INFORMATION::News Stories on the DR Congo

21 July 2009 By guddha.kawasaki 0 In Women Are Not Weapons

Following are some links to a number of recent news stories on the situation in the DR Congo (the violence against women & some of the issues that have perpetuated the violence). I think it is really important to be well informed on the whole picture of the situation there. I’d love to get some responses to the articles, audio, and video, so we can all process this together.

Faced with a Gun, what can you do? (by Global Witness)

Report, press releases, audio, and other documents about the war and militarization of mining in eastern Congo.

Blood Coltan (by thedossier.ukonline.co.uk)

Documentary video explaining the source of much of the conflict, a rare mineral called Coltan that is critical to the electronics in mobile phones.

Sexual violence, torture surging in Congo: Oxfam (July 14 by AFP)

Info on how the occurrences of rape and torture are continuing, and even surging this year.

Press Conference on Situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo (July 10 by the U.N. Press)

UN assessment of the current situation.

DR Congo troops accused of rapes (July 2, 2009 by BBC News)

US-based Human Rights Watch says thousands have been raped by rebels and soldiers in the past six months. And it says the UN, with 12,000 peacekeepers backing the troops, risks becoming “complicit” in the atrocities.

DR Congo: Massive Increase in Attacks on Civilians (July 2 by Human Rights Watch)

The attacks on civilians from all sides have resulted in a significant increase in human rights violations over the past six months.

A Broken U.N. Promise In Congo (June 30 by Eve Ensler in Washington Post)

The (poor) implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1820.

Conflict in Congo (June 16 by the International Crisis Group)

A general explanation of the situation, as well as info on their ideas/suggestions for response.

Mass Stigma Scars Congo’s Rape Survivors (Oct 10, ’08 by Dominique Soguel of WeNews)

A psychologist in a Congo hospital says decades of war have produced a rape-friendly culture with a double standard. While perpetrators go unpunished the victims, including children, are ostracized.