Learn more about the appeal and see the list of Nobel Laureate signatories here.

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It is in this alarming context that we take advantage of the 12th anniversary of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation in the DRC and the Region, signed in Addis Ababa on February 24, 2013, to reaffirm that it is the only peace agreement aimed at addressing the root causes of armed violence and instability.

There is an urgent need to revitalize the “Accord of Hope”, in which the Congolese state, the countries of the region and the international community came together to achieve lasting peace in the DRC and the African Great Lakes region by adopting a series of commitments whose effective implementation was to be facilitated by follow-up mechanisms at national, regional and international level to consolidate a strategy for peace and development.

It is regrettable to note that the lack of political will on the part of the Congolese authorities, coupled with the bad faith of the destabilizing states in the region and the lack of diplomatic mobilization on the part of the co-sponsoring institutions, has led to the deterioration of a situation which today threatens international peace and security.

It is never too late to act and adopt urgent and decisive measures to put pressure on the forces of aggression and occupation and stem the escalation of the crisis. The DRC’s partner countries and institutions, in particular the co-sponsors of the Framework Agreement, can no longer accept or tolerate these flagrant violations of international law without reacting firmly.

The time has come to move from words to deeds. Like all peoples, the Congolese nation has the right to self-determination and to live in peace. The failure of the signatories to the Framework Agreement to respect their commitments, and their repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire and unconditional withdrawal from the zones occupied by the Rwandan army and the M23, must be accompanied by vigorous sanctions and the suspension of military and security cooperation by all states and institutions with leverage over the parties to the conflict.

For those who wish to know more about the Framework Agreement, its potentials and the lack of implementation of the commitments made by the Congolese State, neighboring countries and the international community, please read our publication made at the 10th anniversary in 2013.

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This horrible human butchery adds to the statistics of more than six million men, women and children killed over three decades in these endless wars imposed on the Congolese people. 

Once again, the international community will not say that it did not know. For years, UN reports have pointed out Rwanda’s responsibility in organizing and conducting these wars, but to date, nothing significant has been done to stop these serious violations of international and humanitarian law . On the contrary, the European Union and several Western countries have maintained their cooperation with Rwanda and continue to indirectly finance, with millions of dollars, its warlike and deadly expeditions in the DR Congo as well as the plundering of its mineral resources. 

For decades and again in recent weeks, I have continued to alert and mobilize international opinion on the urgency of imposing peace in the DR Congo and in the African Great Lakes region, but in vain. Compared to the intervention of the West in the war in Ukraine, that of Congo is a neglected war and Congolese lives do not objectively have sufficient value to merit attention. 

It is the policy of double standards and two-speed humanism that we have decried and denounced on several occasions. 

And yet solutions exist to permanently stop this catastrophe. 

First of all, there is an urgent need to cut military and financial aid to Rwanda and impose economic sanctions. 

Then, the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the DRC and the region, known as the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, signed on February 24, 2013 by 11 countries (DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Tanzania, Zambia, South Sudan, Central African Republic) joined by Kenya and Sudan on January 31, 2014 as well as the UN, the African Union, the ICGLR, the SADC and sponsored by the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium and France, had already marked the path to a just and lasting peace in the African Great Lakes sub-region. It is more than urgent to implement its recommendations. 

Finally, since the exploitation of natural resources is the real crux of the matter, for weeks and right now, I have been in Europe to raise awareness among governments, international institutions, businesses and civil society organizations about the importance of the legal, peaceful and win-win supply of these resources with a view to ” Business for Peace ” which promotes the sustainable interest of the Congolese people at the same time as that of businesses that want the strategic raw materials that the Congolese subsoil abounds in. This is why, in response to and in support of the initiative of the Peace Pact of the Catholic and Protestant Churches of Congo (CENCO-ECC), I renew my call for the organization of an ” International Conference on Sustainable Peace in the DR Congo and the African Great Lakes Region “. 

I strongly condemn this new attack by Rwanda-M23 and the massacres that followed, 

I strongly condemn the complicit silence and inaction of the international community in the face of the serious violations of human rights and humanitarian rights committed in the DR Congo, 

I call on the Congolese people to unite around peace through the initiatives of CENCO-ECC and an international Conference on Peace, 

I express my compassion to the people of North Kivu and Goma in the painful ordeal they are going through, 

I extend my deepest condolences to the families of our fallen soldiers and to all those who have lost a loved one in this war, 

I express my full support to the people of South Kivu and Bukavu who live in fear, haunted by the spectre of a war that is dangerously approaching. 

I am committed to relentlessly continuing my national and international advocacy for Peace in the DR Congo and in the African Great Lakes region. 

Hold on my dear compatriots, GOD IS FOR US. 

Oslo, February 2, 2025 

Dr. Denis Mukwege 

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The war of occupation and aggression is gradually taking on the appearance of an annexation by foreign forces, with the establishment of a parallel administration, similar to that of a State. It controls the conquered territories, in particular the Rubaya area, whose mines constitute one of the largest sources of coltan in the world.

The experts mandated by the Security Council have reported, with supporting evidence, that the AFC/M23 coalition exercises a monopoly on the fraudulent extraction, trade and illegal export of minerals from Rubaya to Rwanda. This causes the most significant recorded contamination of the supply chains of “3T” minerals (tin, tantalum and tungsten) in the Great Lakes region for the last ten years.

Experts estimate that the AFC/M23 coalition controls the trade and transport of approximately 120 tons of coltan per month and that the tax on the production and trade of Rubaya coltan generates at least USD 800,000 per month for the occupying forces.

Faced with the critical situation prevailing in eastern DRC, we once again urge the community of States to no longer accept superficial condemnations and empty words. Strong sanctions must be adopted against the actors of destabilization. Immediate and decisive measures must be taken to ensure that Rwanda ceases its support for the M23 and immediately withdraws its forces from Congolese soil.

It is time to put an end to this economic war and the illegal extraction and trade of strategic minerals in the heart of Africa if the economically developed world wants to pursue the energy transition and the fight against climate change in a clean and fair manner.

