peacekeeping force in the world with more than 20,000 soldiers, saying it has failed in its primary mandate to protect civilians.

Mission officials have said that the peacekeeping army is too small to police this sprawling nation the size of Western Europe, and that its peacekeepers are handicapped by rebels using civilians as shields and operating in rugged terrain where they are difficult to pursue.

The mission also has a difficult mandate of supporting the Congolese army, whose troops often also are accused of raping and pillaging.

___

Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations

Raise Hope for Congo

2010-06-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Raise Hope for Congo Music

Now The World Is Without Me

2010-04-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

An Investigation of Sexual Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Source:
Report: Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Oxfam America
Article: Oxfam International

Research on sexual violence in DRC is extremely challenging. Sexual violence is deeply stigmatized in Congolese culture and many of those affected live in remote or insecure regions. Thus, rigorous data are lacking and many important questions remain unanswered.

The report presents a retrospective cohort study of sexual violence survivors presenting to Panzi Hospital, with a specific aim of answering the following outstanding questions:

1. When, where and how are women being attacked and what makes them vulnerable to sexual violence?
2. How has the rape epidemic in South Kivu evolved over the last five years?

Results

In South Kivu, sexual violence is pervasive, affecting women of all ages, ethnicities and marital statuses. Women are attacked everywhere, even in the privacy of their own homes. The sexual assaults are ruthless, with horrific reports of gang rape, sexual slavery, genital trauma, forced rape between victims and rape in the presence of family members. Sexual violence survivors often witness the torture and murder of their children and spouses.

An analysis of sexual violence trends over time revealed that the total number of reported assaults at Panzi Hospital had steadily decreased between 2004 and 2008. The analysis also demonstrated a civilian adoption of rape, with a 17-fold increase in the number of civilian rapes. These findings imply a normalization of rape among the civilian population, suggesting the erosion of all constructive social mechanisms that ought to protect civilians from sexual violence.
Recommendations

To the Congolese government and the international community must:

* Ensure that quality care is available for women in all areas, in order to save lives and preserve quality of life;
* Work to reduce sexual violence linked to military action;
* Build on the legal/justice initiatives taken to date, particularly the law on sexual violence and the government’s announcement of “zero tolerance” for crimes against civilians by its armed forces.
* Ensure that their protective deployments are tailored to local realities.

Attachment Size
Now, the world is without me (full report) 1.73 MB
Date of publication: April 2010

The Role of Conflict Minerals in DR Congo

2010-04-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Maurice Carney, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Friends of the Congo

Jason Stearns, Coordinator of UN Group of Experts on DR Congo and PhD Student, Yale University

Thursday, April 15

6:30 – 7:30pm

Room 120, Yale Law School, 127 Wall St.

Join Jason Stearns and Friends of the Congo’s Maurice Carney in a conversation on conflict minerals and their relationship to conflict and human rights violations in the Congo. Minerals such as coltan, gold, and tin originating in the DRC are commonly used in the production of technological devices (cell phones, computers, mp3s…). In current dialogue on how to alleviate the current humanitarian crisis in the Congo, minerals are often mentioned as a driving force behind warfare and violence. In this discussion Mr. Carney and Mr. Stearns will explore the effects of conflict minerals and the benefits and or disadvantages of various initiatives, particularly in the NGO community. Come listen and participate in furthering discourse on the role of conflict minerals and how they may be able to affect the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sponsored by New Haven Alliance for Congo and Schell Center, Yale Law School

RAISE Hope for Congo*

2010-02-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

TAKE ACTION

The conflict in eastern Congo is being fueled by a multi-million dollar trade in minerals that go into our electronic products. Over five million people have died as a result, and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped over the past decade. The armed groups perpetuating the violence generate an estimated $183 million each year by trading in four main minerals, the 3 Ts and gold. Read full details on the crisis.

Urge your Representative to support legislation for conflict-free cell phones, laptops and other electronics.

Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Congo Conflict Minerals Trade Act of 2009 (HR 4128). The bill will indentify any conflict minerals from Congo imported into the United States. It is the strongest effort to stop the scourge of conflict minerals in Congo.

Contact these influential members of the Foreign Affairs Committee now:

Mike Pence (R-IN)
Email Rep. Pence urging for support
Call (202-225-3021) Rep. Pence’s office directly
Send Rep. Pence a message on Facebook
Tweet Rep. Pence @RepMikePence about conflict mineral legislation (HR 4128)

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Email Rep. Ros-Lehtinen urging for support
Call (202-225-3931) Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s office directly
Send Rep. Ros-Lehtinen a message on Facebook
Tweet Rep. Ros-Lehtinen @IRL to support conflict mineral legislation (HR 4128)

Ed Royce (R-CA)
Email Rep. Royce urging for support
Call (202-225-4111) Rep. Royce’s office directly
Send Rep. Royce a message on Facebook

Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Email Rep. Smith urging for support
Call (202-225-3765) Rep. Smith’s office directly
Send Rep. Smith a message on Facebook

Contact Your Own Representative
CALL, CONTACT, or EMAIL your Representatives's office urging him or her to support conflict mineral legislation (HR 4128)

Commit to purchase conflict-free cell phones, laptops and other electronics.

Help us increase demand for conflict-free electronics. Email the electronics industry leaders and urge them to make their products conflict free. The message is clear: “If you take conflict out of your cell phone, I will buy it.”

Urge your school, or other institution to go conflict-free.

Urge your campus or school to go conflict-free. Get your school to pass a resolution that publicly calls on electronics companies to make conflict-free computers and printers for your campus.

Help us grow the conflict-free movement!

Urge your friends to join you in coming clean for Congo.

Publicly call for support of conflict minerals legislation

Write an opinion editorial (op-ed) or letter to the editor of your local paper. Publicly urge your Senators to support conflict mineral legislation. Click here for tips on writing your editorial, or check out our Media Toolkit.

Raise money to support the conflict-free cause.

Millions of people living in Congo are affected by the scourge of conflict minerals. Host a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to strengthen the conflict-free movement. Your contribution will support our Congolese partners on the ground.

Recycle Electronics
Recycle your old electronics

By recycling your old cell phones, computers and other electronic products, you'll cut down on the need for new minerals. Visit electronic recyclers like Eco-Cell for more information.

RAISE Hope for Congo

INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT FOR MINING IN THE EASTERN CONGO?

