The United Nations says that that armed group attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) have had an increasingly devastating impact on civilians, particularly in the eastern province of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. This week, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNJHRO) released a report on human rights violations and abuses during the first half of the year. The report reveals that in the first six months of 2023, most civilians were killed in the eastern DRC, with armed groups accounting for the majority of documented fatalities.
In the first half of 2023, the Office documented 2,564 human rights violations and abuses. These violations and abuses claimed at least 4,646 victims, including 1480 individuals - 959 men, 367 women and 154 children - who were victims of summary and extrajudicial executions.
Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) force, the CODECO (Coopérative pour le développement du Congo) armed group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, and Mai-Mai militants.
According to the report, released Wednesday, armed groups were responsible for the majority of violations and breaches (1,629 human rights violations), or 64% of all incidents recorded during the first half-year. Among the various armed groups and factions, the Mai-Mai committed the highest number of violations (23%), followed by the ADF (17%), CODECO (14%) and M23 (12%).
Most human rights violations and abuses documented during the first half of 2023 were in the provinces marred by armed conflict, accounting for over 82 % of all cases. The provinces of North Kivu (56%) and Ituri (21%) recorded the highest number of violations and breaches. They are followed by the provinces of Tanganyika (14%), South Kivu (8%) and Maniema (1% each).
In regions not affected by conflict, the provinces most affected by human rights violations and abuses are Katanga (42%) and Kinshasa (19%).
UNJHRO said in the first half of 2023, 291 cases of abduction were recorded in conflict-affected provinces, representing a decrease of 29% compared to cases documented in the previous six-month period (412 cases), with 1,087 people (790 men, 209 women and 88 children) abducted by members of armed groups.
According to the report, among armed groups, Mai-Mai groups and factions were responsible for the highest number of abduction victims (269 victims or 25%), followed by the ADF (258 victims or 23%), CODECO (185 victims or 17%) and M23 (91 victims 8%).
State agents were responsible for 935 violations, or 36% of documented violations and abuses. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the Congolese National Police (PNC) are the main alleged perpetrators among state agents.
The report also highlights that during the first half of 2023, there were 1,772 grave violations of children's rights in the context of armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 883 boys and 446 girls victims, an increase of 32% compared to the same period in 2022 (1,340 violations).
As part of its mandate, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) closely monitors the human rights situation and analyzes related trends in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These trends are regularly shared with Congolese authorities so that they can take the necessary action, including bringing to justice the alleged perpetrators of documented human rights violations.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and the situation in the country is one of the most neglected displacement crises globally. For decades, the country has endured multiple, overlapping emergencies driven mainly by conflict and forced displacement. The UN estimates that 26.4 million require humanitarian assistance in the country this year.
The DRC already suffers the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa due to the ongoing violence. 7.5 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are 6.2 internally displaced person (IDPs) and 1.3 million refugees, that have sought safety in neighboring countries.
In 2023, the humanitarian situation in the eastern provinces of the DR Congo reached devastating levels, as cyclical violence perpetrated by armed groups and subsequent displacement continues to impact millions of vulnerable civilians.
The unrelenting cycle of violence has forced some 3.3 million people into displacement since March 2022, when clashes between armed groups – mainly rebels from the M23 - and government forces reignited. More than 1.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes in eastern DRC since January 2023.
On Friday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that a spike in conflict and displacement in the eastern DRC is pushing children into the worst cholera crisis since 2017. The UN agency said displacement camps in North Kivu province are generally overcrowded and overstretched, making them ripe for cholera transmission, while families living in displacement camps around the provincial capital Goma of are facing a massive shortage of water and sanitation.
Across the country, there have been at least 31,342 suspected or confirmed cholera cases and 230 deaths in the first seven months of 2023, many of them children. The worst affected province, North Kivu, has seen more than 21,400 confirmed or suspected cases, including more than 8,000 children under 5 years, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
“If urgent action is not taken within the next months, there is a significant risk that the disease will spread to parts of the country that have not been affected for many years,” said Shameza Abdulla, UNICEF DRC Senior Emergency Coordinator, based in Goma.
“There is also the danger it will continue to spread in displacement sites where systems are already overwhelmed and the population – especially children – is highly vulnerable to illness and – potentially – death. Displaced families have already been through so much.”
In a similar situation in 2017, cholera expanded to the entire country, including the capital city, Kinshasa, leading to almost 55,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths. The UN agency aims to reach 1.8 million people, including 1 million children, with safe water, hygiene kits, latrines, medical supplies, and child-friendly cholera care.
Further information
Full text: Communiqué de presse du BCNUDH sur les principales tendances des violations des droits de l’homme en juin 2023, UN Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, released August 16, 2023 (in French)
https://monusco.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/communique_de_presse_du_bcnudh_sur_les_principales_tendances_note_semestrielle_2023.pdf
Full text: Children in DR Congo facing worst cholera outbreak in six years, warns UNICEF, UNICEF press release, published August 18, 2023
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-dr-congo-facing-worst-cholera-outbreak-six-years-warns-unicef