Bukavu, 01/09/2025
Dr. Denis Mukwege

The post Statement following the publication of the 27 December 2024 letter Addressed to the Presidency of the Security Council By the Group of Experts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

Over the past three decades, the Congolese people have endured chronic violence and instability that have led to profound tragedy and suffering beyond comprehension.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been subjected to repeated wars of aggression and systematic violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting in the deadliest conflict since the Second World War and one of the most severe humanitarian and displacement crises of modern times, with a quarter of the population facing hunger and over 7 million internally displaced people, the majority of whom are women and children.

The political economy of the war is deeply linked to the illegal exploitation and smuggling of Congolese natural resources by neighboring countries, and criminal gangs destabilizing the country’s eastern and northeastern provinces as “proxies” for certain major powers and various multinationals.

The peace agreements and the various attempts to find political solutions, from Lusaka to Sun City via Goma, have systematically sacrificed justice on the altar of peace. They have prolonged and aggravated instability by integrating elements of Congolese and foreign armed groups into the national security and defense forces. Moreover, these policies have not only allowed the enemies of peace to infiltrate our institutions but have also embedded indiscipline in the army and police, and legitimized armed violence by granting amnesties and even promotions to those who should be answering for their crimes before national and international justice.

Against this backdrop, armed conflict has never ceased, and over 100 national and foreign armed groups continue to operate with impunity, fueling the repetition of mass atrocities, while the DRC authorities have failed to establish state authority in large parts of its territory.

The deteriorating security situation and the worsening humanitarian crisis since 2021 following the resurgence of the M23 armed group supported by Rwanda and Uganda pose an existential threat to the DRC, while large swathes of North Kivu are administered by occupying forces. It also risks provoking a conflagration in the African Great Lakes sub-region. It threatens regional and international peace and security at a time when MONUSCO has begun to withdraw from the country, and despite the deployment of forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Like all peoples, the Congolese are entitled to peace and justice. Too much Congolese blood has been shed, but the escalation of the conflict and the appalling human rights situation remain largely forgotten, and the resulting humanitarian crisis is characterized by international neglect and underfunding, leading to large-scale human suffering and a disturbing depreciation in the value of human life.

Current diplomatic initiatives aimed at easing tensions and finding a political solution to the conflict (known as the Nairobi and Luanda processes, under the auspices of the East African Community and the African Union respectively) have reached an impasse. The donor community is failing to provide an effective response to the urgent humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable.

The time has come to call for strong political and diplomatic action and multilateral coordination, involving the private sector and civil society, to silence the guns and stop turning a blind eye to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the eastern DRC.

Thus, we call for the reinvigoration of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation, signed in 2013. This agreement, billed as the Agreement of Hope because it was the first to “address the root causes of the conflict and end the recurring cycles of violence” in eastern DRC and the African Great Lakes region, with various states and institutions as co-guarantors, including the African Union, the European Union, Belgium, the United States of America, France and the United Kingdom and the support notably of the United Nations, and the World Bank, as part of the consolidation of a strategy for peace and development.

 We also reiterate our call for the organization of an International Summit for Peace in the DRC in 2025. The main objective of the Summit is to place this forgotten conflict and neglected crisis at the top of the international community’s agenda by providing a high-level platform for dialogue and exchange of views with state and non-state actors to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the DRC.

Invited state actors will include the Heads of State and Government of the DRC and the member countries of the ICGLR, particularly the signatories of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, representatives of the member governments of the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes Region, representatives of the countries of the organizations and institutions that are guarantors of the Framework Agreement (United Nations Special Envoy, African Union, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and Southern African Development Community), representatives of United Nations programs and agencies, the World Bank and donors. In addition, given the economic dimension of the conflict, private sector players and companies active in the mining sector will also be invited to be part of the solution.

 Indeed, given the accelerating and spectacular growth in demand for minerals essential to the energy transition, which will exacerbate geopolitical tensions and put the DRC under increasing pressure to supply its strategic resources in order to curb the climate crisis and advance a global transition to renewable energies, this so-called “green” energy transition offers a unique opportunity to promote peace through the “Business For Peace” approach. This approach changes the current paradigm of a war economy based on the illegal extraction and trade of conflict minerals, transforming them into a tool for co-prosperity, co-development and peace.

 We are convinced that, thanks to the “Business for Peace” approach, global high-tech companies, some of which source, directly or indirectly, the minerals that result from the plundering of the DRC’s natural resources, would do well to get involved in promoting sustainable peace-building in the DRC, in order to access these same resources directly, without intermediaries, in a profitable, sustainable, secure and ethical way, without knowingly or unknowingly compromising themselves with the criminal exploitation of “blood minerals”.

By ensuring that their supply value chain is clean, respectful of human rights, these companies can help put an end to the criminal trafficking of the DRC’s natural resources, which fuels endless wars and decimates millions of men, women and children. By promoting a global framework of traceability, transparency and social responsibility, they can help advance justice, equity, local development and sustainable peace.

Finally, the DRC has become an obstacle to development in sub-Saharan Africa. The “Business for Peace” concept will enable the countries of the ICGLR and other African countries to develop trade with the DRC and other African countries through the DRC, which is today an obstacle to trans-African trade due to persistent insecurity in the center of Africa.

The expected outcomes of the Summit are:

1. Express solidarity and support for the Congolese civilian population, and launch an urgent appeal to meet the humanitarian needs of vulnerable groups and displaced persons.

2. Galvanize national and international political will and create momentum to end the violence by laying the foundations for a lasting peace in line with international law, the UN Charter and commitments under the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement.

3. Develop win-win partnerships and empower high-tech, mining and refining companies to promote responsible mining and trade for a just and sustainable energy transition and business practices conducive to peace, social and economic development and the protection of human rights and the environment.

4. Encourage the Congolese government to improve the business climate, promote good governance, and implement institutional and security sector reforms in line with the Addis Ababa framework agreements.

