In November and early December Amnesty International delegates took part in field missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), visiting North Kivu province, eastern DRC, and refugee sites along the Uganda/DRC border in south-western Uganda.

The aim of the mission was to investigate human rights abuses reported in the current conflict and raise them with senior representatives of all the parties involved. They gathered first-hand information of war crimes and serious human rights violations taking place in the conflict zone of North Kivu, with testimonies from eye witnesses to the atrocities taking place on a daily basis where the humanitarian situation continues to be desperate.

Human rights violations taking place in the DRC include:

  • Unlawful killings
  • Sexual violence
  • Recruitment of child soldiers
  • Threats to human rights defenders

"We recognise that MONUC (Mission of the United Nations Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the UN peacekeeping force, is badly overstretched but this is not an excuse for a less than robust approach to fulfil its protection mandate," said Amnesty International. "Leaving thousands to flee without protection, or women and girls in displacement camps unnecessarily exposed to sexual violence, is not acceptable."

"MONUC's reinforcement is imperative and urgent. Every day of delay is costing lives."