AFRICA/DR CONGO - “The international community has the duty to intervene in bringing peace to eastern Congo,” the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN in Geneva says.

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The international community cannot remain inactive and should speak clearly. It is of utmost importance that the international community restore order and seek the common good.” These were the words spoken by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Specialized Agencies in Geneva, in asking the international organizations and all interested countries in intervening to end the conflict in North Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo).
On November 28, Archbishop Tomasi gave an address at the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council working on the situation in eastern Congo. In his talk, the text of which has been sent to Agenzia Fides, Archbishop Tomasi expressed the “Holy See's denunciation of the atrocious levels of serious human and humanitarian rights violations. The Holy See abhors the recruitment of children and adolescents as soldiers. It is extremely concerned at the diverse forms of torture and other cruel practices, which are inhumane and degrading, including the frequent sexual violations against women and young girls which are being committed by all parties involved in the conflict. The international community should intervene quickly in response to these grave human rights violations.”
The Holy See, the Permanent Representative said, likewise denounces the illicit trafficking of arms, especially handguns in the DRC. This trafficking contributes to augmenting the violence and threat to human life, and the integrity of countless innocent people.
After recalling the denouncement made by the Congolese Bishops (see Fides 14/11/2008) and the appeal launched by Pope Benedict XVI in the Angelus on November 9, Archbishop Tomasi focused on the dramatic humanitarian situation in eastern Congo: “According to the most recent information, there are nearly 2 million people being forced to flee their homes. Their right to food, water, decent work and adequate housing, education, and health is being seriously compromised. Many refugees have been taken in by camps, where they are assisted by international humanitarian aid organizations. However, there are others who are less fortunate and cannot be assisted by humanitarian agents, due to the conflict among the various parties. According to the most recent reports, nearly 200,000 people are forced to live in the forest and there is very little known regarding their situation.”
“My delegation is making appeals to all the parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, asking that they respect the ceasefire and to comply with previously signed peace agreements. The people of Congo, as all the other people of our planet, have a right to peace. Stable peace can only be founded upon dialogue, reconciliation, and justice,” the Permanent Representative of the Holy See concluded. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)