Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Africa, November 25, 2023 – As the country prepares for general elections in December women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are experiencing some of the worst human rights abuses in the world according to UN reports.

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on track to have record levels of verified grave violations against children for a third consecutive year in 2023 – In both 2021 and 2022, DRC had the world’s highest levels of verified cases of sexual violence against children committed by armed forces and armed groups,” UNESCO explained. The 2023 levels of ‘grave abuses’ against children has risen 41 percent this year.

It’s years of armed conflict between over 100 different rebel groups both foreign and local that has precipitated the foreboding increase. The UN is describing the resulting humanitarian crises in DRC as an epidemic of gender based violence.

Armed groups have been struggling for control of the DRC ever since rebels ousted from Rwanda captured the capital of then Zaire and renamed it the DRC.

Increased tensions have followed the planned departure of UN peace keepers under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

MONUSCO, established by the UN in 2010 had been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate to ‘protect of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.’

It’s another UN intervention which has been labeled a failure.

More than five million people have been displaced because of the ongoing clashes.  The situation is expected to worsen in 2024.

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Congo, November 22, 2023 – As the country prepares for general elections in December, women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are experiencing some of the worst human rights abuses in the world, according to UN reports.

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on track to have record levels of verified grave violations against children for a third consecutive year in 2023 – In both 2021 and 2022, DRC had the world’s highest levels of verified cases of sexual violence against children committed by armed forces and armed groups,” UNESCO explained. The 2023 levels of ‘grave abuses’ against children have risen 41 percent this year.

It’s years of armed conflict between over 100 different rebel groups, both foreign and local, that have facilitated the increase. The UN is describing the resulting humanitarian crisis as an epidemic of gender-based violence.

Armed groups have been struggling for control of the DRC ever since rebels ousted from Rwanda captured the capital of then-Zaire and renamed it the DRC.

Increased tensions have followed the planned departure of UN peacekeepers under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). 

MONUSCO, established by the UN in 2010, had been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate to ‘protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.’

More than five million people have been displaced from their homes because of the ongoing clashes   The situation is expected to worsen in 2024.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Kenya, October 3, 2022 – Kenyan Officers are being taught French to help break the language barrier between Kenya and Haiti when the multinational mission is launched. This was revealed by Alfred Mutua, Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister according to reports.

The languages of Kenya, Swahili and English and the languages of Haiti, French and Haitian Creole, puts in question the success of the multinational force, as helping the nation overcome the severe struggles it is faced with requires some kind-of communication. 

As the Leading nation of the force, as promised, it is only appropriate that the 1000 soldiers that will be on the ground in hopefully the next few months as officials day, know French to a certain degree as this will plunge the officers deeper into the reality of the people through language thus yielding better results within the stipulated year for the mission.

The soldiers’ learning of French rests against the backdrop of doubts that the multinational intervention will be a success due to past failures such as that in 2004 when a security mission to the republic was tarnished by a sexual assault scandal.

 Now this is not a good look with Kenya in the mix as it’s officers have been criticism for human rights abuse, as reports have said.

  In fact, BBC reports that “several rights organisations have expressed worries about the ability of the officers to act humanely and responsibly in Haiti.”

Amnesty International, international non-governmental organisation focused on human rights, according to BBC, sent an open letter to the UN Security Council expressing its concern about Kenya going to Haiti as a result of the Kenyan police’s history of excessive and unnecessary force.

The Organisation even made mention of more than 30 cases, that it said it has documented, of Kenyan officers killing protestors with shooting and tear-gas suffocation in protests this year. Also, the officers are accused of beating and arresting protestors.

However, Japhet Koome, Kenya’s police chief, denied the accusations saying opposition politicians planted bodies hired from mortuaries at protest scenes in order to pin the deaths on his personnel, who he commends for their response to recent protests.