For all these reasons, we join our voice to that of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Presidency of the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) in appropriating the roadmap of the “Social Pact for Peace and Living Well Together in DR Congo and the Great Lakes”, and invite all Congolese to appropriate, in turn, this initiative, for in this year 2025 of the Jubilee of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Our priority is peace”!

Denis Mukwege,

Prix Nobel de la Paix 2018

The post Message of support from Dr. Mukwege to the Appeal of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Presidency of the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) for the “Social Pact for Peace and Living Well Together in DR Congo and the Great Lakes” appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

Mes chers compatriotes,

A l’aube de cette nouvelle année, je viens vous saluer chaleureusement et vous présenter mes meilleurs vœux.

Pour des nombreux compatriotes, la fête de noël que nous allons bientôt célébrer sera un moment heureux d’affermissement de la foi, des retrouvailles en famille et de partage dans l’amitié et la convivialité. C’est le sens même de la Nativité, fête de la solidarité, de l’espérance et de la paix.

Cependant, pour des millions d’autres frères et sœurs, cette fête se passera malheureusement dans l’ombre des maladies, de la faim, du deuil et des privations de toutes sortes. Cela, parce que les conditions des vies de nos concitoyens deviennent année après année encore plus difficiles à cause de la mauvaise gouvernance du pays, de la corruption, de la cupidité et de l’égoïsme de ses dirigeants.

Aux drames personnels, il sied d’ajouter les souffrances collectives de millions de nos compatriotes de l’Est du pays, particulièrement du Kivu et de l’Ituri, qui subissent les atrocités des guerres que nous mène le Rwanda et l’Uganda au travers du groupe armé M23 et plusieurs autres milices.

Je m’incline devant la mémoire des millions de nos compatriotes, des femmes et des enfants qui ont perdu la vie dans ces guerres d’occupation et de pillage de ressources naturelles stratégiques de notre pays.

En ce moment, j’ai une pensée particulière pour nos forces armées. Une pensée pour nos soldats qui dans le but de libérer notre pays, sont engagés au front avec un courage et une détermination admirables. Je salue leur patriotisme et leur sens des responsabilités en dépit des conditions difficiles dans lesquelles ils luttent et vivent.  

J’ai également une pensée respectueuse pour nos soldats tombés sur le champ d’honneur, pour les blessés de guerre et pour leurs familles. Je les porte dans ma compassion et dans mon affection.

Chers compatriotes,

Il est paradoxal de constater que c’est en ce moment où l’intégrité territoriale et la survie même de notre pays sont mis à rude épreuve, que le Président de la République ait choisi de tenter une révision constitutionnelle. Cette démarche est inopportune, suspecte et dangereuse.

En effet, il est prévisible que les désaccords périlleux que suscitera un tel forcing, dans un contexte de turbulences intérieures et régionales, fragiliseront davantage la cohésion sociale déjà ébranlée par la crise de légitimité qui a suivi les élections chaotiques et frauduleuses de décembre 2023.

Le sens de responsabilités qui nous incombe tous, nous commande à tirer la sonnette d’alarme et avertir les politiciens au pouvoir du danger d’une déstabilisation majeure de notre pays.

Chers compatriotes,

La mauvaise gouvernance et les horreurs actuelles ne peuvent plus se poursuivre. Comment continuer accepter tant de morts, de blessés, de déplacés et de misères dans l’indifférence ?

Hier comme aujourd’hui, nous ne pouvons tolérer l’intolérable.

Hier comme aujourd’hui, nous ne pouvons accepter que l’ambition de se pérenniser au pouvoir au-delà des mandats constitutionnels mette à nouveau en péril la vie de nos concitoyens et l’existence même de notre pays.

Cette tentative serait un fâcheux recul pour notre démocratie emportée de haute lutte par plusieurs générations.

Cette tentative serait une honte pour l’Afrique qui a vu, Nelson Mandela, l’un de ses plus grands leaders entrer au Panthéon de l’histoire de notre continent alors qu’il n’a fait qu’un seul mandat présidentiel.

Cette tentative serait une profanation de la mémoire de Julius Nyerere, de Leopold Sédar Senghor et de tant d’autres leaders de l’Afrique moderne qui ont réussi des alternances sans discorde, en quittant le pouvoir de leur propre gré, laissant derrière eux des pays stables et des nations solides.

Chers compatriotes,

Pour l’histoire et pour notre destin commun en tant que Nation, nous sommes tenus à nous rassembler et nous mobiliser pour défendre notre précieuse Constitution. Elle porte en elle l’empreinte de nos luttes et de nos rêves.

Nous sommes tenus à préserver la sécurité de notre peuple, la stabilité de notre pays et la Paix.

Nous sommes tenus à nous fédérer pour obliger le respect des valeurs fondamentales. Le respect de la vie, de la dignité humaine, de la liberté, la justice, le travail, la fraternité, fondements de notre Nation et socle sur lequel repose notre cohésion sociale.

Telle est la raison pour laquelle j’appelle toutes les forces sociales et politiques de notre pays à s’engager résolument pour déclarer l’année 2025, année de la paix en République Démocratique du Congo.

Un tel engagement collectif pourrait se concrétiser dans l’organisation d’une conférence internationale sur la paix en RDC pour mettre fin à la déstabilisation, aux atrocités et aux guerres qui endeuillent notre pays.

Dans cette noble initiative, gage d’un développement durable et d’une prospérité partagée, j’ai la conviction que nous ne serons pas seuls. J’ai l’espoir que des organisations et des personnalités internationales éprises d’humanité et de concorde seront à nos côtés, dans cette marche sur les chemins de la paix.

Pour ma part, nourri des réalités et des aspirations de notre peuple et imprégné de la forte conscience des responsabilités sociétales qui m’incombent, je continuerai à consacrer mon temps et toutes mes forces à mobiliser mes compatriotes et l’humanité entière au travers d’un plaidoyer pour la stabilité, le développement et la paix en RDC et dans la région des Grands-Lacs africains.

