Central Africa

The path of insecurity for DRCongo's refugees

aljazeeraenglish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:36:02 -0800

After three weeks of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, civilians are hurting. For those caught behind rebel-held lines the situation is dire.

Al Jazeera been given exclusive access to the area, in the village of Kiwanja, eastern Congo. We found people who have fled some of the worst violence in recent days, only to end up at UN outposts which they say can't protect them either.

Mohamed Adow has this exclusive report. (November 12, 2008))

Global Grassroots

GlobalGrassroots — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:14:16 -0700

Global Grassroots was founded in 2004 to support conscious social change for women in post-conflict societies in Africa. Through personal transformation work, social entrepreneurship training and seed funding grants, Global Grassroots helps marginalized women and genocide survivors reclaim their lives and discover their value to society through the development of their own ideas for social change. Global Grassroots also engages in creative campaigns to raise awareness of critical women’s issues globally, including genocide and sexual violence during conflict.

Roundup: Highlights this week on the Hub

Priscila Néri — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:44:08 -0700

1) On the week of Global Action for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) watch this interview with Bukeni Waruzi - WITNESS' Program Coordinator for Africa/Middle East and a native of Uvira, Eastern DRC, where the fighting between Rwandan rebels and the Congolese Army first broke out in 1996.

DRC - Raise Hope, Protect and Empower Congo's Women

Priscila Néri — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:52:22 -0700

The Enough Project launches a new campaign and website RAISE Hope for Congo to fight the terrible scourge of violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Watch the video. Take action.
[Originally posted by Mark Leon Goldberg here: http://www.undispatch.com/archives/2008/10/help_fight_viol.php]

What does your cell phone have to do with the crisis in the DRC?

Priscila Néri — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:09:42 -0700

This video from the Pultizer Center helps explain the connection. In a nutshell: your cell phone most likely contains a mineral called coltan. Roughly 80% of the world's coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Illegal extraction and reselling of coltan to multinational corporations have helped fuel the violence in the DRC over the past 10 years. So far, the war in the DRC has already claimed 5.4 million lives and displaced more than 1.5 million people.

Epidemic of Rape in the Congo: Women for Women International

WomenforWomenIntl — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:39:12 -0700

As seen on 60 Minutes: Women for Women International reports from DR Congo in concert with Anderson Cooper's piece for 60 Minutes, "War Against Women" featuring Women for Women International's program in the DR Congo. Also, please watch "The Greatest Silence" trailer and the film which features our Congo program as well. www.womenforwomen.org
[Originally uploaded here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeMkMlXk3NM by Women for Women, August/2007]

UNICEF: In DR Congo, rape as a weapon of war

Priscila Néri — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:27:23 -0700

GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24 June 2008 -- In a momentous step forward for the protection of women and girls in DRC and around the world, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.

Resolution 1820, which passed last week, reiterates the status of sexual violence as a war crime, a crime against humanity, a form of torture and a constituent act of genocide. It also advances efforts to sanction perpetrators and raise the political, military and economic cost of such violence.

Insecurity increases in Eastern DRC

Bukeni Waruzi — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:45:03 -0700

This video, produced by WITNESS partner Ajedi-Ka, talks about the resurgence of violence in the Eastern provinces of the DRC from January 2008 on. The renewed fighting between rebel groups like CNDP and Interahamwe and the Congolese Army in Eastern DRC has produced a growing humanitarian crisis marked by severe human rights violations. Some of the effects have included: displacement of thousands of families, murders, recruitment of child soldiers, mass rape, and a collapse of public health services which has exacerbated the spread of HIV/AIDS.

WITNESS's Bukeni Waruzi on the ongoing crisis in the DRC

Priscila Néri — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:12:26 -0700

Video blog from Bukeni Waruzi, WITNESS Program Coordinator for Africa & Middle East and a native of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In the video, Bukeni talks about the importance of the Global Week of Action for the DRC and also gives a personal account of how 10 years of war in the DRC has affected his family and friends.

Internews Radio for Darfur Refugees and Displaced Chadians

radiowalker — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:55:52 -0700

Three community radio stations have been established in Chad to serve refugees from Darfur and displaced Chadians. Local Chadian and Sudanese journalists have been trained to produce news and informational programming for people living in the camps on topics such as humanitarian relief and women's issues.