The UN human rights chief is sounding the alarm over the escalating crisis in eastern Congo. He’s calling on global leaders to act fast to stop the violence before it spreads beyond Congo’s borders.
“The worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), but also beyond the country’s borders,” Volker Türk, warned in an emergency meeting of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on Friday.
Congo has convened an emergency meeting in Geneva to highlight severe human rights abuses by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels. These rebels have seized control of the key city of Goma and are pushing further. Patrick Muyaya, DRC’s Minister of Communication, is urging the international community to pressure Rwanda to halt its support for these armed groups and withdraw from Congolese soil.
“We need urgent global pressure on Rwanda to stop supporting the rebels and to exit our territory,” Muyaya stressed.
Rwanda, however, flatly denies these claims. James Ngango, Rwanda’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, says Rwanda is facing a threat of its own. He claims new evidence points to an imminent large-scale attack on Rwanda, noting a stockpile of weapons around Goma’s airport as part of this looming threat.
“We reject DRC’s attempts to blame Rwanda for its instability,” Ngango said. “The real threat is the imminent attack on Rwanda.”
As both Congo and Rwanda seek international intervention, the UN human rights chief stressed the urgency of the situation, warning that failure to act could lead to even graver consequences for the region.