2010-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

A Proposal for a Third Party Monitoring & Enforcement Mechanism
By Jason Stearns and Steve Hege
________________________________________________
A Compelling Proposal on Conflict Minerals

In early December, Enough participated in a small gathering of organizations working on the connection between conflict and natural resources in eastern Congo, convened by the Center on International Cooperation. The idea behind the workshop was to identify points of consensus particularly related to short to medium term efforts to combat the militarization of mining. Congo specialists Jason Stearns and Steven Hege recently published a proposal that encapsulates much of the thinking from the workshop, available here.

The concept note, “Independent Oversight for Mining in the Eastern Congo? A Proposal for a Third Party Monitoring & Enforcement Mechanism,” posits the need for greater independent oversight of mining and the minerals trade as an important means of supporting wider efforts to demand increased accountability both from companies involved in the trade, as well as the Congolese institutions that are responsible for its regulation.

Importantly, Stearns and Hege underscore the importance of making this independent monitoring team a joint effort between the Congolese government and the international community, and charging it with working together with the Congolese to establish a definition for the illegal trade in minerals. Moreover, they propose merging this mechanism with the burgeoning efforts to develop a map of Congo’s militarized mines, work pioneered by the International Peace Information Service and more recently assigned to U.S. government agencies in a law passed last year. They anticipate the mechanism would cost $3-5 million annually and be funded by international donors. The proposed mechanism would eventually facilitate the handover of its responsibilities to Congolese leadership, and is explicitly framed as one part of a wider effort to formalize the mineral trade.

Given the complexities of the mineral trade and the many powerful vested interests who continue to profit at the expense of Congo’s crisis, it can tempting to say that it’s just too difficult to do something about this problem. This proposal powerfully and succinctly suggests otherwise. It deserves to be widely read and thoughtfully considered.

Daniel Sullivan
Jenn Altoff contributed to this post.
The Enough Project/RAISE Hope for Congo

PHOTOS OF CONGO

2010-01-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

Marcus Bleasdale

The Rape Of A Nation

2010-01-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

by Marcus Bleasdale

Hell On Earth

2010-01-18T16:30:00.000-08:00

John le Carré on Congo

The Four Months Since Hillary

2010-01-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

by Eve Ensler

Digging In: Recent Developments on Conflict Minerals

2010-01-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

by Daniel Sullivan and Noel Atama

From Brainstorming to the NYTimes Buzzword List

2009-12-31T18:43:00.001-08:00

by Sasha Lezhmev

UN Mission In Congo Downgraded

2009-12-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

Al Jazeera

Conflict Minerals: A Cover For US Allies and Western Mining Interests?

2009-12-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

by Kambale Musavuli and Bodia Macharia
December 14, 2009

Opinion: Consumers Can Influence Trade in Conflict Minerals

2009-12-05T15:04:00.001-08:00

By John Prendergast — Special to GlobalPost
Published: December 3, 2009 08:31 ET

From mine to cell phone — illuminating Congo's conflict mineral supply chain.

UN REPORT CHARGES US COMPANY HELPS FUEL WAR IN CONGO

2009-12-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

By Joe Lauria — Special to GlobalPost
Published: December 3, 2009 06:34 ET
Updated: December 3, 2009 10:18 ET

Both sides of Congo war get funds from sale of minerals used in mobile phones.

ENOUGH's Response

2009-12-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

ENOUGH's Response About US Legislation

Enough sent me their response about my blog posting on US legislation on conflict minerals. I apologize for the delay in posting it and I stand corrected on the auditing mechanism the House bill proposes. Nonetheless, I think my comment that the bill relies on being able to distinguish conflict from non-conflict minerals at a local level in the DRC, which we are not yet able to do...

Toutefois, merci a ENOUGH pour la reponse:

At Congo Siasa, Jason Stearns highlights the push for U.S. legislation to tackle the problem of conflict minerals in eastern Congo. Jason rightly notes that this level of congressional enthusiasm for the Congo is unprecedented, and is already beginning to influence thinking elsewhere around the world, particularly in European capitals. He also questions the efficacy of legislation that seeks to impose accountability on the supply chain for Congolese minerals starting at the international level and working backwards to the mines themselves.

There are a couple of specific provisions within the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R. 4128) worth clarifying in response to Jason’s concerns. At the core of this bill is a set of audit and import declaration requirements that have been carefully calibrated to function as part of a wider policy push to cut off the flow of financing from the minerals trade to armed groups and military units in eastern Congo. These requirements are targeted, with the audits specifically aimed at the smelting and refining facilities where mineral ores are transformed into metals. Thanks to the investigations conducted by Jason and the rest of the experts tasked by the UN to look at this issue, we know that even refining facilities based in East Asia have much more knowledge and control over the mineral supply chain than previously understood. The audit and import declaration mechanism is also sequenced: the bill would prohibit the import of goods containing minerals that come from non-audited facilities, but this only kicks in two years after the bill is enacted.

These nuances are in the bill are intended to provide practical means to incentivize minerals traders in Congo and around the world to become more accountable so as to maintain their access to international markets, recognizing that this will not happen overnight. The audit system in this bill would crucially depend upon a strong, independent monitoring body based in Congo with the authority and capability to crack down on the illicit trade, just as Jason recommends.

In response to increasing pressure, industry insiders from Congolese comptoirs all the way to Asian smelters and U.S. electronics companies have committed themselves to a more transparent and traceable way of doing business. The possibility of U.S. legislation has already invigorated those efforts and the probability that this bill might actually pass should keep that momentum going. Passing a conflict minerals law in the United States won’t solve the problem on its own, but it has a chance to catalyze wider reform efforts that would allow Congolese civilians to meaningfully benefit from these resources.

Jason Stearns on Conflict Minerals

2009-12-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

US Congress Tackles Conflict Minerals

Yesterday, the US congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) unveiled legislation he will introduce in the U.S. House of Representatives today to help stop trade in conflict minerals in the Congo. His initiative was applauded by many advocacy groups, including the Enough Campaign, Human Rights' Watch and Global Witness.

This is good news indeed. Now we have three initiatives in the US government aimed at quelling the trade in conflict minerals in the Congo. In addition to this initiative, there is the Congo Minerals Act that Senators Brownback (R-KS), Duck Durbin (D-IL) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced to the upper house in April 2009, as well as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law in October 2009 requiring the State and Defense Departments to work together to create a map of mining areas and zones occupied by armed groups in the eastern Congo.

