On April 11th, there was a reported armed attack with at least 20 killed civilians in Mangusu, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.). It is suspected that the attacks come from members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), according to both local officials and human rights groups. The United Nations (UN) reports that in the past few weeks, over “40 civilians have died in a spate of attacks in the area,” with people fleeing their homes. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continues to rise to 1.9 million in the city of Ituri and places all around the D.R.C. Due to the recent attacks, humanitarian aid resources such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have had to pause their aid in those current areas, but they maintain care for others as they are essential to sustain life.
The D.R.C. is one of the most impoverished countries globally, with the OCHA reporting that an estimated 27 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022. They have been controlled by the militia group ADF since 1995, as they commit serious violations of international law, including recruiting child soldiers, kidnapping civilians, and committing violent sexual abuses. The UN reports the rising in attacks by the ADF since the start of 2022 due to a recent campaign to stop the militia by their government. The ADF has since broken into smaller forces and took after readily attacking civilians.
With the rising amount of IDPs and attacks by militias, it is essential to question the role of the UN and other organizations in holding them accountable for their violations. Since the 1960s, the U.S. has had diplomatic relations with the D.R.C. as they aim to help them become more stable and democratic, with state sovereignty through their government, and provide ample resources for their citizens. It is important that with such long commitments by humanitarian aid groups to provide support for civilians and IDPs, there should be efforts to implement change. Resources that are not only there to sustain life but also services for IDPs to regain a sense of control in their lives and move towards secure housing. Additionally, as part of the campaign against the ADF, there need to be provisions for civilians provided by government resources as the situation obviously worsens. Those resources should be supported by larger, international groups as well.
With human rights atrocities occurring more frequently in the D.R.C., aid cannot be paused but rather more efficiently implemented through secure routes. International turmoil is at an extreme currently in other areas, but humanitarian groups cannot ignore the ongoing and worsening situation in countries such as the D.R.C.