Chers compatriotes,

L’année qui s’annonce sera celle d’une nouvelle marche de l’espoir vers plus de démocratie et de paix. Elle exigera de nous de l’engagement, du courage, de la persévérance, de la hauteur et de la dignité.

Continuons notre lutte dans la responsabilité, en ayant à cœur la défense des intérêts de notre peuple tout en ne perdant pas de vue qu’avec ses immenses atouts, la RDC, notre pays, est une terre d’avenir pour les congolais et pour l’humanité entière.

Uni à vous dans cet élan, je vous adresse mes meilleurs vœux de santé, de réussite, de bonheur et de paix.

Bukavu, le 24/12/2024

Denis Mukwege

Prix Nobel de la Paix.

The post Appel du Dr Denis Mukwege à la Paix à l’occasion des fêtes de noël et de nouvel an appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

This impasse in the Luanda and Nairobi processes brings to the forefront the imperative need to reinvigorate the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation, signed in 2013.

This agreement was the first to “address the root causes of the conflict and end the recurring cycles of violence” in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the African Great Lakes region, with various states and institutions as co-sponsors, including the European Union, Belgium, the United States of America, France and the United Kingdom, and support from the United Nations, the African Union and the World Bank in particular, as part of the consolidation of a strategy for peace and development.

This peace agreement, which represents the latest serious initiative to put an end to the deadliest conflict since World War 2, aims to neutralize and demobilize armed groups, both national and foreign, and to reaffirm the basic principles of international law, with various commitments on the part of the DRC, neighboring states and the international community.

The promises made in the Framework Agreement are far from being fulfilled to date, and given the failure of current political and diplomatic initiatives, it seems crucial to us to put them back on the international agenda in order to de-escalate regional tensions, silence the guns in Eastern Congo and relaunch a peace dynamic in the region.

As Pope Francis emphasized during his last visit to Kinshasa, DRC: “We cannot accept the blood that has been flowing in this country, for decades now in the DRC, causing millions of deaths without the knowledge of many.” Indeed, it is high time to lift the Congolese tragedy out of indifference and neglect. To achieve this, the Framework Agreement needs to be revitalized as a matter of urgency, with the mobilization of “co-sponsoring” countries and institutions.

Stability in the heart of Africa is essential not only for international peace and security, but also for the global economy and the energy transition. International diplomacy and economic and private-sector players must therefore mobilize all the levers at their disposal to help put an end to the recidivist aggression of the countries behind the destabilization of the DRC, using a system of sanctions and conditionality of aid.

Now is not the time for empty condemnations and empty words. The DRC and its partners, both public and private, must tackle the main structural causes driving the conflicts that persist in the east of the country, namely the exploitation and illegal trade in natural resources and the culture of impunity.

It is imperative that the USA, the EU, France, the UK and other partners adopt political and economic sanctions, and suspend their military assistance to Rwanda for as long as it supports the M23 militia and commits crimes of aggression against the DRC, and for as long as the regional states fail to respect in good faith the commitments made under the Framework Agreement.

This is the only language that will have concrete effects, namely putting an end to the suffering of millions of Congolese wandering in Eastern Congo due to Rwandan interference.

Denis Mukwege

Nobel Peace Prize 2018

The post Statement by Dr. Mukwege on the failure of the Luanda process appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

October 14 and 16, 2024 was the official launch of the women’s health service user committees (CFU) activities. The ceremony took place successively at Panzi Foundation in Bukavu for the Ibanda Health Zone, and in Kaziba/ territoire de Walungu for the Kaziba Health Zone, in the presence of various personalities, political-administrative, customary, and religious authorities, including representatives of the Médecins Chefs des Zones (MCZ) of these two Health Zones, the Medical Director of the Kaziba General Referral Hospital, certain members of the management teams of these two health zones, the representative of the Kaziba traditional chief, the Panzi district chief, the pastors of the various religious concessions, the gender focal points and representatives of civil society.

The mission of the CFUs (women health service users) is to carry out awareness-raising and other activities to help increase the use of health services, particularly sexual and reproductive health services, by women in rural and semi-urban areas. This will reinforce the social mobilization actions of CODEV (Comité de Développement) in its implementation of health activities.

This is because rural and semi-urban health zones are particularly vulnerable, with low indicators for sexual and reproductive health services. The President of the Comité des Femmes Utilisatrice des Services de Santé (CFU) in the Ibanda zone, Madame Noëlla Munyiragi, and her fellow members, sought to raise awareness among women of the importance of attending health centers for prenatal consultations, childbirth, post-natal consultations, pre-school consultations, family planning, hygiene in health structures and the community, holistic management of gender-based violence, etc. “Often through ignorance, many women do not have access to health services,” she says.

“Often out of ignorance, many women lose their lives giving birth at home because of lack of information, fear of hospital bills. But with us as CFU members, we’re going to make an effort to sensitize them and show them the importance of going to hospitals,” she says.

For the President of the Kaziba CFU, Madame Asifiwe Basimike Aline: “We’re making women aware of the need to attend pre-natal consultations, from the 4th week of pregnancy, and to follow the appointment sessions right up to delivery, in order to benefit from the various services and inputs necessary for their state of pregnancy. A woman must not fall ill in her neighborhood or community. We need to raise her awareness so that she goes immediately to the health center to reduce the risk of serious illness and/or maternal death”. “We have 725 members, but the committee itself has 13 members.” She added.
She thanked Dr Denis Mukwege and Panzi Foundation for continuing this vision for the Kaziba chiefdom.

Finally, the president of Kaziba’s civil society, Mr Joyeux Badesire, added: “We are here to support all CFU actions, so that women can quickly access care in our health zone. But we are also going to create radio spaces to broadcast awareness-raising messages so that the information is relayed to a greater number of people in the community”.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two CFUs of the Ibanda and Kaziba health zones, with the Panzi Foundation, the Panzi general referral hospital, and the Central Office of the Ibanda and Kaziba health zones.

