Six million people around the world are being asked to sign a petition launched by Amnesty International today, to demand justice for the victims and survivors of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has spanned more than 30 years and claimed an estimated 6 million lives.
The human rights organization’s “6 million Voices for Justice for Congo” campaign is calling for the establishment of an international judicial mechanism to investigate crimes under international law committed by Congolese and foreign security forces, armed groups and other actors between 1993 and 2003.
The brutal fighting has had a devastating toll on civilians, marked by repeated attacks against them and the displacement of millions of people. Rape has been used as a weapon of war, destroying countless lives and inflicting trauma and injury on thousands of women and girls.
“How much longer do Congolese have to wait for justice? Victims and survivors have been promised justice for decades, yet most of the perpetrators of these horrific violations have not been held to account,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns in East and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda.
“President Tshisekedi claims he is committed to justice. He should turn his words into action and work with the African Union and the United Nations to establish an effective international judicial mechanism to investigate crimes under international law committed between 1993 and 2003, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, and hold those responsible to account. The authorities should also ensure reparations for victims and survivors, including compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and restitution.”
“It is also time for the Congolese authorities to ensure that Congolese ordinary courts investigate and prosecute crimes committed since 2003 independently, impartially and more efficiently, including through the mixed chambers to be established within the appeal courts.”
Amnesty International’s campaign calls for the adoption of the law on the establishment of the mixed chambers within the appeals courts of DRC, competent for all crimes under international law committed on the DRC territory; as well as for the establishment of a tribunal, comprised of Congolese and foreign judges and staff, competent for the crimes committed during the Congo wars of 1993-2003.
“An entire Congolese generation has known nothing but the conflict, which has robbed them of their human rights, ruptured their lives, and stunted their futures. It is time for a renewed push by national, regional and international actors to ensure justice, accountability, effective reparations and protection of civilians in the eastern DRC. For every Congolese who has died because of the conflict in eastern DRC, we are asking for a name to be added to our petition,” Vongai Chikwanda said.
“Amnesty International stands in solidarity with the victims and survivors of the conflict in eastern DRC, and we invite our members and supporters worldwide to join our campaign to confront the legacy and continuation of mass atrocities in the DRC. Humanity must win.”
The campaign also calls for the DRC to establish 1 October as an annual Day of Reflection and Action on Crimes under International Law Committed in the DRC. The date refers to the day the United Nations released its Mapping Report in 2010, which documented extensive human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in the DRC between 1993 and 2003. Many of its recommendations, including the establishment of a special judicial mechanism, remain unimplemented.
“The day would serve as a moment of remembrance, education, solidarity and renewed commitment to justice and prevention of atrocities,” Vongai Chikwanda said.
Background
The conflict in eastern DRC has been ongoing since the 1990s. After the Rwandan genocide in 1994, hundreds of thousands of Rwandan, mostly Hutu fled to then Zaire, including some who took part in the genocide. Their presence, combined with an entrenched pattern of human rights violations during President Mobutu’s rule, contributed to the invasion of the DRC by foreign armies, including Rwanda, which supported the Congolese rebel movement led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, that ultimately ousted Mobutu in May 1997. However, Kabila’s rise to power did not end foreign military involvement in the country. Tensions quickly emerged between the new Congolese government and its former regional backers, particularly Rwanda and Uganda. This led to renewed foreign intervention, the emergence of new Congolese armed groups supported by the DRC government and neighbouring states, and the outbreak of the Second Congo War in 1998. The continued presence of foreign armies and proxy armed groups deepened insecurity, fueled by disputes based on ethnic identities, and competition over political influence and natural resources, and entrenched cycles of violence that have continued to affect civilians, particularly in eastern DRC. There are currently over a hundred active armed groups in the DRC.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.