This is unprecedented. Previously, the furthest the US Congress has gone is to issue resolutions condemning violence, supporting peace processes and holding hearings. The European Union is watching closely, and advocates in France are considering following suit with pressure on the French parliament. It's nice to see the US taking the lead on this.

But what do these acts actually call for? Here are the most important items in the House bill:

* definition by commerce secretary of what constitutes a conflict mineral good, the tasking of regular audits of mineral processing facilities in the US
* create a conflict minerals map
* support for further investigations by the UN Group of Experts;
* mapping of which armed groups control key mines in eastern Congo;
* inclusion of information on the negative impact of mineral exploitation and trade on human rights in Congo in the annual human rights reports;
* GAO review to evaluate adherence and effectiveness of policies

The Senate bill is similar, requiring amongst other things that "companies that are involved in commercial activities involving three minerals (coltan, cassiterite, and wolframite) to disclose the country of origin of the minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the minerals are from DRC or neighboring countries, companies would have to also disclose the mine of origin."

The main flaw in this legislation, as I have argued before, (I tend to be repetitious) is that it relies on being able to discern what a conflict mineral is. Otherwise the mining companies in the US will just throw their hands up and claim not to know where the minerals are from. This is currently what mining traders in Goma and Bukavu do - they just say: "All we know is that it comes from the interior, we have no idea where it is from." They are often lying, but it is sometimes difficult to prove them wrong - with the UN Group of Experts, we had to retrace the supply chain, sifting through stacks of Congolese documents (which are sometimes unreliable) and get testimony from mining industry insiders.

One idea is to start this kind of certification in several pilot projects and then trying to spread out from there. There is currently an effort being launched by MONUC, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Canadian government to establish "centres de negoce" (trading centers) in five places in North and South Kivu (Mubi, Rubaya, Hombo, Baraka and Kamituga) where international officials would support the Congolese government and police to begin inspecting shipments and certifying their origin. Congolese revenue agents would also be present to levy taxes.

Even here, though, none of the centers would be established at the mines themselves. In the case of Mubi, potentially the biggest center, miners would have to shlep minerals 50 kilometers from the Bisie mine, the biggest tin mine in North Kivu. On the way, minerals from areas controlled by armed groups could be infiltrated into the supply chain; by the time the certifying agents in Mubi look at the bags full of tin, they will have a hard time knowing if it is conflict minerals or not.

We could try certifying at the mines themselves, starting with a dozen or so of the biggest mines. This would require sending reliable agents and people to protect them to these sites, not an easy task as some of the biggest mines are over a day walk from the closest road or airstrip (like Bisie, a 16 hour slog through the jungle from mine to airstrip). This would also face stiff opposition from traders, as it would reduce tin exports by significant amounts, as even "legitimate" mining sites (i.e. those occupied by the Congolese army) would be barred. But this could be a start and something for donors to commission studies to see which sites would be most appropriate.

In the meantime, a quick way of of imposing some accountability in the sector is to take the approach that Global Witness and the UN Group of Experts already have: by investigating the traders and finding out who is knowingly dealing in minerals from rebel-controlled areas. I call this the policing option and recommend setting it up as an official third-party monitor, recognized by the Congolese government with a clear agreement on what illegal activity means, what prerogatives they have under Congolese law and what the sanctions would be violations.

Hence, I think the US legislators' initiatives are laudable, but have a somewhat backwards approach - we should first try to institute mechanisms of accountability at the local level, then at the international level. Of course, the two approaches reinforce each other, and I understand some US-based electronics companies may even be willing to fund such local institutions in the Congo.

2009-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

CONGO WOMEN

TOMORROW, CONFERENCE CALL ON CONGO'S CONFLICT MINERALS

2009-11-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

with Lisa J. Shannon of Run for Congo's Women, Brian Sage of the IRC and John Prendergast of the Enough Project

Start: Dec 1 2009 - 4:30PM EST/C/1:30PM PST
End: Dec 1 2009 - 5:30PM EST/C/2:30PM PST

On Sunday November 29, 60 Minutes' "Congo Gold" episode revealed how the mining of gold and other conflict minerals fuels Congo's war, the deadliest in the world.

On Tuesday, December 1 at 4:30 PM EST/1:30 PM PST, dial-in for a special discussion with Enough’s John Prendergast, International Rescue Committee's Brian Sage, and Run for Congo Women’s Lisa Shannon, to get the behind the scenes account of making the episode and an update on the issue.

Date: Tuesday, December 1

Time: 4:30PM EST/1:30 PM PST

Congo's Conflict Minerals Conference ID: 44050208

Toll-free Dial-in: 887-254-9825

International Dial-in: 281-913-8965

60 Minutes Spotlights Gold, Conflict Minerals Fueling Congo's War

2009-11-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

CONGO'S GOLD
ACTIONS TO TAKE

THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, JOIN JOHN PRENDERGAST ON 60 MINUTES IN THE DRC

2009-11-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

How Gold Pays For Congo's Deadly War

Come prepared

IMPORTANT: FRONT PAGE NY TIMES

2009-11-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

CONGO ARMY HELPS REBELS GET ARMS, U.N. FINDS
by Jeffrey Gettleman

ON THE BRINK OF MASSIVE FAILURE

2009-11-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

Diplomatic double-standards and an international resource grab are stoking one of the worst wars in the world

UN Report Says Congo's Army Aids Rebel Groups

2009-11-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

The New York Times reports that the Congolese Army continues to support rebel groups operating in the east.

Read the full story HERE

KHARTOUM, Sudan — A new United Nations report says that the Congolese Army continues to funnel weapons to rebel groups that are smuggling millions of dollars in gold and other minerals out of Congo, helping sustain one of Africa’s bloodiest and most complicated wars.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T10:20:00.001-08:00

New Legislative Action Tackles Congo's Conflict Minerals

2009-11-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

by John Prendergast
November 19, 2009

This piece originally appeared on Huffington Post.

The introduction of the Conflict Minerals Trade Act of 2009 in the United States House of Representatives today marks a critical milestone in the ongoing effort to make the use of conflict minerals in our electronics products a thing of the past. The minerals in our cell phones and electronics continue to fuel the brutal conflict in eastern Congo, the world's deadliest war since World War II. More than five million people have died and an epidemic of rape has made Congo the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman or a girl.

