Persons displaced by ethnic conflict in Eastern Congo
© Human Rights Watch, Suliman Ali Baldo
December 2000

Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world: Russia (Chechnya) and Democratic Republic of Congo
March 29, 2001, Human Rights Watch Oral Intervention at the 57th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

Backgrounder on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
January 31, 2001

Civil Society Under Threat in the DR Congo (January 23, 2001)  Société civile menacée au Congo

Congo: Kabila's Human Rights Legacy

To move towards a state of law the new government must:
  • End all interference with basic human rights, as provided for by international and national law, including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.

  • Order a review of persons currently detained in prison and release those held without charge or credible suspicion of guilt

  • Investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity as well as murders, "disappearances" and other acts of state terrorism against citizens

  • Declare and enforce respect for all Congolese regardless of ethnic or regional origin

  • End harassment of human rights groups and obstruction of human rights investigations



Congo: A Continuing Human Rights Disaster

Eastern Congo: Rebels' Persecution of Rights Activists
(New York, August 21, 2001) -- The Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma), a rebel group based in eastern Congo, has stepped up abuse of civil society activists, Human Rights Watch charged.
Congo: Activist Held in Kinshasa
(New York, 22 June 2001) -- The Congolese government should immediately stop arbitrarily arresting human rights activists, Human Rights Watch said today.
Congo: Rebel Fighting Imperils Beni Residents  French
(New York, June 12, 2001) Residents of the eastern Congolese town of Beni are caught in the crossfire of week-long violent clashes between two competing rebel factions, with many civilians killed and injured, Human Rights Watch said today.
Congo Ratifies Ban on Child Soldiers: Urged to Demobilize Children in it's Forces  in French - Letter to Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph
June 5, 2001

Congo Rebel Group Forces Children into Army
(New York, May 29, 2001) The major rebel group in eastern Congo continues to recruit children to wage war against the Congolese government, Human Rights Watch charged in a report released today.
Congo: Hostage Situation Raises Concerns for Civilian Population
(New York, May 25, 2001) Deployments of Ugandan and local rebel forces in response to a hostage situation in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) pose a serious threat to the security of the civilian population, Human Rights Watch said today.
Rampant Human Rights Abuses and Occupation of the DRC by Foreign Armies
Suliman Ali Baldo Testimony at the House Committee on International Relations
May 17, 2001


Human rights activist in Kinshasa detained since February 2001
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April 12, 2001

Congo: Resource Exploitation Exacerbates Civilian Suffering
Call for U.N. Security Council to End Bloodshed
(New York, April 20, 2001) Human Rights Watch urged the United Nations Security Council today to take action against the looting of resources by foreign troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and address the devastating human rights abuses being committed by the same troops.   More...


Ugandan Occupation Worsens Congo's Problems L'occupation ougandaise aggrave les problèmes du Congo
(New York, March 28, 2001) Ugandan authorities have fueled political and ethnic strife in eastern Congo with disastrous consequences for the local population, Human Rights Watch charged in a report released today. More..

L'Ouganda dans l'est de la RDC : une presence qui attise les conflits politiques et ethniques

Congo, Rwanda Responsible for Severe Abuses
(Washington, February 1, 2001) The two African leaders at a Congressional prayer breakfast this morning are fighting a war that has caused massive civilian casualities, and U.S. officials meeting with them should make that the focus of their dialogue, Human Rights Watch said today. More..


Congo: Massacres in Ugandan-Controlled Areas
(New York, January 22, 2001) The Ugandan government must be held responsible for the security of the population and humanitarian workers in areas under its control in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Human Rights Watch said today.

On January 19, rival Lendu and Hema militias killed at least one hundred and fifty civilians in the northeastern Congo town of Bunia. Uganda is one of six foreign governments that have intervened in the civil war in the Congo (DRC) where its troops now control a sizable portion of the northeast.  More...


Background to the Hema-Lendu Conflict in Uganda-Controlled Congo
In the past two years, Ugandans have recruited and trained both Hema and Lendu to serve in the forces of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement (RCD-ML), a rebel group which is backed by Uganda and which nominally controls this area. Within the last year, however, at least some Ugandan officers have reportedly favored the Hema More..