Democratic Republic of Congo

The difficult human rights situation of women in the DRC and the need to increase women's representation in the peace process have spurred UNIFEM and the Office of the Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue to call for the equal participation of women at the dialogue, to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15 October.

Troop withdrawals and the inter-Congolese dialogue scheduled to begin 15 October in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia signal improvements in the DRC, but concerns remain over fighting in the east and human rights violations, the UN Security Council was told on Thursday.

The Banyamulenge, Congolese Tutsis of eastern DRC allied to the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) rebel movement, have issued a list of conditions in a document titled "Manifeste banyamulenge du 1er Aout 2001 pour la paix au Kivu" ("Banyamulenge Manifesto of 1 August 2001 for Peace in Kivu").

Multiple troop movements and population displacements in the DRC, and to and from neighbouring countries with high HIV prevalence rates, have left the DRC well set for "an explosion of HIV/AIDS", according to WHO focal point Dr Tshioko Kweteminga, cited in an agency situation report last month.

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Observateurs des droits de l’Homme (CODHO), a member of OMCT network, that a new child has been sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For details of how you can help, follow the links below.

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