If passed, this bill would institute a system of audits and regulations that would prohibit companies from importing conflict minerals into the United States, thereby providing a critical piece of the puzzle to help stop the deadly trade in Congo's conflict minerals. Specifically, the bill targets the trade in gold and the 3 T's (tin, tungsten and tantalum) -- all essential components of our favorite electronic devices. By requiring companies which process and import these minerals to declare whether their products are conflict-free or not, the bill demands transparency and helps ensure that the mineral trade stops contributing to crimes against humanity, including killings of unarmed civilians and horrific sexual violence. Importantly, the bill also establishes mechanisms to allow the Congolese people to benefit from these resources. In the long-term, the bill would direct the United States government to develop a comprehensive strategy toward conflict minerals and support multilateral efforts to break this deadly trade.

The legislative battle is just beginning. The electronics industry has spent about 2 million dollars per month lobbying to relax similar, yet weaker, legislation in the Senate (S. 891). As consumers of electronics, we must take action to ensure passage of this bill by contacting our representatives and demanding that they sign on as co-sponsors. Together we can help turn a system of exploitation and violence into one of peace and opportunity.

Legislation alone will not end the conflict in eastern Congo, but this bill provides a crucial step toward the creation of a practical and enforceable means to ensure that the trade in Congolese minerals contributes to peace rather than war.

I invite you to comment on this post and follow me on Twitter (@JP4Enough)

US Congress tackles conflict minerals

2009-11-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 20, 2009

Yesterday, the US congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) unveiled legislation he will introduce in the U.S. House of Representatives today to help stop trade in conflict minerals in the Congo. His initiative was applauded by many advocacy groups, including the Enough Campaign, Human Rights' Watch and Global Witness.

This is good news indeed. Now we have three initiatives in the US government aimed at quelling the trade in conflict minerals in the Congo. In addition to this initiative, there is the Congo Minerals Act that Senators Brownback (R-KS), Duck Durbin (D-IL) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced to the upper house in April 2009, as well as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law in October 2009 requiring the State and Defense Departments to work together to create a map of mining areas and zones occupied by armed groups in the eastern Congo.

This is unprecedented. Previously, the furthest the US Congress has gone is to issue resolutions condemning violence, supporting peace processes and holding hearings. The European Union is watching closely, and advocates in France are considering following suit with pressure on the French parliament. It's nice to see the US taking the lead on this.

But what do these acts actually call for? Here are the most important items in the House bill:

* definition by commerce secretary of what constitutes a conflict mineral good, the tasking of regular audits of mineral processing facilities in the US
* create a conflict minerals map
* support for further investigations by the UN Group of Experts;
* mapping of which armed groups control key mines in eastern Congo;
* inclusion of information on the negative impact of mineral exploitation and trade on human rights in Congo in the annual human rights reports;
* GAO review to evaluate adherence and effectiveness of policies

The Senate bill is similar, requiring amongst other things that "companies that are involved in commercial activities involving three minerals (coltan, cassiterite, and wolframite) to disclose the country of origin of the minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the minerals are from DRC or neighboring countries, companies would have to also disclose the mine of origin."

The main flaw in this legislation, as I have argued before, (I tend to be repetitious) is that it relies on being able to discern what a conflict mineral is. Otherwise the mining companies in the US will just throw their hands up and claim not to know where the minerals are from. This is currently what mining traders in Goma and Bukavu do - they just say: "All we know is that it comes from the interior, we have no idea where it is from." They are often lying, but it is sometimes difficult to prove them wrong - with the UN Group of Experts, we had to retrace the supply chain, sifting through stacks of Congolese documents (which are sometimes unreliable) and get testimony from mining industry insiders.

One idea is to start this kind of certification in several pilot projects and then trying to spread out from there. There is currently an effort being launched by MONUC, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Canadian government to establish "centres de negoce" (trading centers) in five places in North and South Kivu (Mubi, Rubaya, Hombo, Baraka and Kamituga) where international officials would support the Congolese government and police to begin inspecting shipments and certifying their origin. Congolese revenue agents would also be present to levy taxes.

Even here, though, none of the centers would be established at the mines themselves. In the case of Mubi, potentially the biggest center, miners would have to shlep minerals 50 kilometers from the Bisie mine, the biggest tin mine in North Kivu. On the way, minerals from areas controlled by armed groups could be infiltrated into the supply chain; by the time the certifying agents in Mubi look at the bags full of tin, they will have a hard time knowing if it is conflict minerals or not.

We could try certifying at the mines themselves, starting with a dozen or so of the biggest mines. This would require sending reliable agents and people to protect them to these sites, not an easy task as some of the biggest mines are over a day walk from the closest road or airstrip (like Bisie, a 16 hour slog through the jungle from mine to airstrip). This would also face stiff opposition from traders, as it would reduce tin exports by significant amounts, as even "legitimate" mining sites (i.e. those occupied by the Congolese army) would be barred. But this could be a start and something for donors to commission studies to see which sites would be most appropriate.

In the meantime, a quick way of of imposing some accountability in the sector is to take the approach that Global Witness and the UN Group of Experts already have: by investigating the traders and finding out who is knowingly dealing in minerals from rebel-controlled areas. I call this the policing option and recommend setting it up as an official third-party monitor, recognized by the Congolese government with a clear agreement on what illegal activity means, what prerogatives they have under Congolese law and what the sanctions would be violations.

Hence, I think the US legislators' initiatives are laudable, but have a somewhat backwards approach - we should first try to institute mechanisms of accountability at the local level, then at the international level. Of course, the two approaches reinforce each other, and I understand some US-based electronics companies may even be willing to fund such local institutions in the Congo.

Jason Stearns - Congo Siasa

Panel Discussion and Reception with Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu

2009-11-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Great event tomorrow (Wednesday) night -- a panel discussion and reception featuring Congolese journalist and activist Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu, President of the Women’s Media Association for South Kivu/AFEM. The flyer for the event is attached as a PDF file (it says Thursday, but it really is Wednesday) and following are the details:

Panel Discussion and Reception with Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu
6:00pm • Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Thomas E. Golden, Jr. Center, St Thomas More
268 Park Street, New Haven, CT

If you can't make the evening event, Ms. Namegabe will also be hosting a brown bag lunch discussion from 12-1pm on Wednesday in Rosenkranz Hall, Room 241.

