The UN Secretary-General, Ban-Ki Moon, has dispatched an assistant to the Democratic Republic of Congo after reports of mass rape in North Kivu.
Special Representative Roger Meece and Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Atul Khare, are both looking into allegations that as many as 154 civilians had been raped in just three days by armed groups in Banamukira territory between 30 July and 2 August.
Atul Khare will visit the towns of Goma, Kirumba, Kibua, Bukavu and Uvira.
Fighting in the East of DRC is continuing despite the establishment of a formal government in 2006. The tensions between pro and anti government sympathies are exacerbated by local animosities and the presence of armed groups from Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Uganda.
During two Congolese wars and continued civil unrest, it is estimated that up to 5.4 million people have died as a result of prolonged conflict, disease and famine.
A report documenting the most serious human rights violations committed in DRC between 1993 and 2003 will be made public by the UN on 1st October 2010.
In This Story: Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DROC, or simply either Congo or the Congo, and historically Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. The capital is Kinshasa.
With a population of over 101 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most-populous officially Francophone country in the world.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rich in natural resources but has suffered from political instability. As of 2018, around 600,000 Congolese have fled to neighbouring countries from conflicts in the centre and east of the DRC. Two million children risk starvation, and the fighting has displaced 4.5 million people.
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent.
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge. One of the smallest countries on the African mainland, its capital city is Kigali.
The Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast.
Sudan’s history goes back to the Pharaonic period. Independence from the British was proclaimed on 1 January 1956.
Islam was Sudan’s state religion and Islamic laws applied from 1983 until 2020 when the country became a secular state. The economy has been described as lower-middle income and relies on oil production. Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, African Union, COMESA, Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa whose diverse landscape encompasses the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains and immense Lake Victoria. Its abundant wildlife includes chimpanzees as well as rare birds. Remote Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a renowned mountain gorilla sanctuary. Murchison Falls National Park in the northwest is known for its 43m-tall waterfall and wildlife such as hippos.