Rights groups urge rapid deployment of emergency force in DRCongo's Ituri

KAMPALA (AFP) May 21, 2003
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday called on the UN not to wait for a new Security Council resolution before deploying an emergency force in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri region.

"Given the urgency of the situation, we urge you to ensure a rapid reaction force is deployed immediately in Bunia, pending an agreement by UN Security Council on the expansion and strengthening of UN Mission to DRCmandate and deployment of its reinforced troops," the rights groups said in an open letter to the Security Council.

This week, the UN Security Council approved Secretary General Kofi Annan's appeal for member states to participate in an emergency military mission in Ituri.

MONUC currently has some 700 soldiers in Bunia, the main town in DRC's northeastern Ituri region, and had sent some 20 observers further afield into Ituri.

Fighting between militias from two rival ethnic groups, the Hema and the Lendu, has left at least 230 people dead in the last two weeks in Bunia, most of them civilians caught up in a vicious circle of hatred and revenge.

Two MONUC observers were killed in Ituri after going missing in the volatile region last week, the UN mission announced on Monday, and last week, Bunia was reported to be 80 percent empty, with most people having fled the town or sought refuge at the airport or MONUC base.

"Despite the signing last week of a ceasefire, the potential for the situation to rapidly escalate into further killings of civilians demands an immediate and urgent response, notably the deployment of troops with a clear and robust mandate to protect civilians," the rights groups' letter warned.

HRW and AI charged that in a fast-changing scene, the ethnic groups have allied with several different DRC rebel groups and with foreign backers, including Uganda and Rwanda.

The rights groups described the situation in Ituri as a "critical test" of the UN's commitments to prevent mass killings and protect civilians.

The letter noted that MONUC has been unable to adequately protect civilians and proposed that the rapid reaction force "have a robust mandate to ensure maintenance of law and order to protect civilians in Bunia."

"MONUC should try to locate and protect civilians who have fled outside the town, progressively establish a presence beyond Bunia to ensure they are protected throughout the region and help ensure humanitarian assistance reaches civilian populations in need," the letter said.

WAR.WIRE