Aside from the events, please check out the Congo/Women photo exhibit currently being displayed (until Thursday) at the Thomas Golden Moore Center (the Catholic Center at Yale), 268 Park Street. The exhibit was featured in the New Haven Register this weekend:
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/11/15/news/new_haven/a4-ctcongo.txt

All good things,
Uma

CONGO/WOMEN Panel

2009-11-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

Carroll Bogert, Associate Director, Human Rights Watch,
Leslie Thomas, Curator and Co-Director Congo/Women;
Executive and Creative Director Art Works Projects,
Jocelyn Kelly, Research Coordinator, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

FROM MINE TO MOBILE PHONE: THE CONFLICT MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN

2009-11-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

by Sachnev Lezhnev and John Prendergast
Enough experts lead you down the path of the 3Ts—tin, tantalum, tungsten—and gold from the mines of Eastern Congo all the way to your cell phone.

RUINED Captivates D.C. Crowd

2009-11-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

From The Enough Project:
Posted by Laura Heaton on Nov 12, 2009

We were thrilled to welcome the cast of RUINED, the Pulitzer prize-winning drama, to Washington for a staged reading on Monday night. Eager to get the real-life message of the play out to an audience of D.C. influentials, the cast donated their performance, which they delivered to a packed house at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.

The play, set in a mining town in eastern Congo circa present day, tells the story of Mama Nadi, a brothel owner who acts as both a protector and exploiter of women as she tries, with increasing difficulty, to keep the war at bay. The play also highlights the scramble for Congo’s minerals that is perpetuating the violence.

Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage crafted the play’s leading women characters– portrayed stunningly by Portia (Mama Nadi), Condola Rashad (Sophie), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Salima), and Chrise Boothe (Josephine) – based on her conversations with Congolese women and survivors living in refugee camps in Uganda. Nottage’s exposure to these first-hand testimonies gives RUINED a strong grounding in the realities of the war that continues to plague eastern Congo, in which women bear the brunt of the violence.

The event closed with a brief discussion between playwright Lynn Nottage, renowned journalist Chouchou Namegabe (who will receive the Knight International Journalism Award tonight), and Enough co-founder John Prendergast, who emphasized the role that each of us – as consumers of conflict minerals – can play in helping to end the violence.

We owe a special thank you to Lynn Nottage and Kate Whoriskey, the play’s director, and to the cast and musicians who traveled from as far away as California to take part in Monday’s performance. The Kennedy Center’s Alicia Adams and Erik Wallin and the Center for American Progress’ Marlene Vasilic were early supporters of our effort to bring RUINED to D.C. and generously worked to open the Kennedy Center’s doors to this important event.

Finally, thank you to those of you who turned out on Monday night and were part of a very engaged audience. Please stay tuned – there is much work we can do in the coming months to get the word out about the atrocities occurring in eastern Congo and ensure that our elected officials get involved in ending the trade in conflict minerals that is helping to fuel violence against Congo’s women.

Based on the outpouring of interest in this event it’s clear that D.C. presents the ideal audience for RUINED. We’re hopeful that the staged reading will lead to a full production in Washington that can reach many more people and generate even more advocacy around its crucial theme.

Photos: (left to right) Enough's John Prendergast greets Ambassador from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Faida Mitifu; actors perform staged reading of RUINED; Prendergast with journalist Chouchou Namegabe and playwright Lynn Nottage. (Credit: D

2009-11-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge

2009-11-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge

2009-11-03T15:22:00.001-08:00

UN Peacekeeping Force Knowingly Supports Abusive Military Operations

Source: Human Rights Watch
November 2, 2009

(New York) - Congolese armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have brutally killed hundreds of civilians and committed widespread rape in the past three months in a military operation backed by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch called on the UN peacekeeping force in Congo, MONUC, to immediately suspend its support to the military operation or risk being implicated in further atrocities.

In two fact-finding missions in eastern Congo in October 2009, Human Rights Watch documented the deliberate killing by Congolese soldiers of at least 270 civilians between the towns of Nyabiondo and Pinga in a remote part of North Kivu province since March. Many of them had been killed during two massacres in August at Mashango and Ndoruma villages. Most of the victims were women, children, and the elderly. Some were decapitated. Others were chopped to death by machete, beaten to death with clubs, or shot as they tried to flee.

"Some Congolese army soldiers are committing war crimes by viciously targeting the very people they should be protecting," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "MONUC's continued willingness to provide support for such abusive military operations implicates them in violations of the laws of war."

The UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC is a partner with the Congolese army in operation Kimia II, which began on March 2. The aim is to disarm by force the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu militia group, some of whose leaders participated in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. MONUC provides substantial operational and logistics support to the soldiers, including military firepower, transport, rations, and fuel.

One of the massacres occurred in early August at Mashango hill, 15 kilometers from Nyabiondo, where UN peacekeepers have a base. According to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, at least 81 civilians were killed when Congolese army soldiers attacked five hamlets within a few kilometers of one another, only one of which contained rebel combatants. The attacking Congolese soldiers made no distinction between combatants and civilians, shooting many at close range or chopping their victims to death with machetes.

In one of the hamlets, Katanda, Congolese army soldiers decapitated four young men, cut off their arms, and then threw their heads and limbs 20 meters away from their bodies. The soldiers then raped 16 women and girls, including a 12-year-old girl, later killing four of them.

On about August 15, Congolese army soldiers massacred another group of civilians in the Nyabiondo area at the village of Ndoruma. Witnesses said that soldiers returning from a failed attack against a local militia allied to the FDLR earlier in the day deliberately killed at least 50 civilians whom they accused of collaborating with the FDLR and their allies. One woman witnessed soldiers kill her husband and then watched in horror as they torched her home, burning to death her three young children inside.

Congolese army soldiers also targeted civilians on the 10-kilometer stretch of road from Nyabiondo to Lwibo. On September 28 and 29, soldiers based at Kinyumba village along the road, abducted and gang-raped two separate groups of young women and girls, about 20 altogether, on their way to the market. When a local militia allied with the FDLR attacked the government soldiers the same day, they were repulsed by the soldiers, who called in help from MONUC's attack helicopters. Some of the women and girls escaped, but Congolese army soldiers killed at least five as they tried to flee.

On October 29, MONUC reported that the Congolese army had begun further military operations in the area north of Nyabiondo, raising concerns about more attacks on civilians.

Human Rights Watch conducted 21 fact-finding missions in North and South Kivu from January to October 2009, and found that Congolese army soldiers had deliberately killed at least 505 civilians from the start of operation Kimia II in March through September. Another 198 civilians were deliberately killed by Congolese army soldiers and their Rwandan army allies during an earlier five-week joint operation, known as Umoja Wetu, in late January and February.

