Hjemstavnsfordrevne i DR Congo skal beskyttes imod flere af de talrige overgreb, de har været udsat for. Det konkluderer Human Rights Watch (HRW) i en rapport med titlen: “Always on the Run: The Vicious Cycle of Displacement in Eastern Congo”, som frigives tirsdag.
Både regeringen i DR Congo og FN´s fredsskabende mission bør lægge større vægt på at beskytte de henved 2 millioner, der har mistet deres hjem på grund af langvarige konflikter i den østlige del af DR Congo.
HRW skriver, at både FN´s Højkommissariat for Flygtninge (UNHCR) og de internationale donorer skal fokusere på at sikre, at de fordrevne congolesere ikke presses til at vende hjem, før det er sikkert.
– Despite the government’s stabilization and reconstruction efforts in eastern Congo, the population remains at risk from continuing violence, said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.
– The internally displaced are among the most vulnerable people in the region, and they desperately need greater protection and assistance, added he.
The report documents how myriad armed groups and the Congolese armed forces have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in North and South Kivu – eastern Congo’s most volatile provinces – often multiple times and for many years.
Combatants have forced civilians from their homes and lands, looted their properties, and punished them for suspected collaboration with enemy groups. These internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled killings, rape, burning, pillaging, and forced labor.
Læs videre på http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/09/13/dr-congo-strengthen-protection-displaced-people
