UN official renews call to hold genocidaires in DR Congo accountable

The United Nations Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention says perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi who are still at large in DR Congo must be held accountable in order to break a “cycle of impunity.” Alice Wairimu Nderitu said this on Monday, July 29, as she concluded a week-long visit to Rwanda, where she met government officials, visited Kigali Genocide Memorial and a camp for Congolese refugees, among other activities. ALSO READ: UN genocide prevention chief to genocidaires: We are watching you! The UN official warned that risk factors for genocide in DR Congo “remain grimly high,” and are fuelled by an environment of impunity. Nderitu, who has previously urged the Congolese government to address issues of hate speech and ethnic violence against Tutsi communities, said she was concerned about the presence of hundreds of genocidaires in eastern DR Congo in the form of the FDLR militia. “The abuses currently occurring, including the targeting of civilians based on their ethnicity as Congolese Tutsi, or of perceived affiliation to the warring parties, must be halted and accountability for the crimes committed, accounts of which I have heard firsthand, ensured,” she said in a statement on Monday. ALSO READ: Kagame, UN's Nderitu consider ways to combat Genocide denial, hate speech in region In her interactions with the Congolese refugees at Nkamira Transit Centre in Rubavu District in western Rwanda, Nderitu said their experiences in DR Congo “depict a deeply disturbing picture of continued systematic and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including along ethnic lines.” Rwanda hosts over 100,000 refugees from DR Congo, some of whom have lived in camps for nearly 30 years. ALSO READ: We want justice: Stories of DR Congo’s ‘tired' refugees She noted that the current violence against the Congolese Tutsi mainly stems from the refugee crisis that resulted as many perpetrators involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda fled to eastern DR Congo, forming armed groups such as the FDLR. The UN-sanctioned militia has been integrated into the Congolese army. The Rwandan government says the FDLR not only threatens Rwanda's security but also the wider Great Lakes Region. ALSO READ: Where are the 1,100 Genocide fugitives? “Accountability is the first step towards breaking the cycle of impunity and recurrence,” Nderitu said. “As we commemorate 30 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi, there are more than 1000 indictments and international arrest warrants in 33 countries for perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi. “Some of these indicted people, in their hundreds, are based in the [DR Congo]. It is unacceptable that these people have not been brought to trial yet.” Nderitu reiterated her commitment to the fight against hate speech in the region and denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

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UN official renews call to hold genocidaires in DR Congo accountable