The various beneficiaries of this project thanked Dr Denis Mukwege, who never ceases to remember them, by including them in various projects.
This official launch of CFU in the two health zones of Ibanda and Kaziba took place within the framework of Panzi Foundation’s Tumaini project.
The Tumaini project is implemented by the International Health Unit and the Hygeia Observatory of the Université de Montréal, with the support of Panzi Foundation. It is supported by Avocats Sans Frontières Canada and Global Strategies.

The Tumaini Project is financially supported by Canada through Global Affairs Canada.

The post Official launch of women’s health service user committees (CFU) in the Ibanda and Kaziba Health Zones appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

Thank you for inviting me to speak, and I’m grateful to the NGO Inter Développement et Solidarité for organizing this event in partnership with the University of Strasbourg, the City of Strasbourg, the Alsace European Community and the Conseil Régional du Grand Est.

The opening speeches by three eminent professors set the scene for the subject that brings us together: “Justice, peace and human rights today – is it possible? Thank you for your rich contributions.  

Allow me to begin my speech with a global overview of the state of the world, before focusing on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Today’s world is at a crossroads: the United Nations system set up in the aftermath of World War 2 has run out of steam, and new global governance capable of meeting the major challenges facing humanity and the planet is slow in coming into being.

Indeed, the creation of the UN system in 1945 aimed to turn one of the darkest pages in the history of mankind with the mantra: “Never again”. To this end, the community of states agreed to create a world based on respect for freedom and human dignity, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.

A world based on friendly relations between States, multilateralism and the principle of the prohibition of the use of force, which underpins the system of collective security enshrined in the United Nations Charter. A world based on international criminal justice, the genesis of which began at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and today finds its most complete form in the International Criminal Court.

During the Cold War, the logic of rivalries and the rise of the bipolar world put these ambitions on hold, before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 heralded a new, more peaceful, multipolar world order. A new upsurge in multilateralism and greater cooperation to find solutions to problems that cannot be solved at national level were taking shape in international relations. These include the fight against poverty, climate change and environmental protection, migration management, terrorism and new forms of conflict, and the emergence of artificial intelligence.

At a time when interdependence between peoples has never been greater, the temptation to withdraw and the worrying resurgence of nationalism and populism have resurfaced since September 11, 2001, and new power relations and geopolitical cleavages are plunging humanity into destabilization and uncertainty, putting the multilateral system and its ability to prevent tensions and resolve conflicts to the test.

Indeed, the Security Council seems incapable of fulfilling its primary mission of maintaining international peace and security, as illustrated by the aggression of Ukraine by a permanent member state with veto power on the Council.  

While the United Nations system should be governed by the rule of international law based on respect for the principle of accountability, the law of the strongest is imposing itself in a growing number of situations: Heads of state and government are increasingly openly flouting the basic principles of international law, violating the UN Charter, flouting international conventions on human rights and international humanitarian law, ignoring the rulings of the International Court of Justice, and invading other countries or taking their own people hostage without being held to account in the face of the paralysis of a collective security system that has become inoperative.

Moreover, the application of double standards in international relations has led to deep-seated frustrations that have often fuelled violence. This principle is closely linked to the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council, who are also all nuclear powers, but deny their responsibility to protect peoples in danger when their geostrategic and economic interests are at stake.

These double standards have profoundly eroded the credibility of international and regional institutions charged with maintaining peace and security and protecting universal human rights.

Finally, democracy and the rule of law are in sharp decline across the globe. Extremist ideas are becoming commonplace in society and in the political discourse of many countries, even democratic ones. Inequalities within and between countries are growing. No nation is spared by the worrying trend towards the regression of human rights.  As in every period of crisis or instability, it is women who pay the heaviest price.

It is against this backdrop that a growing number of voices, particularly from the countries of the South, are calling for reform of the United Nations.

The effectiveness of this intergovernmental institution created by states depends on the political will of its member states, which is largely lacking today to guarantee collective security and ensure responsibility for protecting human rights and civilian populations. This imperative to reform and even renovate the international system was at the heart of the debates at the 79^e United Nations General Assembly, held in New York last month.

On the occasion of the “Summit for the Future”, Secretary General Antonio Guterres asserted that “we cannot shape the future of our grandchildren with a system designed for our grandparents“, urging world leaders to relaunch and strengthen multilateral collaboration to better address the existential threats and challenges of the 21st century.

At the Summit, a Compact for the Future was adopted to reform and strengthen the multilateral system, focusing on 5 priorities: sustainable development and development financing; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance.

Two other documents were adopted at the Summit: a Global Digital Pact, which constitutes the first universal agreement on artificial intelligence and also aims to reduce digital divides, and a Declaration on Future Generations, which urges leaders to exercise long-term-oriented leadership involving the participation of young people in all decisions that concern them.

These Covenants and this Declaration are intended to be the starting point for reforms aimed at restoring confidence in institutions, which will involve reforming the Security Council and the international financial institutions, and ensuring that the revitalized multilateral system better reflects the global issues of our time, notably by promoting better representation of developing countries and ending the marginalization of Africa within international decision-making bodies.

The cross-cutting issues that animated the debates that led to the adoption of these three texts at the United Nations General Assembly are intimately linked to those of the conference that brings us together today: justice, human rights and peace.

While it’s hard to say that they can be achieved today, it must be said that these developments already represent a step forward, because in order to tackle a problem, it must first be recognized. The fact that these debates around the indispensable reforms required for a new global governance capable of meeting the challenges of humanity’s future are driving the thinking of the world’s leaders augurs well for the possibility of a new beginning.

Even if it’s obvious that there will be resistance to this reform imperative, as those in power are often reluctant to change.

It will also mean providing a better framework for private players, the business world and lobbies, whose influence on the political world is growing. One only has to look at the influence of these lobbies in Brussels or Washington to understand their ability to exert pressure on political decision-makers.

To move in the right direction, we need genuine global leadership focused on the needs of both the present and future generations, and stronger political will to translate words into action, commitments into obligations and resolutions into results!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the heart of this savage globalization, this cynical geopolitics and this era of impunity lies the DRC, a country ravaged by more than a quarter century of chronic wars of aggression for base economic motives.

