{"id":106835,"date":"2025-02-21T13:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T21:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?post_type=media-center&#038;p=106835"},"modified":"2025-02-21T13:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T21:24:52","slug":"world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc","status":"publish","type":"media-center","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/about-us\/media-center\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc","title":{"rendered":"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&rdquo;1\/3&Prime; el_class=&rdquo;vc_col-sm-push-8&Prime;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2>Highlights<\/h2>\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-highlights field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>Children being recruited and armed &mdash; a grave violation of international law <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Looting of emergency food supplies putting already vulnerable people at increased risk of hunger<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&rdquo;2\/3&Prime; el_class=&rdquo;vc_col-sm-pull-4&Prime;][vc_single_image image=&rdquo;106836&Prime; img_size=&rdquo;medium&rdquo; add_caption=&rdquo;yes&rdquo; alignment=&rdquo;center&rdquo; css=&rdquo;&rdquo;][vc_column_text css=&rdquo;&rdquo;]<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">GOMA (February 18, 2025) <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&ndash; Christian humanitarian organization World Vision has expressed grave concern over the worsening situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including unconscionable violence against children. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-briefing-notes\/2025\/02\/serious-human-rights-concerns-situation-eastern-drc-deteriorates\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (OHCHR) has indicated that children are being recruited and armed &mdash; a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. World Vision strongly condemns these atrocities and calls for urgent international action to protect the lives and well-being of children.<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335551550\":6,\"335551620\":6,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&ldquo;The emotional toll on children cannot be ignored,&rdquo; said Patrick Saah, World Vision&rsquo;s director of programs in DRC. &ldquo;We are seeing an entire generation of Congolese children being destroyed by war, violence and displacement.&rdquo;<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335551550\":6,\"335551620\":6,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In South Kivu the current situation has displaced thousands and left millions of children at risk of violence, exploitation and hunger. The conflict is stripping children of their future &mdash; depriving them of education, exposing them to severe trauma and increasing the risk of sexual violence and forced labor.<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335551550\":6,\"335551620\":6,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In recent days, the humanitarian situation has worsened significantly, with widespread looting of emergency food stocks and supplies. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2025\/02\/1160186\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The World Food Programme<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (WFP) has reported the pillaging of 7,000 tons of food aid in Bukavu,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of starvation. As the WFP&rsquo;s largest distribution partner, World Vision understands the grave long-term impact this will have on already vulnerable families, whose access to food has been compromised as the threat of hunger deepens.<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335551550\":6,\"335551620\":6,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">World Vision urges all parties to the conflict to uphold international human rights and humanitarian law, prioritize the safety of children and families, and ensure safe access to humanitarian aid by protecting aid workers and allowing relief distributions.<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335551550\":6,\"335551620\":6,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}'>&nbsp;<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335559740\":259}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">About&#8239;<\/span><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2017\/03\/www.worldvision.org\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">World Vision<\/span><\/b><\/a><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">:<\/span><\/b><br>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God&rsquo;s unconditional love for all people.<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, visit&#8239;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/worldvision.org\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">worldvision.org<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8239;or follow on X&#8239;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WorldVisionUSA?mx=2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">@WorldVisionUSA<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props='{\"201341983\":0,\"335559740\":259}'>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":106836,"template":"","leader":[],"class_list":["post-106835","media-center","type-media-center","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issues-child-protection","media-center-resource-press-release","media-contacts-meridith-holle","press-issue-child-protection","regions-democratic-republic-of-congo"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC | World Vision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/about-us\/media-center\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/about-us\/media-center\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Vision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/worldvision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T21:24:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wvusstatic.com\/www\/uploads\/2025\/02\/21132209\/W087-0544-036.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"801\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@worldvisionusa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc\",\"name\":\"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC | World Vision\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21132209\\\/W087-0544-036.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T21:23:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-21T21:24:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"World Vision responds to escalating violence in eastern DRC\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldvision.org\\\/about-us\\\/media-center\\\/world-vision-responds-to-escalating-violence-in-eastern-drc#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21132209\\\/W087-0544-036.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wvusstatic.com\\\/www\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/21132209\\\/W087-0544-036.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":801,\"caption\":\"Children at an internally displaced camp in DRC. 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