Human Rights Watch also documented brutal retaliatory attacks by the FDLR militia, which has deliberately targeted Congolese civilians in response to government military operations. Between late January and September, the militia group deliberately killed at least 630 civilians, many in the areas of Ziralo, Ufumandu and Waloaluanda, on the border between North and South Kivu provinces.

"War crimes committed by the FDLR militia are absolutely no justification for Congolese government soldiers to commit atrocities," Van Woudenberg said. "The UN should be asking hard questions about the role of its peacekeepers in supporting such abusive operations."

UN officials have repeatedly told Human Rights Watch that they joined operation Kimia II because they believed their participation could help minimize harm to civilians. MONUC's mandate from the UN Security Council, Resolution 1856, permits it to support Congolese army operations against the FDLR and other armed groups. Since operations began, MONUC has made some notable efforts to protect civilians, which have undoubtedly helped to save lives.

The peacekeeping mission's mandate, however, requires it to attach "the highest priority" to protecting civilians. According to a January 13, 2009 note from the UN Office of Legal Affairs, and two subsequent legal notes from the same office on April 1 and October 12, shown to Human Rights Watch, MONUC has an obligation, in advance of agreeing to support any military operations with the Congolese army, to ensure that such operations are planned and conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law. MONUC may not participate in any operations in which there are substantial grounds to believe that the Congolese army units involved might violate international humanitarian law.

The same legal notes also say that MONUC has an obligation to cease its participation in operation Kimia II if it has credible information that the Congolese army is committing gross human rights violations and if attempts to intercede to stop the violations fail.

In May, Human Rights Watch published detailed information on war crimes committed by Congolese army soldiers involved in operation Kimia II. The UN's own investigations in 2009 also revealed that Congolese government soldiers were regularly committing crimes. During mid-2009, MONUC staff drew up a confidential list of 15 Congolese army officers with a track record of serious human rights abuses who were believed to be involved in operation Kimia II, which was presented to the mission's leadership.

UN peacekeeping officials told Human Rights Watch in May, June, and July that concerns about human rights violations committed by Congolese army soldiers involved in operation Kimia II were being discussed privately with Congolese government authorities. In September, the peacekeeping mission belatedly developed a draft policy setting out conditions for its support to operation Kimia II based on respect for human rights, which it submitted to the Congolese government for comment. On October 30, MONUC and the Congolese army established a joint provincial committee in North Kivu to investigate human rights violations committed by army soldiers and to remove abusive commanders. A similar committee is also to be established in South Kivu.

On November 1, Alain Le Roy, the head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations announced during a visit to Congo that MONUC would suspend its support to the Congolese army's 213th Brigade operating in the Nyabiondo area. According to Le Roy, MONUC's own investigations had revealed that Congolese army soldiers had killed at least 62 civilians in the Lukweti area, just north of Nyabiondo. It is not yet clear how the suspension will be put into effect.

"Peacekeeping officials knew that war crimes were being committed by Congolese government forces, yet eight months into operation Kimia II, they are only now suspending the UN's support to one of the army units responsible," Van Woudenberg said. "Nyabiondo is not the only area where Congolese army soldiers are committing abuses. MONUC should immediately cease its support to all of operation Kimia II until abusive commanders are removed and effective measures are in place to protect the civilian population."

The Congolese government has also not removed well-known abusers of human rights from the army's ranks. Bosco Ntaganda, wanted on an arrest warrant for war crimes from the International Criminal Court, remains a general in the Congolese army and plays an important role in operation Kimia II, causing further problems for MONUC's support of the operation.

Military operations since January, including operation Kimia II, have resulted in the disarmament of 1,243 FDLR combatants from an estimated strength of 6,000, but the FDLR continues to recruit and its ability to attack civilians remains intact. MONUC should develop a comprehensive strategy to disarm the FDLR, making protection of civilians a priority. Its mandate permits peacekeepers to use force to disarm the FDLR on its own, without joining forces with the abusive Congolese army. The April 1 legal note from the Office of Legal Affairs specifically sets out this option.

"MONUC's continued participation in operation Kimia II, against its mandate and the UN's own legal advice, implicates UN peacekeepers in abuses," Van Woudenberg said. "Urgent consideration should be given to other options to disarm the FDLR militia that won't entail further Congolese army abuses against the people of eastern Congo."

Also available in:

Enough, Global Witness Welcome 2009 Congo Conflict Minerals Act | Enough

2009-11-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Enough, Global Witness Welcome 2009 Congo Conflict Minerals Act | Enough

2009-11-03T09:41:00.001-08:00

The New Haven Alliance for Congo cordially invites you to a panel discussion on:

Women and Sexual Violence

in the Congo

November 18, 2009

6:00pm-7:15pm

Reception and viewing of photo exhibit “Congo/Women Portraits of War” to follow

St. Thomas More Center

268 Park Street, New Haven

Panelists:

Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu (Journalist and President of the Women’s Media Association for South Kivu/AFEM, DRC)

Elisabeth Wood (Professor of Political Science, Yale University) 

Jeannie Annan (Director of Research and Evaluation, International Rescue Committee)

Moderator: Jason Stearns (Former ICG Central Africa Senior Analyst, Yale Political Science PhD Candidate)

This panel is organized by the New Haven Alliance for Congo with generous support from the Gaddis Smith Seminar Series of the International Affairs Council at Yale University.

For more information please contact Julie McCarthy at julie.mccarthy@yale.edu

Learn More:

South Kivu Women’s Media Association

http://englishafemsk.blogspot.com/

New Haven Alliance for Congo

http://nhcongoalliance.blogspot.com/

International Affairs Council of Yale University

http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/iac/mainternational.htm

2009-10-31T20:13:00.001-07:00

Atticus Presents:
Omékongo Dibinga
A Spoken Word Performance
Thursday, November 5 7:00pm - 8:00pm
1082 Chapel St., New Haven

Atticus and New Haven Alliance for Congo have teamed up to present a spoken work performance by Congolese-American performer Omékongo Dibinga. Dibinga, a motivational speaker, life coach, musician, award-winning poet, and actor, brings his forceful and positive message to New Haven for this special event. Books and CDs will also be available.

2009-10-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

This week, Enough launches "Field Dispatch," a new series by their field researchers in southern Sudan, Congo, and Uganda.

PRESENTING... THE FIELD DISPATCH

2009-10-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Congo/Women Photography Exhibit at Yale
November 10 - 20, 2009
St. Thomas More Church
Details TBA

Read about Art Works Projects and the Congo/Women photography exhibition at the UN in an article on LENS, the New York Times photojournalism blog:

Behind the Scenes: Suffering, Writ Large by Kassie Bracken

Source: The New York Times

Jason Stearns in the House!

