The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
UNOG Bi-weekly Press Briefing: Violence In Eastern DRC - UNHCR
Rights abuses intensifying in eastern DR Congo with millions in need: UNHCR
An alarming number of human rights abuses have been carried out this year by armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic against civilians, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
In the two most affected provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, UNHCR and its partners recorded more than 1,200 civilian deaths and 1,100 rapes and a total of 25,000 human rights abuses this year.
Speaking in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson, Boris Cheshirkov, said the violence “continues to cost lives and drive people from their homes”.
In total, more than a million people have been internally displaced in the east of the country in 2021, putting “enormous pressure” on those forced to flee and on host families, who have taken in 94 per cent of DRC’s forcibly displaced population.
“Host families have shown huge generosity towards their compatriots but are exhausted and in need of support if they are to continue as first responders,” Mr. Cheshirkov said. Those displaced are often forced to return to their place of origin owing to harsh living conditions and a lack of food, further exposing them to abuse and violence.
The UNHCR spokesperson said 65 per cent of the serious human rights abuses recorded by UNHCR and partners have been inflicted on returnees.
Attacks attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have increased in brutality since late 2020, and the frequency of killings of civilians has not abated, despite the state of siege declared in early May 2021 to counter the activities of such armed groups.
In one raid, UNHCR reported that armed men identified as members of the ADF raided a village in Irumu Territory, killed 15 civilians, set fire to 10 houses and kidnapped two women, on 3 September.
This was followed on 6 September by an attack by an armed group who reportedly raped 10 displaced women in Djugu Territory, Ituri province.
UNHCR and partners took the women to the nearest hospital where they received psychosocial and medical support.
According to Mr. Cheshirkov, North Kivu and Ituri Provinces are now led by State military authorities. This has led the national army to ramp up its operations and replace civil courts with military tribunals.
Some of these armed groups have surrendered after seeing their territory shrink, others have countered military operations with reprisals against villages and individuals who they believe are supporting the government, he said.
Despite government efforts to reduce the abuses of non-State armed groups, “our teams continue to hear horrific accounts of sexual violence, extortion, and looting”, the UNHCR spokesperson said.
Reiterating the agency’s call for urgent measures to protect civilians, Mr. Cheshirkov warned that funding “for this humanitarian crisis remains critically low”. With less than four months from the end of the year, UNHCR has received just 51 per cent of the $205 million required in 2021 for their operation in DRC, leaving the UN Agency “only able to respond to a small fraction of the population in urgent need”.
ends
STORY : Violence in Eastern DRC
TRT : 3’18’’
SOURCE : UNTV CH RESTRICTIONS : NONE LANGUAGE : ENGLISH ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 10 Sept 2021, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior wide shot, Untied Nations flag flying
2. Wide shot, briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, is alarmed by violence committed against civilians by armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that continues to cost lives and drive people from their homes. UNHCR and its partners have recorded more than 1200 civilian deaths and 1100 reported rapes this year in North Kivu and into the provinces, as well as at least 25,000 human rights abuses this year alone”.
4. Close of a cameraman
5. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “It is estimated that more than one million Congolese have been internally displaced in 2021 in the country's east. Repeated displacement has put enormous pressure on those forced to flee and host families that have taken in 94 per cent of DRC forcibly displaced. Host families have shown huge generosity towards their compatriots but are exhausted and in need of support if they are to continue as first responders”.
6. Close of the audience in the briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “Harsh living conditions and a lack of food often trigger a premature return by displaced people to their place of origin, further exposing them to abuse and violence. In fact, returnees account for 65 per cent of the serious human rights abuses that we and our partners have recorded”.
8. Medium shot, panelists in the briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “Following a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, we now see that they're being led by military governments, which the national army has ramped up operations there, and military tribunals have replaced civil courts. Some armed groups seeing their territory shrink have surrendered, but others are countering military operations with reprisals against villages and individuals with whom they perceive as supporting the government”.
10. Medium shot, panelists liaising with the Zoom meeting
11. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “One of the groups which has displayed extremely brutal tactics is, is the ADF (the Allied Democratic Forces). In fact, some of the attacks that we've witnessed in Ituri and North Kivu in the last few months, including during the state of siege, have been reported to us by survivors as carried out by ADF”.
12. Close of a panelist taking notes
13. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Cheshirkov, spokesperson, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “Despite government efforts to reduce the abuses of armed groups, our teams continue to hear horrific accounts of sexual violence, extreme violence, extortion and looting. Funding for this humanitarian crisis remains critically low. At the same time, with the result that UNHCR is only able to respond to a small fraction of the population needs.”
14. Medium shot, Speakers at the briefing and in the Zoom meeting
15. Close of a panelist taking notes
16. Medium shot of a cameraman
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , IFRC
Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Deadly hantavirus on board cruise ship may be transmitted among humans - WHO
Hantavirus victims on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean may have been infected prior to joining the cruise and human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out – although it is rare - the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief concerned by upheld convictions of Cambodian activists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , OHCHR
Middle East crisis puts aid, food, fuel further out of reach for millions already struggling – UN agencies
As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and rights of the most vulnerable, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNMAS
Demining experts from around the world have been sharing their collective shock at the widespread and growing threat from unexploded ordnance, the new head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office in Syria conducted a 5-day visit to the northeast of the country where they received accounts of human rights violations and abuses.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Sudan: ‘History repeating itself’ for Darfur’s children - UNICEF
Mass atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur 20 years ago reverberated as far as Hollywood, but today, a new generation of children faces attacks, hunger and displacement in an emergency largely ignored by the outside world, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.