NewsA coalition of Rwanda-allied armed groups has committed a range of atrocities against civilians that violate international humanitarian law in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including gang rapes and summary executions, according to Amnesty International.
In a Wednesday briefing entitled “DRC: ‘They said we would die’: M23 and Wazalendo abuses in eastern Congo,” Amnesty details the brutal murders of Congolese civilians, attacks on basic amenities such as hospitals, enforced disappearances of patients, as well as the gang rapes of women. Gang rapes in the years of conflict in the DRC and Rwanda have typically occurred in front of family members, including children, to strip women of their dignity and often lead to the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, along with unwanted pregnancies.
Violence against members of the press is also commonplace, with one survivor being held in a penitentiary while being interrogated about his past coverage of issues in the region, stating that he was whipped and slapped throughout his detention, an action that contravenes Article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, commented: “The brutality of the warring parties knows no bounds; these atrocities are intended to punish, intimidate, and humiliate civilians, as each side attempts to assert control.”
In an alarming development, evidence was adduced that pointed towards instances of summary killings, in which captive men were shot to death or had their throats slit by M23 fighters. Summary executions, also known as extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, are a method intended to incite fear, with individuals killed outside the realm of any legal framework and without being afforded the fundamental right to a fair trial. The widespread instances of arbitrary deprivation of life throughout the region have led to calls for the State to conduct an effective investigation, in line with its obligations enshrined under the United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal Arbitrary and Summary Executions, “the Minnesota Protocol.” Although this Protocol has been utilized to investigate unlawful killings in Rwanda throughout the years, the increasing and persistent trend of killings is cause for concern.
The DRC has been plagued by conflict for over three decades, with the ongoing instability having roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Hutu militias systematically murdered members of the Tutsi ethnic group in what has been described as “the most notorious modern genocides in history” due to the large scale of violence. The conflict left a million civilians dead in only 100 days.
Previously, during the Rwandan genocide, international law, most notably the international mechanism known as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), had been heavily criticized for its delay in prosecuting perpetrators of rape, and this precedent should not be repeated in order to ensure justice and accountability for all women.