2009-10-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled that Jason is a member of NHAC!

A little background on Jason and a welcome note from his new blog on politics in the DR Congo, Congo Siasa:

I have been working on the conflict in the DR Congo for the past eight years, most recently as the Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Congo (2008). I have also worked for Heritiers de la Justice, a local human rights NGO (2001), the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC (2002-2004) and the International Crisis Group (2005-2007). A book I wrote on the conflict, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, is due to be published soon. I am currently obtaining my PhD at Yale University.

Welcome Post

A quick note to kick things off:

Congo Siasa intends to chronicle the complex inner workings of Congo politics, in particular, in the restive Kivus region. It should be pithy, brief and analytical. None of us really have much time for anything else. I will also feature guest bloggers, from the Congo and abroad, as long as their views are within the realm of sound reason and relevant.

French, English and any of the Congolese languagea go (although once we get to Kibangubangu, our readership will become seriously limited).

Soyez le bienvenu.

Congo Siasa

2009-10-16T21:03:00.001-07:00

CONGO IN HARLEM SERIES OCTOBER 1-24, 2009

Some of the events this week:

Monday 10/19 - "Women in War Zones" with panel including the film's directors, Eve Ensler (V-Day) and reception catered by Harlem's own Sylvia's Restaurant!

Wednesday 10/21 - "Afro@Digital" with panel including the film's director (flying in from overseas!) and Lincoln Center Film Society's Richard Pena.

Saturday 10/24 - "Reporter" with panel including the film's director and an amazing group of journalists and activists working in the DRC.

Please check out the full schedule for the remaining events at:

Congo in Harlem

"8 Minutes" in the DR Congo

2009-10-15T20:33:00.001-07:00

Sienna Miller travelled to DR Congo in the Spring of 2009 to document the lives of women living in the middle of this treacherous conflict.

"8 Minutes"

Director: David Serota
Producer: Alison Watson
Editor: Giovanni Messner
http://www.dokumentfilms.com
Music by Explosions in the Sky and This Will Destroy You
Film look by Red Rock Micro

Source: TakePart.com

2009-10-14T02:52:00.001-07:00

Hosted by New Haven Alliance for Congo

Conflict Minerals in Roll Call

2009-04-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

From the ENOUGH Project
Conflict Minerals in Roll Call

Posted by Laura Heaton on Apr 21, 2009

An article in Roll Call yesterday looked at the work being done to finalize a Senate bill that would legislate layers of transparency into the global minerals trade. The article heralded conflict minerals as the next big thing in a corporate social responsibility trend set by “Kathie Lee Gifford’s clothing line, Nike shoes, Pakistani soccer balls, Uzbek cotton and diamonds from Sierra Leone.”

As the article noted, “This is not a new concept; the electronics industry in the United States and Europe has a code of conduct and large coalitions that promote a transparent supply chain.” But as our recent strategy paper made clear, these efforts have been woefully insufficient, and women and girls bear the brunt of the violence. The Roll Call article is well worth a read for its explanation of challenges popular movements face but also the great potential they can have to promote human rights.

BLOOD COLTAN directed by Patrick Forestier for Java Film

2009-04-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Blood Coltan - JAVA FILMS

Source: www.javafilms.fr

The West’s demand for Coltan, used in mobile phones and computers, is funding the killings in Congo. Under the close watch of rebel militias, children as young as ten work the mines hunting for this black gold. ‘Blood Coltan’ exposes the web of powerful interests protecting this blood trade. Meet the powerful warlords who enslave local population and the European businessmen who continue importing Coltan, in defiance of the UN.

2009-03-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

"The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo"

with Guest Speaker, Filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson

Ms. Jackson will introduce her film
and lead a discussion following the screening.

Tuesday 31 March 2009

7 PM

The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center
for International and Area Studies at Yale

Luce Hall Auditorium
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, Connecticut

Admission is free and open to the public

Sponsored by the Yale Council on African Studies,
Women's Center of the Yale Divinity School and
the New Haven Alliance for Congo

2009-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

A SEASON IN THE CONGO

2009-03-13T15:03:00.001-07:00

Start: Mar 6 2009 - 5:00pm
End: Apr 5 2009 - 5:59pm

Youth Onstage! is proud to bring to the stage Aimé Césaire's epic drama A Season In the Congo as part of the 2008-2009 "Castillo Performs the World" theatre season. A Season In the Congo poetically chronicles the independence movement in the Congo and is one of the few plays written by the late Aimé Césaire, one of the great surrealist poets of the 20th Century.

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2:30 pm

TDF accepted; group rates available.

For tickets and information call the Castillo Box Office

212.941.1234

Order tickets online at www.castillo.org

CONGO/WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

2009-03-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Mar 16 2009 - 3:00pm

Congo/Women is an international photography exhibition and educational campaign that raises awareness of the widespread sexual violence facing women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The exhibition features powerful life-size photographs that convey the strength and courage of Congolese women. Accompanying essays contextualize the impact of the crisis from a range of perspectives. An advocacy partnership with the Enough Project's Raise Hope for Congo campaign provides tools to demand action and involvement from the global citizenry.

March 16, 2009
James Cohan Gallery
533 West 26th Street
New York, NY

For information: 312.369.8829
congowomen.org
artworksprojects.org
colum.edu/institutewomengender

Christine Schuler Deschryver Named One of Women's eNews' 21 Leaders for the 21st Century

2009-03-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Vagina Warrior and V-Day's newest member of the team, Christine Schuler Deschryver has been named one of Women's eNews' 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, an awe-inspiring, reader-nominated list of activists and leaders from all over the world who are making news by changing women's lives.

In 2007, Christine joined the V-Day and UNICEF global campaign STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: POWER TO THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF THE DRC. In January of 2009, Christine became a full time staff member and will lead V-Day's efforts on the ground in the Congo as Director of V-Day Congo and City of Joy.

