DRC

"The International Criminal Court on Friday issued a new arrest warrant for Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda, for alleged war crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery...Ntaganda is already wanted by the Hague-based war crimes court for conscripting child fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)."

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Delivering its first sentence, the International Criminal Court jailed Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for 14 years on Tuesday for recruiting child soldiers...The Hague-based court was set up a decade ago to punish and discourage the world's worst crimes through a new system of international justice, but its critics say it has moved too slowly and failed to put its most important suspects on trial.

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Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said there is a need to rebuild trust "amidst swirling allegations," a reference to a U.N. report that said Rwanda was aiding rebels in Congo known as M23. Rwanda has denied that accusation.

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"A statement from the Civil Society Coordination for North Kivu province, signed by vice president Omar Kavota, said residents have reported that M23 rebels attacked before dawn Thursday and fought army troops for four hours to dislodge them from the center that also has a large Catholic mission and school. It is the only major village on the road from Bunagana border post to the eastern town of Rutshuru."

"Rwanda’s government may have overestimated [Ntaganda's] clout—and may come to regret backing him. And the Americans may have to start thinking about making their loyalty to Mr Kagame more conditional. If Congo and Rwanda are to co-exist and prosper, they need economic integration and stability in the Kivus."

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"The conflict minerals rule would require companies to disclose whether they use tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten from the Democratic Republic of the Congo...The delays have been fueled by a bitter dispute between human rights groups who say the rules will help reduce corruption and companies who say they will be too costly and difficult to implement."

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"The statement from the United States was the first time the long-standing ally of Rwandan President Paul Kagame has directly addressed the issue of the country's alleged involvement in the Congo mutiny...Rwanda has denied the contents of an addendum to a report by U.N. experts, released last week, which provided the strongest evidence yet that officials of Kagame's government were providing military and logistical support to armed groups in Congo."

"But a shadow hangs over Mr. Kagame’s Rwanda, in the form of persistent concern about intimidation of the political opposition. Outspoken journalists and politicians have disappeared or died in mysterious circumstances, while the government insists that some thoughts are too dangerous to permit, in the aftermath of genocide."

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"Thousands of refugees from conflict areas in DRC have fled over the border to Rwanda, crowding a transit centre 25 kilometres from the border. In response the government has built a new camp in the south of the country but it's only big enough to house just over half of those who have already arrived, while the flow of people over the border has shown no sign of stopping."

"Several international surveys have rated Congo as the world’s worst place to be a woman. Often, these studies focus on gender violence. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health last year, 48 Congolese women are raped every hour. For years, various militia and rebel groups have used rape as a weapon to destroy communities."

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"They neglect to address the other main sources of violence: distinctively local conflicts over land, grassroots power, status and resources, like cattle, charcoal, timber, drugs and fees levied at checkpoints. Most of the violence in Congo is not coordinated on a large scale. It is the product of conflicts among fragmented local militias, each trying to advance its own agenda at the village or district level. Those then percolate and expand."

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"The US and other Security Council members should do everything they can," Human Rights Watch said, "to expose violations of UN sanctions, including by Rwanda, and not attempt to cover them up."

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Annette LaRocco with the Enough Project calls for the United States to re-evaluate foreign policy with Rwanda:

"In light of mounting evidence of the Rwandan government’s support of Bosco Ntaganda and the rebellious M23 movement, the U.S. government must critically re-evaluate its military and development aid and foreign policy strategy vis-à-vis Kigali and urge further high-level investigations into the alleged incidents of Rwandan interference."

Congolese youth remain divided on the issue. "We anxiously await the results of ongoing investigations," says Zigabe. "But I think a war in the DRC is not in the Rwandan government's interest because the Rutshuru region is close to the Rwandan border. A conflict in the DRC could easily spill over to Rwanda."

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"In a unanimous decision in March, the three presiding judges said evidence proved that as head of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and its armed wing, Lubanga bore responsibility for the recruitment of child soldiers under the age of 15 who had participated actively on the frontline."

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