iR2P

UN appeals for 3,000 extra peacekeepers for eastern Congo have yet to be answered. A proposal to send European troops was blocked by Britain and Germany, prompting the London Director of Human Rights Watch to denounce what he calls “Britain’s cowardice“:

“In speech after speech, the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, talks up human rights and his concept of “civilian surges”… Even if Britain feels it cannot act decisively and boldly in the DRC, it should at least not be blocking other EU member states from doing so. MONUC desperately needs reinforcements of troops and equipment. Some EU members are apparently ready to act. The UK should immediately support that initiative, at least politically and preferably by offering some of its much-vaunted military expertise as well.”

(Marker shows Kanyabayonga)

Underlining the continued instability of the situation, Congolese troops have gone on the rampage again, this time looting and raping in Kanyabayonga, after news of a rebel advance.

In an open letter to the UN Security Council, respected figures including Jan Egeland (former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs), Gareth Evans (President of the International Crisis Group) and Juan Méndez (President of the International Center for Transitional Justice and former UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide) have made explicit reference to the obligation to respond under the ‘Responsibility to Protect’:

“Human rights violations currently committed by the parties in conflict in North Kivu have clearly crossed the thresholds laid out by the responsibility to protect norm adopted by the General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit. The violations include: forced displacement that is not for clear military objectives or to protect civilians; rape as a weapon of war; and the killing of civilians including on the basis of ethnicity.

“Yet the situation could get even worse… The risk of Nkunda resuming the offensive and occupying Goma, now defended only by a small contingent of UN troops, and of the Congolese government mobilizing Rwandan Hutu rebels to regain lost ground, presents the real possibility that the campaign of violence could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands more. It could lead to ethnic violence against Tutsis in South Kivu and north Katanga, and a campaign of revenge killings by Nkunda’s forces. Escalation of the conflict may also draw neighboring Rwanda into the conflict once again, reignite the regional war, and lead to a major humanitarian catastrophe among a population that already lacks essential food, adequate shelter and medical care.

“…in cases where a state “manifestly fails” to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to act in a timely and decisive action. The failure of the Congolese government to effectively protect its population has made this one of the most desperate situations on earth.

“It is past time that the responsibility to protect norm be applied meaningfully in DRC. The Security Council must now deliver on the UN’s commitment to act in a timely and decisive manner to save people and avert the risk of mass atrocity crimes.

“It is essential that the Council use the full range of applicable measures at its disposal.

“A step change in political engagement is required from the Security Council to press Nkunda and the Congolese to sustain the ceasefire, and to insist to the Rwandan and Congolese governments that they uphold existing obligations and commitments to stop supporting Nkunda’s insurgency and Rwandan Hutu rebels, respectively.

“The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Congo has called for reinforcements for the UN mission which is struggling to fulfill its mandate to support the Congolese government to protect its citizens. There is widespread consensus on the urgent need for increased international military presence in Goma, to provide better protection for the civilian population, to deter the parties from breaking the ceasefire, and to provide space for the essential political dialogue. The Security Council must take [a] swift decision on this point.

“…It is essential that there be effective disarmament and disbanding of all armed groups and militias in north Kivu, both foreign and national, and the restoration of sustainable civilian state authority in North Kivu…

“The Security Council must also apply other measures at its disposal to avert these crimes. It must enforce compliance with the sanctions regime it has put in place, involving an arms embargo and targeted sanctions, including against those that recruit child soldiers or use rape as a weapon of war.

“And it must recognize the centrality of tackling the impunity of those responsible for Rwanda’s genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity in DRC - including widespread sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers - which has made the region so vulnerable to further mass atrocity crimes.

“The Council should express support for ongoing trials by the International Criminal Court of militia leaders in the DRC, and encourage the Office of the Prosecutor to renew and reinvigorate investigations that may lead to new indictments of figures involved in the current violence.

“The 2005 agreement on the responsibility to protect was meant to mean never again to atrocity crimes. Eastern DRC is a test of international resolve to save lives - now.”

[Link to the full statement (pdf), from the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect.]

The Security Council discussed the Democratic Republic of Congo today (11 November). After “probably the most interactive luncheon” with the UN Secretary-General this year, the Council was briefed on the military situation and discussed options, noting that there is currently just one peacekeeper per thousand inhabitants of North and South Kivu. No decision has been taken, but according to the Costa Rican Ambassador to the UN, who chaired the meeting, “a large majority” of the Council agree that MONUC needs to be strengthened [Video]. The head of UN peacekeeping warned that if additional troops are authorized, it could take two months to mobilize them [Video].

The Security Council will hold meetings with representatives of MONUC (the peacekeeping force in the Congo) on 26 November, by which time it will have received formal reports from the UN Secretary-General and from the Group of Experts assigned to monitor sanctions banning any form of assistance to illegal armed groups and the recruitment or use of child soldiers in in the DRC.

Members of the Security Council are fully aware that a new humanitarian emergency is engulfing eastern Congo (where there were already chronic problems), posing a clear and present danger of further mass atrocities and a threat to international peace and security. Nor can they ignore the impressive degree of consensus and clarity that has emerged from diverse advocates concerned about the Congo. International resolve to end mass atrocities is on the line, and so is the credibility of the Security Council.

The Security Council is currently composed of the five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus Belgium, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica (who hold the Presidency this month), Croatia, Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Panama, South Africa and Vietnam. The links are to each country’s mission in New York: please write to them today!

(Many thanks to Security Council Report for making it possible to report accurately on these developments.)