Indeed, the globalized economic system is largely based on the mining resources and natural wealth that abound in the DRC. These strategic raw materials are essential to the economic growth of the great powers, and generate colossal profits for companies that pay little heed to the origin of these minerals. 

The political and security instability that the Congolese people have suffered for 30 years is maintained by proxy wars in which neighboring countries, which hold a veritable license to kill from the great powers, are used to destabilize and plunder eastern Congo in order to satisfy the mining needs of multinationals and the world market at low cost, while leaving the Congolese population and our communities wounded and traumatized in a state of unacceptable poverty.

Many interests are therefore at stake in the bid to lay their hands on the Congo’s natural resources and strategic minerals, and many states and private players stand to gain from maintaining instability and organized chaos in order to plunder the country.

The umpteenth aggression by the Rwandan army since the resurgence of the M23 in November 2021, in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, is part of this same approach.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the DRC, Ms Bintou Keita, reported in a speech to the Security Council on September 30 that: “In North Kivu, the consolidation of the M23’s administrative control over the Masisi and Rutshuru Territories has enabled it to establish total control over coltan production“. She added: “Trade in the Rubaya region, which is said to supply over 15% of the world’s tantalum production, earns the armed group around $300,000 a month.“

Indeed, numerous UN and civil society reports have documented that control of strategic raw materials, a large proportion of the world’s reserves of which are to be found in eastern Congo, is intimately linked to the recidivist wars of aggression and occupation waged by the regimes in Kampala and Kigali since the ’90s under cover of various pseudo-rebel movements (AFDL, RCD-Goma, CNDP, M23), with dramatic consequences for Congolese society: more than 6 million dead, over 7 million displaced and countless women raped.

It is the deadliest conflict since World War 2^e and one of the worst humanitarian crises of modern times, yet it is largely overlooked due to lack of media attention, political will and funding to respond to the humanitarian disaster.

This selective indignation prompted the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tetros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to express his amazement at the double standards he encounters in various hotbeds of crisis around the world, saying: “I don’t know if the world is really paying the same attention to black and white lives“. To ask the question is to answer it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, economically advanced countries are planning the decarbonization of their economies to curb the climate crisis. The European Union has set 2035 as the target date for going “all-electric”, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that demand for minerals essential to the energy transition will triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040.

Pressure on the DRC, which is the world’s leading source of cobalt, accounting for two-thirds of global supplies of the metal used in batteries, will therefore increase, and will constitute a major geostrategic challenge for the global economy in the decades to come.

While several generations of Congolese have already been sacrificed for the communication and digital revolution thanks to coltan, we cannot accept without reacting that future generations be further subjugated and annihilated so that the economically developed world can advance towards a so-called “green” energy transition, but in truth “red” with the blood of Congolese women and children!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Against this backdrop, it is urgent that the political and economic world, and citizen-consumers, overcome their indifference in order to put an end to the paradox of abundance and the Congolese tragedy.

As Pope Francis pointed out during his visit to Kinshasa in 2023: “After political colonialism, an equally enslaving ‘economic colonialism’ has been unleashed. As a result, this largely plundered country is unable to take sufficient advantage of its immense resources: we’ve reached the paradox that the fruits of its earth make it ‘foreign’ to its inhabitants.“

It is high time to change course and transform conflict minerals into minerals for peace and development. Human dignity and social justice must be placed at the center of economic interests and efforts to build healthy globalization and lasting peace in the DRC.

Yet, in the context of economic globalization, where the West no longer dominates the world, the greedy, corrupt Congolese ruling class, out of touch with the people, is selling off the country’s natural and mineral resources, mainly to China, whose economic and military clout enables it to operate in Africa as a neo-colonial force that, what’s more, doesn’t bother with narratives of “civilizing mission” or “promotion of human rights”, which had been the prerogative of the Western world for 150 years.

I would like to draw the audience’s attention to the fact that the European Union (EU), whose added value is based on the values enshrined in its founding texts, signed a memorandum of understanding with Rwanda in February 2024 to promote the development of “sustainable” and “resilient” value chains for raw materials, while concordant sources report that the war of aggression imposed by Rwanda on the DRC finds its main motivation in the pillage and international concealment of strategic materials present in Congolese soil.

This lack of coherence on the part of the European Commission with the European normative framework illustrates a loss of the EU’s fundamental values in its relations with the rest of the world, and a growing cynicism in international relations which results in human dignity being sacrificed for economic and geostrategic interests.

In addition, the responsibility of the Congolese elites, who all too often confuse their personal interests with the common good by selling off the country and erecting a system of widespread predation, must be urgently addressed if we are to put an end to the perpetuation of the Congolese drama and see the emergence at the head of the country of a respected leadership that will finally be able to forge win-win partnerships with the rest of the world.

This new paradigm will only be possible if there is growing solidarity between African countries and greater integration of the African Union.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This empowerment of the DRC’s ruling class is also essential to galvanize the political will needed to address the root causes of violence, namely the illicit exploitation and illegal export of mining resources (1) and the culture of impunity (2), which are at the heart of our advocacy efforts.

 1. Illegal exploitation of and trade in natural resources

We have already mentioned that the war in the DRC is mainly economic, and is akin to a major transnational crime in which Rwanda and Uganda have been the main players for 25 years, with the complicity of multinationals and certain greedy and corrupt Congolese politicians and military.

Various reports have established that the plundering of the agricultural, forestry and mining resources present in large quantities in Eastern Congo is one of the root causes of conflict and instability. The correlation between the illegal exploitation and predation of mineral and natural resources and serious human rights violations, including the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, has been widely documented, notably in the UN Mapping Report.

To curb the war economy at the root of the suffering of communities in the east of the country, we need to put an end to the links between Congolese and foreign armed groups and mining companies, smuggling and trafficking networks and opaque cross-border supply channels.

Various initiatives have been launched to ensure reliable traceability and guarantee that mineral extraction is not linked to child labor, the sexual exploitation of women or the activities of armed groups.

