By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

UNITED NATIONS — On Thursday, the UN Security Council approved the creation of a unique new combat force that will conduct “targeted offensive operations” to neutralize armed groups in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

By way of response, the Congolese government has welcomed the UN’s decision in hopes of subduing rebel groups along its border with Rwanda.  Spokesman Lambert Mende said the brigade of at least 2,000 troops would “bring some hope of peace.”

This is the first time any UN peacekeeping force has been given such an offensive mandate.  However, the ongoing conflict in the DRC has seen various armed groups creating havoc in the mineral-rich eastern region for two decades.

The brigade will be part of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC.  At present, the UN has more than 17,700 peacekeepers and more than 1,400 international police in the DRC; however, they have been accused of not doing enough to stop the violence in the eastern provinces.  The latest rebellion, from 2012 to present, has displaced an estimated 800,000 people in the DRC from their homes.

The UN Security Council resolution stated that the new Intervention Brigade will “carry out targeted offensive operations” to “neutralize” armed groups. In July, forces will be deployed and will include troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi.

The resolution will give the brigade a mandate to operate “in a robust, highly mobile and versatile manner” to ensure that armed groups cannot seriously threaten government authority or the security of civilians.

UN peacekeepers were unable to protect civilians from M23 rebels, whose movement began in April 2012 when hundreds of troops defected from the Congolese armed forces.  Likewise, the resolution strongly condemns the continued presence of the M23 in the immediate vicinity of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and its attempts to establish “an illegitimate parallel administration in North Kivu.

Moreover, the Resolution demands that the M23 and other armed groups, including those seeking the “liberation” of Rwanda and Uganda, immediately halt all violence and “permanently disband and lay down their arms.”  It also strongly condemns their continuing human rights abuses including summary executions, sexual violence and the continued conscripting and use of children.

But the resolution states clearly that it will be established for one year “on an exceptional basis and without creating a precedent or any prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping.”  The resolution, sponsored by France, the United States and Togo, says the “intervention brigade” must have “a clear exit strategy.”

It says the Security Council will determine its continued presence based on its performance and according to whether the DRC has made sufficient progress in improving its security.  Moreover, the Congolese are set to form a “rapid reaction force” that can assume responsibility for neutralizing armed groups and reducing the threat they pose to civilians and the government’s authority.

The resolution extends the mission’s mandate until March 31, 2014, and the brigade will be headquartered in Goma.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN Approves DR Congo “Intervention Brigade” – 29 March 2013

BBC – DR Hails UN Attack Force – 29 March 2013

Reuters – U.N. Approves New Combat Force to “Neutralize” Congo Rebels – 28 March 2013

The New York Times – U.N. Approves New Force to Pursue Congo’s Rebels – 29 March 2013

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali – New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement on Tuesday urging the Malian government to look into allegations that soldiers tortured several detainees.

In a study conducted by the group, it is revealed that seven men who are suspected members of rebel groups were “beaten and kicked, burned, injected with a caustic substance, and threatened with death” while in the custody of Malian troops.

From March 11 to March 23, HRW gathered testimonies from detainees about the harsh treatment they received from the army. Tuareg in ethnicity, all seven detainees recalled being taken from Léré to an ad hoc military headquarters in Markala where they were questioned about their suspected affiliation with rebel groups. After denying such accusations, one detainee recounted how they were hogtied and hurled onto the ground “like [they] were bags of rice”.

According to the report, the soldiers also injected two detainees with an unknown caustic substance which damaged their skin. One of the detainees said, “I came to[,] while being dragged along the ground after my hands had been bound with my turban. The next day near sundown a soldier came in, took my arm and injected a substance. I thought it might have been for the pain. . . . I didn’t speak his language so couldn’t ask him. Then he injected my friend who was sharing the cell with me. It started blistering and by the next morning had eaten my skin. I felt as if I would die from the pain. . . . All I want is to return to my village.”

Another detainee described how he was subjected to “waterboarding”. “They told me to crouch down, slammed my head hard against a wall, pulled it back then grabbed a bucket of water and poured it down my nose and into my mouth. . . . While doing this they asked me, ‘Tell us what job you were doing with them and why you had money on you,'” he explained.

HRW’s Senior West Africa researcher Corinne Dufka told the press that the army’s use of torture will only exacerbate the crisis in the country unless the government does something about the issue. “The Malian government should promptly and impartially investigate these and other allegations of abuse or face an increasingly unaccountable military and deepening communal tensions,” she advised.

Last week, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution to appoint an independent monitor for Mali which was met with partial criticism from HRW. According to the human rights group, this resolution fell short of addressing reports of abuses by Malian troops. “While we welcome this resolution, the Council’s failure to clearly condemn serious violations recently committed by members of the Malian army is a disservice to the Malian people,” HRW said in a statement.

 

For further information, please see:

Global Post – Malian soldiers get human rights training – 27 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Mali: Soldiers Torture Detainees in Léré – 26 March 2013

The Windsor Star – Human Rights Watch: Malian soldiers inject suspected extremists with acid – 26 March 2013

Daily Maverick – UN Condemns Mali Rights Abuses, To Step Up Monitoring – 22 March 2013