By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch, Africa

 KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Over 200 civilians, including children, were arbitrarily killed by various rebel groups in the eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) says a UN report published on Wednesday.

In a news release from the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), the Geneva-based organization stated that “at least 264 civilians, including 83 children, were arbitrarily executed by armed groups in more than 75 attacks on villages between April and September this year.”

On a six-mission operation, the UNJHRO investigators conducted more than 160 interviews with victims and witnesses where they also found evidence of what UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay described as “the most serious [human rights violations] we have seen in recent times in the DRC.”

The investigators found out that most of the victims of these reported atrocities were hacked to death with machetes. Other victims were burnt alive in their homes at the southern town of Masisi in the North Kivu province.

However, the UNJHRO pointed out that the actual number of killings could be considerably higher than the statistics published in the report. According to the UN agency, the UNJHRO investigators experienced “security concerns” that prevented them from probing other reported violations.

“The ethnic dimension of the attacks is of particular concern in eastern DRC where tensions over the past 15 years, while fundamentally rooted in competition over land and natural resources, have resulted in cycles of violence committed along ethnic lines,” explained the report.

The main suspects of these attacks are the Raia Mutomboki and the Nyatura.

The Raia Mutomboki is a homeland defense militia whose aim is to cleanse the region of Hutus and Kinyarwanda speakers. Reports show that it has also seized the North Kivu villagers it purports to be protecting, using them as porters.
On the other hand, the Nyatura — an ethnic Hutu militia who took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda — have usually targeted people from the Tembo community.

The UNJHRO report also uncovered several cases of sexual violence involving the rape of 12 women. Other human rights violations mentioned in the report included mass forced displacement, large-scale looting, and destruction of private property.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRC and head of MONUSCO, Roger Meece, expressed his concern about the likelihood that the the security situation in the country could worsen, noting a “significant increase” in human rights violations throughout the Kivus this year.

“The risk of intensification of this ethnically charged conflict is real, and gives rise to serious concerns for peace and for the security of civilians in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, High Commissioner Navi Pillay urged the Congolese government to “take immediate measures to protect civilian populations and to combat the persistent impunity which only serves to embolden the killers.” The High Commissioner also expressed the willingness of the UN to offer support to the DRC’s recently launched judicial investigation into the human rights violations, saying that these “must lead to the prosecution of those responsible for these acts and ensure justice for the victims.”

 

For further information, please see:

Afrika.no – Congo-Kinshasa: Evidence of hundreds arbitrary killings in the east this year, UN says – 16 November 2012

United Press International – DRC vows to repel M23 – 16 November 2012

AFP – Mass slaughter of civilians, children in DR Congo: UN – 15 November 2012

All Africa – Congo-Kinshasa: UN Report Finds Evidence of Arbitrary Killings in Eastern DR Congo, Prompts Calls for Action – 14 November 2012

 

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – Uganda’s speaker of parliament promised that the controversial anti-homosexuality bill will pass by the end of the year as an “early Christmas gift”.

If enacted into law, the bill will impose harsher punishments on homosexual behavior.

According to The Examiner, the bill will effectively separate homosexuals into two groups. “Aggravated homosexuality” covers  homosexual acts committed by authoritive figures, parents, pedophiles, or individuals who are HIV positive.

On the other end of the spectrum is the “offense of homosexuality,” a charge that applies to consenting adults in a same sex relationship.

The bill would compel doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals to report a homosexual or face arrest.

Parliamentary speaker Rebecca Kadaga said that the bill will become law this year as Ugandans “are demanding it”.

“Who are we not to do what they have told us? These people should not be begging us,” Kadaga said. She added that a decision will likely be made within two weeks.

Homosexuality is already criminalized under the Ugandan penal code. However, in 2009 a lawmaker with the ruling party said the Uganda needed a stronger law to protect it’s children from homosexuals.

The proposal has drawn widespread international criticism. President Barack Obama calls it “odious” and some international donors threaten to cut off aid to Uganda should the bill be signed into law.

James Nsaba Buturo, the former ethics minister and a coalition leader, is confident of the bill’s speedy approval.

“I can tell you it has 99 percent chance. It will pass. No question about it,” Buturo said. “If there was any leader in this country who sympathizes with homosexuality, he will not say it in public. Because he knows that Ugandans, by and large, do not support that way of life.”

Buturo adds that non-Ugandans who criticize the bill are engaging in a “culture war” with Uganda. He says the bill’s re-introduction after being shelved by the last parliament shows the  country will not be deterred by threats of aid cuts.

“We are saying to the world and to those who are supporting this way of life of theirs, ‘Come what may.’ They have no right whatsoever to impose their preference on this nation,” Buturo insists.

Gay rights activists in Uganda, although opposing the bill, point out that it has helped their fight for equality by putting gay rights, a taboo subject in Uganda, on the national agenda.

On the other hand, Kikonyogo Kivumbi, executive director of civil rights organisation Uhspa-Uganda, says that the anti-gay legislation is being used as a “political weapon” for the Ugandan government to influence the UN.

“Uganda is using the bill to threaten and blackmail the West,” he told IBTimes UK. “They know that respect of human rights is a sensible subject in the West and they are using it to blackmail the international community.”

 

For further information, please see:

Voice of America – Uganda Moves Forward on Anti-Gay Bill – 14 November 2012

The Inquisitr – Uganda Anti-Gay Bill Described as ‘Early Christmas Gift’ to The Country – 12 November 2012

The Huffington Post – Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill to Pass This Year: Official – 12 November 2012

International Business Times – Uganda Uses Anti-Gay Bill to ‘Blackmail the west’, Leading Activist Tells IBTimes – 12 November 2012