These include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guide for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from High-Risk and Conflict Zones, the US Dott Franck framework law, the European Union regulation and the certification mechanism of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region.

These initiatives are a step in the right direction, but they are not enough, as they are not binding on all links in the chain, and high-level corruption is hampering the achievement of the initiatives’ objectives. What’s more, certain economic giants are not concerned by these standards, notably China, a key player in the plundering of the DRC’s resources and a country well known for processing the products that flood our markets. 

Thus, efforts to promote due diligence and ensure traceability have so far failed to prevent vast quantities of minerals from being illegally exported to neighboring countries such as Rwanda and Uganda.

By way of example, a study by the NGO Global Witness shows that “only 10% of the minerals exported by Rwanda had actually been mined on its territory, the remaining 90% having been smuggled in from the DRC.” What’s more, according to the Office des Mines du Rwanda, by 2023, its mineral export revenues had increased by 43%, reaching over $1.1 billion.

These figures attest to the profound motivation behind the recent war of aggression waged by the Rwandan Defense Forces and the M23, which, thanks to the occupation of large areas of North Kivu, including the mining-rich Rubaya region, is generating a sharp rise in exports of conflict minerals from Rwanda.

As Ms. Keita pointed out to the Security Council: “The criminal laundering of the DRC’s natural resources exported clandestinely out of the country strengthens armed groups, sustains the exploitation of civilian populations, some of whom are reduced to de facto slavery, and undermines efforts to restore peace.” She rightly stressed that: “unless international sanctions are imposed on those who profit from this criminal trade, peace will remain elusive and civilians will continue to suffer.“

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If we are to put an end to instability in the DRC, it is therefore imperative to ensure complete traceability from the extraction sites in the mines of Eastern Congo to the finished product purchased by consumers worldwide.

In addition, binding control and accountability mechanisms must be put in place at national, regional and international levels to ensure supply chain transparency and accountability for social and environmental risks.

Finally, we also need to invest massively in the processing of raw materials, in order to shorten the link between the mine and the place where the ore is processed. In this way, control over the chain and its participants will be made easier, and the producing country will be able to generate real added value, making it possible to share profits upstream in the chain, enabling local communities to benefit from the dividends of the riches of the national subsoil.

Today, we need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the new communications technologies revolution of the past, to ensure that the green energy transition is fair, equitable, sustainable and conflict-free for the communities and countries from which the minerals needed to curb the climate crisis are extracted.

The road to peace will also pass through justice.

2. The imperative of justice

In the face of the obvious failure of all attempts to find political and security solutions to put an end to armed violence, we need to combat the culture of impunity that fuels the repetition of mass crimes and thus represents a serious obstacle to any attempt to find lasting peace.

Every day, crimes that defy the imagination and should deeply shock the conscience of humanity are committed in the DRC as mere news items, in a prevailing climate of indifference, contributing to the devaluation of human life and the repetition of mass atrocities.

All levels of responsibility – individual and state – must be established. Justice is the missing piece of the puzzle in the DRC, if the vicious circle of violence and impunity is to be broken. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed in the DRC for over a quarter of a century! The time has come to highlight the close interconnections between conflict prevention, transitional justice, consolidation of the rule of law and peace-building.

This is the purpose of our advocacy efforts to implement the recommendations of the Mapping Report on the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between March 1993 and June 2003 on the territory of the DRC, published 14 years ago by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There can be no lasting peace without justice. Like all peoples, the Congolese are entitled not only to peace, which is the indispensable prerequisite for the enjoyment of all human rights, but also to justice, truth, reparations and institutional reforms aimed at ensuring that the most serious crimes are not repeated.

The use of all transitional justice mechanisms is the main recommendation of the Mapping report. Among the 617 crimes documented by this report, which can be qualified as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or even constitutive elements of the crime of genocide, are not only patients murdered in their hospital beds, but also women who were buried alive after being raped and impaled, and believers who sought refuge in churches and were burned to death. These most serious crimes have no statute of limitations and must not be forgotten or go unpunished!

Faced with the scale of the crimes that have ravaged our country for decades, the Congolese justice system, too often undermined by corruption, political interference and a lack of independence, does not have the means to meet the challenges of impunity. Moreover, the international dimension of these conflicts calls for an international response from the justice system.

It is against this backdrop that the Panzi Foundation published an advocacy note in 2021 calling for the adoption of a holistic national transitional justice strategy in the DRC. This strategy should combine judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, which are complementary.

In order to break the cycle of violence and impunity, prosecution must be at the forefront of transitional justice measures. It is a prerequisite for reconciliation and the restoration of peace.

Although President Félix Tshisekedi promised in 2020 to put transitional justice on the government’s agenda, only a non-judicial mechanism, the National Reparations Fund – FONAREV – has been set up but is not yet operational and effective, which is causing much disappointment among victims. 

What’s more, despite the launch of a popular consultation process on transitional justice at the instigation of the Minister of Human Rights in 2022 and the establishment of a Scientific Committee responsible for drawing up the draft national transitional justice policy in the DRC, this policy has still not been adopted to date, and we deplore the fact that the government’s action program for 2024-2028 contains only a cosmetic mention of transitional justice.

This bitter observation shows that there is no real political will on the part of the current regime to advance transitional justice in the DRC, which is highly regrettable but hardly surprising given that war criminals have traded in their uniforms to take up positions within institutions and the government.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Congolese also have a right to their own Nuremberg. That’s why, alongside the victims and survivors, we are calling for the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for the Congo and/or specialized mixed chambers.

In addition, we insist on the urgent need to reform the security sector, and to put in place a procedure to vet the security and defense forces, as well as the intelligence services.

After decades of denial, manipulation and lies, the search for the truth is essential to establish the responsibility of state and non-state actors, prevent atrocities from being repeated, lay the foundations for a trauma-free society and promote reconciliation within Congolese society and between the countries of the Great Lakes region.

