DRC: Protection of civilians must remain at the centre of new regional efforts to end cycles of violence

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT AI Index: AFR 62/002/2013 22 February 2013 DRC: Protection of civilians must remain at the centre of new regional efforts to end cycles of violence All actors involved in discussions on resolving the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must keep civilian protection at the centre of their efforts, as a peace and security agreement on the DRC i [...] The UN Secretary-General and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are also discussing a proposal to deploy an intervention brigade composed of African troops within the UN peacekeeping force in DRC, MONUSCO, with an offensive mandate to prevent the expansion of, and to neutralize and disarm, armed groups. [...] The human rights situation in eastern DRC severely deteriorated from mid-2012 onwards as a consequence of fighting between the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Congolese army, culminating in M23’s temporary takeover of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, in November 2012. [...] Following heavy criticism directed at MONUSCO in the aftermath of the fall of Goma, the Security Council approved the Secretary General’s proposal in January 2013 to provide MONUSCO with unarmed surveillance systems, commonly known as drones, to gather information on the movement of armed groups in eastern Congo, and to allow for “timely decision-making”. [...] Amnesty International calls on African governments to give their full attention to components of the agreement outlining such reforms to be undertaken by the DRC government with the support of the international community and MONUSCO, which are necessary to address human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.