The United Nations Security Council should urgently act to protect civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from further atrocities by government and rebel forces and ensure peacekeepers are not implicated in abuses.

Victims of serious human rights crimes require support, protection, and assistance when seeking justice through the courts. The protection of a victim's well-being in the context of a trial is a legal imperative, though in many countries such protection measures pose serious challenges and are frequently inadequate. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country plagued by continued armed conflict and a weak judicial system, the task of providing protection and support to victims seeking legal redress is all the more complex.

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) joint trial of two Congolese rebel leaders offers victims the chance to see accountability for atrocities committed in Congo’s armed conflict.

Congolese armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have brutally killed hundreds of civilians and committed widespread rape in the past three months in a military operation backed by the United Nations.

A network of African civil society and international organizations today called upon African Union states to use the AU’s upcoming session about the International Criminal Court to promote the court’s ability to prosecute the world’s worst crimes fairly and effectively.

The Congolese government's military operation in eastern Congo, Kimia II, backed by United Nations peacekeepers and aimed at neutralizing the threat from a Rwandan Hutu militia group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has resulted in an unacceptable cost for the civilian population.

The award of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama should encourage him to apply his stated principles to both foreign and domestic human rights policy.