Video of Christine talking about her experiences in Congo:
http://newsite.vday.org/meet-vday/activist-spotlights/christine-schuler-deschryver

"BLOOD COLTAN"

2009-03-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

Year : 2007 / Duration : 52 min / Production : Tac Presse / Director : Patrick Forestier / Version available : English
The West’s demand for Coltan, used in mobile phones and computers, is funding the killings in Congo. Under the close watch of rebel militias, children as young as ten work the mines hunting for this black gold. ‘Blood Coltan’ exposes the web of powerful interests protecting this blood trade. Meet the powerful warlords who enslave local population and the European businessmen who continue importing Coltan, in defiance of the UN.

http://www.javafilms.fr/spip.php?page=articlef&id_article=8&user=blood"

2009-03-12T16:46:00.001-07:00

RAISE Hope for Congo P.S.A. featuring Ken Baumann, Maria Bello, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Melissa FItzgerald, Emile Hirsch, Jimmy Jean-Louis, and Joel Madden. Join the movement at www.raisehopeforcongo....

DR Congo outsources its military

2009-02-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

Mark Doyle of the BBC published a great report outlining the most recent involvement of Rwandan, Ugandan and South Sudanese forces in the conflict in Eastern Congo.

Read the BBC Report here

IT industry accused of fuelling trade in "blood tin"

2009-02-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

Campaign groups claim manufacturers are using tin and other metals mined from conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

Read article here

Rwandan Troops Leave DRC

2009-02-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Thousands of Rwandan troops are leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo, five weeks after they crossed the border to attack Hutu rebels, who are behind years of conflict in the region.

In Pictures - from the BBC

If you missed it: Congo Event at Yale Law School

2009-02-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

The following link is a video recording of the February 13, 2009 event at Yale Law School: "Warring Parties: Conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo."

Warring Parties - Quicktime

Check out the short film by photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale that was screened at the event:
Rape of a Nation

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Event details:
"Warring Parties: Conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo"

Short film screening: “Rape of a Nation,” by Marcus Bleasdale

Panel Discussion with:
Séverine Autesserre, Barnard College, Columbia University
Bryan Mealer, author of “All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo
Kambale Musavuli, Student Coordinator, Friends of the Congo
John Prendergast, Co-Chair, ENOUGH Project
Peter Rosenblum, Columbia Law School
Moderated by David Simon, Yale University

Reception and Photo Exhibit:
“Portraits of Survival" by Finbarr O'Reilly, Reuters West and Central Africa Chief Photographer

The Search for Gold in Congo

2009-02-24T11:53:00.001-08:00

The New York Times published a 9 photo slideshow today entitled "The Search for Gold in Congo."

"Civil conflict in Congo has been driven for more than a decade by the violent struggle for control over the country's vast natural resources, including gold, diamonds and timber, most of which are exploited using hard manual labor."

View the slideshow here

Herbert on Congo in the NY Times

2009-02-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

Bob Herbert of the New York Times writes about sexual violence in the Congo on February 21st:

Perhaps we’ve heard so little about them because the crimes are so unspeakable, the evil so profound.

Bob Herbert

For years now, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marauding bands of soldiers and militias have been waging a war of rape and destruction against women. This sustained campaign of mind-bending atrocities, mostly in the eastern part of the country, has been one of the strategic tools in a wider war that has continued, with varying degrees of intensity, since the 1990s. Millions have been killed.

Read the full article

Welcome to the Alliance

2009-02-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Dear all,
Welcome to the New Haven Alliance for Congo. With the help of community groups, individuals and universities in the greater Connecticut area, we hope to bring attention to the continuing conflict in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Please check back regularly for news items, posts, events and information all relating to Congo. As our "Alliance" grows, we hope to join a larger movement across the US and indeed the world, standing in solidarity with Congolese people and shining light on a war that has killed millions and continues to do so.

Please spread the word, and get involved! Contact us at nhcongoalliance@gmail.com with any ideas, suggestions, improvements, etc. Join the community - let's do what we can for the Congo.

New Haven Alliance for Congo

Documents On The UN Mapping Report

Eastern Congo Initiative Stories of the Week, Friday August 27

UN MAPPING REPORT LEAKED? CRIME OF GENOCIDE AGAINST HUTU CENTER OF CONTROVERSY

NEW HAVEN ALLIANCE FOR CONGO TO LAUNCH CONFLICT-FREE CAMPUS CAMPAIGN

SOME 200 WOMEN GANG-RAPED OVER 4 DAYS NEAR CONGO U.N. BASE

Raise Hope for Congo

Now The World Is Without Me

The Role of Conflict Minerals in DR Congo

RAISE Hope for Congo*

INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT FOR MINING IN THE EASTERN CONGO?

PHOTOS OF CONGO

The Rape Of A Nation

Hell On Earth

The Four Months Since Hillary

Digging In: Recent Developments on Conflict Minerals

From Brainstorming to the NYTimes Buzzword List

UN Mission In Congo Downgraded

Conflict Minerals: A Cover For US Allies and Western Mining Interests?

Opinion: Consumers Can Influence Trade in Conflict Minerals

UN REPORT CHARGES US COMPANY HELPS FUEL WAR IN CONGO

ENOUGH's Response

Jason Stearns on Conflict Minerals

TOMORROW, CONFERENCE CALL ON CONGO'S CONFLICT MINERALS

60 Minutes Spotlights Gold, Conflict Minerals Fueling Congo's War

THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, JOIN JOHN PRENDERGAST ON 60 MINUTES IN THE DRC

IMPORTANT: FRONT PAGE NY TIMES

ON THE BRINK OF MASSIVE FAILURE

UN Report Says Congo's Army Aids Rebel Groups

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Legislative Action Tackles Congo's Conflict Minerals

US Congress tackles conflict minerals

Panel Discussion and Reception with Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu

CONGO/WOMEN Panel

FROM MINE TO MOBILE PHONE: THE CONFLICT MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN

RUINED Captivates D.C. Crowd

Eastern DR Congo: Surge in Army Atrocities

UN Peacekeeping Force Knowingly Supports Abusive Military Operations

Enough, Global Witness Welcome 2009 Congo Conflict Minerals Act | Enough

Jason Stearns in the House!

"8 Minutes" in the DR Congo

Conflict Minerals in Roll Call

BLOOD COLTAN directed by Patrick Forestier for Java Film

A SEASON IN THE CONGO

CONGO/WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

Christine Schuler Deschryver Named One of Women's eNews' 21 Leaders for the 21st Century

"BLOOD COLTAN"

DR Congo outsources its military

IT industry accused of fuelling trade in "blood tin"

Campaign groups claim manufacturers are using tin and other metals mined from conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

Rwandan Troops Leave DRC

If you missed it: Congo Event at Yale Law School

The Search for Gold in Congo

Herbert on Congo in the NY Times

Welcome to the Alliance