Amnesty International called on Friday on the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to do a better job of protecting civilians against war crimes including killings and rapes.
In a report based on investigations in North Kivu province, it also accused the national army of losing control of whole units that ”went on a week-long spree of looting”, during which a number of rapes and killings were reported.
Rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda have routed the army and captured swathes of territory in the province since August, sending around a quarter of a million people fleeing for their lives.
Amnesty also said it had received allegations that scores of civilians — mainly men — had been killed by fighters loyal to Nkunda. But the accusations were denied by Nkunda’s group.
Rapes, shooting and looting were regularly reported in camps for displaced persons close to the provincial capital Goma, ”often allegedly committed by government soldiers”, it said.
”First-hand information gathered by Amnesty International indicates that war crimes and serious human rights violations are taking place in the conflict zone of North Kivu,” it said.
Reinforcing Monuc, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, was ”imperative and urgent”, according to the London-based rights watchdog. ”Every day of delay is costing lives”.
At 17 000-strong, Monuc is the world’s biggest peacekeeping force, but has failed to halt the violence in North Kivu, where aid workers have been clamouring for additional foreign military protection to enable them to extend their work.
”Leaving thousands to flee without protection, or women and girls in IDP [internally displaced persons] camps unnecessarily exposed to sexual violence, is not acceptable,” it said.
Civilians are being killed on a ”daily basis” in North Kivu, according to Amnesty which cited witness testimony to the killing of ”scores of civilians” in Kiwanja in early November. Human rights groups say 150 civilians were massacred by rebel and militia fighters.
The national army also ”continues to be responsible for grave human rights violations, including frequent rape and looting”, according to Amnesty’s report.
Monuc needs to be ”more proactive and visible along North Kivu’s major roads, especially when it knows that civilians are fleeing in large numbers”, it said.
UN forces should mount patrols in and around IDP camps, especially at night and when women and children leave the camps to seek food and firewood, Amnesty said.
”Individuals reasonably suspected of war crimes and other serious human rights abuses must immediately be removed from army command positions and other security forces,” it said.
The DRC’s national justice system must prosecute the most serious human rights violations, it added.
Irene Khan, Amnesty’s secretary general, presented the report in Geneva before attending a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. – Reuters