World Vision to UN: Joint military operation in Eastern DRC puts thousands of children at risk

• In last three months, World Vision registered 1,000 unaccompanied children, 100 cases of child sexual assaults in Goma and Masisi alone
• Civilians face further death and displacement from joint Rwandan-Congolese operation against FDLR rebels, aid agency warns
• UN humanitarian chief John Holmes to visit region where more than 1.2 million displaced

Goma, DRC, February 6, 2009—As UN humanitarian chief John Holmes visits the war-scarred region of Eastern Congo this week, World Vision reasserted its concern for hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially children, who will suffer more death and displacement as a result of the joint operation by the Rwandan and Congolese Governments against the predominantly Hutu rebel group, the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Through World Vision’s grassroots work in displacement camps and host communities, it registered almost 1,000 new unaccompanied children and almost 100 new cases of sexual assaults against children during the recent fighting (between October 2008 and January 2009) around Goma and Masisi alone. The agency shared these findings in a statement to John Holmes prior to his visit.

“This snapshot of unaccompanied and assaulted children is just one illustration of the devastating effects military action is having on children,” said the agency’s relief director for eastern DRC, Bekele Hankebo, “A further use of arms will only exacerbate the root causes of a war characterized by violence, and make protection of children more difficult.”

World Vision staff will be meeting with Holmes while he is in Congo, and urging the UN agencies to help create real solutions to the ever-growing need for the protection of children.

World Vision also fears joint military operations against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) are leading to greater retaliation by the LRA on civilians, especially the abduction, maiming and killing of children. World Vision is one of the few agencies operating in Western Equatoria State, the region in South Sudan, which has suffered repeated attacks by the LRA and is now hosting thousands of Congolese refugees and displaced Sudanese who have fled the violence. The agency has also counseled and rehabilitated thousands of former LRA child soldiers in Northern Uganda.

The agency warns there is an ongoing and desperate need for humanitarian assistance to the survivors and the displaced, particularly food and medical care. Establishing safe areas for people to live and receive assistance are also urgently needed.

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World Vision staff are available for interviews. Contact Rachel Wolff at 253.394.2214 or rwolff@worldvision.org or Casey Calamusa at 206.310.5476 or ccalamus@worldvision.org.

Notes To Editor:

• As the joint action by Rwanda and DRC threatens to create a greater humanitarian crisis, World Vision is calling on the UN, the Security Council, and donors to:
• Seek and prioritize a sustainable, peaceful, and politically negotiated resolution of all of the issues, immediate and underlying.
• Urge all sides to prioritize their responsibility to protect civilians and allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.
• Ensure MONUC has a robust contingent of translators to allow it to interact with the civilian population and understand how best to protect civilians.
• Demand of all parties to adhere by principles of international humanitarian law.
• Demand of all parties to prioritize the protection of children, specifically warning them against sexual violence and recruitment of children.
• The Security Council should convene its protection of civilians (PoC) expert group to provide analysis and recommendations for strengthening the implementation of Council resolutions in the DRC.
• Demand of the parties the need to send out neutral, impartial envoys to FDLR groups to raise their awareness of the non-violent demobilization options available to them.
• Urge senior FARDC and former CNDP leadership that a thorough screening process must be completed during the integration of former CNDP troops into the FARDC; children and known human rights abusers must be prevented from being absorbed into the military or participating in the ongoing joint operation.
• Child soldiers should be provided robust, sustainable support to demobilize and reintegrate into their families and communities.
• Provide increased funding for food security and livelihood initiatives, both for those living in host communities and camps, as well as those returning to their home areas.
• Enhance humanitarian access by increased presence in insecure areas. MONUC should, however, not use aggressive action to open areas to humanitarian access, but rather allow and assist agencies to negotiate access with armed groups.
• Provide more support to emergency education activities in order to greatly increase the number and capacities of schools in camps, and in host communities, to ensure all children have access to education.
• Urge the UN Security Council to appoint a panel of experts with the mandate of reviewing and determining the sources of funding for the LRA and ensuring targeted sanctions are imposed on actors supporting the LRA.
• Create specific mechanisms to enhance collaboration between MONUC and the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to share information and common approaches in protecting civilians.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, visit www.worldvision.org/press.