The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Congolese Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals Rose Mutombo has filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC), in The Hague in the Netherlands, against the terrorist movement M23 and its ally the Rwandan army, accused of crimes and looting in the DRC.
The complaint was received by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang. The DRC is deeply concerned by the illicit behavior characterized by serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) recorded between 2022 and 2023, as well as the systematic and large-scale looting of its natural resources by agents of the RDF-M23 coalition.
Separately, the United Nations organization reported M23 atrocities in the villages of Kishishe and Bambo in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a report by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in DR Congo, M23 terrorists killed at least 131 civilians (102 men, 17 women and 12 children) during acts of reprisal against the population. civilians perpetrated last November.
The DRC government has extended an invitation to the ICC Prosecutor for a planned visit to the Congolese capital to investigate these atrocities. This complaint filed by the Congolese Minister of Justice is an initiative of the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight against impunity for these crimes by resorting to civilized means. The aim is to hold the perpetrators of these serious violations of IHL and IHRL accountable for their actions.