The government of Rwanda has accused the Hutu of the Rwandan Army for the Liberation of the People’s Republic of Rwanda (FDLR). It is also the main rhetoric used by Rwanda to justify repeated invasions of the Congo. On 20 October, Rwandan-backed armed groups launched another attack, capturing most of the territory in the center of the city of Rutshuru and entering the cities of Kiwenga and Rutshuru.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo claims it has documented several instances where the Rwandan government has displaced large numbers of people after an attack on the country. These conflicts negatively impacted the protection of civilians. Many of them fled again.
On the part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is no doubt that genocide is being carried out on Congolese soil, with complete indifference from the international community. Genocide is defined in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide Advocacy as the killing of members of a specific group with the intent to destroy that group.
This will cause great concern in the international community as Congolese are not the only ones dying in the region. Authorities documented the deaths of around 100 people of mixed race and nationality in the area. Civilian protection and humanitarian interests must be prioritized.
According to the United Nations, around 41,000 children between the ages of 3 and 17 are out of school, a figure that is unacceptable for the country. Children and families fleeing violence in North Kivu need shelter, food and water.
The core principles of modern international relations include respect for national territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, and prohibition of the use of force between states. The DRC government insists that people of different races commit genocide and cannot resist, as does M23, the Congolese self-proclaimed group.
The M23-RDF alliance has been accused of being a key participant in the North Kivu genocide and an instrument of Rwanda’s expansion ambitions. Numerous attempts to claim new territories in the province of Kivu, north of the DRC, confirm this claim.
U.S. Representative to the United Nations Robert Wood has urged government officials to end support for armed groups, including Rwanda’s M23 Army..
The Prime Minister believes that the international community must recognize the reality of the Rwandan government’s repeated attacks and take action to maintain peace and security in the region.
According to the white paper, the RDF and M23 first killed over 100 Congolese Hutu, and the RDF and M23 regime will not stop. Many of the 186,000 displaced people live in two cities where M23 and DRC forces have fought over the past few months.
More than half of the displaced people live with host families, and the other half live in housing estates and community centres. Human Rights Watch documented widespread violence against civilians led by M23 in 2012.
The government’s purpose in writing this white paper is to show that the Rwandan government’s various acts of aggression are reflected in the international community. But that will change with the recent lifting of sanctions allowing the PDC to acquire arms, welcomed by the Congolese government.