Furthermore, given the time needed to set up the international and/or hybrid criminal jurisdictions to be established, we urge the international community and the Congolese authorities to facilitate as quickly as possible the deployment of a team of investigators integrated into the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, including experts in forensic anthropology, to proceed with the exhumation of the numerous mass graves in order to preserve and collect evidence of acts likely to constitute international crimes perpetrated in the DRC.

This exhumation process, which is a prerequisite for the prosecution and trial of the perpetrators and their sponsors as part of the transitional justice strategy to be implemented in the DRC, will enable the deceased to be given a dignified burial and the families to mourn.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To make up for the lack of initiatives and action on the part of the government, the efforts of civil society are continuing, and we welcome the publication in July 2024 of the documentary report on cases of serious crimes committed in South Kivu Province from 1994 to 2024. This research and mapping project, carried out with the support of TRIAL International in collaboration with Initiative Congolaise pour la Justice et la Paix (ICJP), aims to identify serious human rights violations that could constitute international crimes.

It also complements and updates the mapping work carried out as part of the UN Mapping project – which only covered the period from 1993 to 2003 – and is intended to serve as a model for civil society players in other provinces of the DRC.

We therefore call for this mapping initiative to be duplicated across the country, to bring out from the bottom up the imperative for national authorities to deploy the political will to implement the various mechanisms of transitional justice.

This is a prerequisite for preventing the recurrence of past and present atrocities, healing our ailing society, establishing the rule of law and raising our children in a culture of human rights and peace.

We also call on the International Criminal Court to continue its investigations and prosecutions in the DRC for acts committed after July 1^er 2002, the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute, and we also encourage European states to use the principle of “universal jurisdiction” to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed in the DRC, notably those listed in the Mapping report. It’s time for France to stop parading criminals on red carpets in Paris, and for them to be confronted with a red line, that of the law. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we have seen, solutions exist and peace and justice are possible in the heart of Africa. But as long as the political will is lacking to ensure sound mineral management based on sustainable local development and the well-being of the population, and to highlight the added value of transitional justice, a corrupt so-called politico-military elite acting in collusion with destabilizing neighboring countries supported by certain powers and multinationals will continue to enrich themselves, and the overwhelming majority of our population will continue to languish in suffering and poverty. 

I would also like to alert the Western world, the European Union and France to the consequences of selective indignation and variable-geometry humanism: while Africa is often presented as the continent of the future, the denial of justice and democracy is leading a new generation of Africans to increasingly reject European countries, and this latent frustration risks becoming patent if we do not create an environment conducive to development and peace.

It’s urgent to change course! Like all peoples, the Congolese nation has the right to control its resources and to live in peace, free from foreign interference.

International law and justice must apply equally everywhere. All levels of responsibility – national, regional and international – must be established, and Rwanda and Uganda must be held to account for their repeated acts of aggression and their leading roles in the plundering of natural and mineral resources and the commission of the most serious crimes in the DRC.

Only then will the countries of the Great Lakes region be able to reconcile and coexist peacefully, and the DRC be able to honor its dead with dignity, heal its wounds and build a nation free of exploitation, suffering, humiliation and injustice for future generations.

We call for a general mobilization, at national, regional and international level, in support of the martyred populations of the Congo, in order to move forward on the road to peace and justice.

Together, citizens and political leaders, civil society organizations and the media, let us build lasting peace and reject any infringement of our fundamental rights and a slide towards authoritarian and inegalitarian regimes; let us remain active and vigilant every day in building bridges, spreading the truth, working for solidarity in a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation; and let us reaffirm our faith in human dignity, equality between all and freedom for all.

Thank you very much.
Dr. Denis Mukwege

Strasbourg University – October 19, 2024

The post Public conference on the theme “Justice, peace and human rights today, is it possible?” appeared first on Panzi Foundation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to speak, and I’m grateful to the NGO Inter Développement et Solidarité for organizing this event in partnership with the University of Strasbourg, the City of Strasbourg, the Alsace European Community and the Conseil Régional du Grand Est.

The opening speeches by three eminent professors set the scene for the subject that brings us together: “Justice, peace and human rights today – is it possible? Thank you for your rich contributions.

Allow me to begin my speech with a global overview of the state of the world, before focusing on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Today’s world is at a crossroads: the United Nations system set up in the aftermath of World War 2 has run out of steam, and new global governance capable of meeting the major challenges facing humanity and the planet is slow in coming into being.

Indeed, the creation of the UN system in 1945 aimed to turn one of the darkest pages in the history of mankind with the mantra: “Never again”. To this end, the community of states agreed to create a world based on respect for freedom and human dignity, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.

A world based on friendly relations between States, multilateralism and the principle of the prohibition of the use of force, which underpins the system of collective security enshrined in the United Nations Charter. A world based on international criminal justice, the genesis of which began at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and today finds its most complete form in the International Criminal Court.

During the Cold War, the logic of rivalries and the rise of the bipolar world put these ambitions on hold, before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 heralded a new, more peaceful, multipolar world order. A new upsurge in multilateralism and greater cooperation to find solutions to problems that cannot be solved at national level were taking shape in international relations. These include the fight against poverty, climate change and environmental protection, migration management, terrorism and new forms of conflict, and the emergence of artificial intelligence.

At a time when interdependence between peoples has never been greater, the temptation to withdraw and the worrying resurgence of nationalism and populism have resurfaced since September 11, 2001, and new power relations and geopolitical cleavages are plunging humanity into destabilization and uncertainty, putting the multilateral system and its ability to prevent tensions and resolve conflicts to the test.

Indeed, the Security Council seems incapable of fulfilling its primary mission of maintaining international peace and security, as illustrated by the aggression of Ukraine by a permanent member state with veto power on the Council.

While the United Nations system should be governed by the rule of international law based on respect for the principle of accountability, the law of the strongest is imposing itself in a growing number of situations: Heads of state and government are increasingly openly flouting the basic principles of international law, violating the UN Charter, flouting international conventions on human rights and international humanitarian law, ignoring the rulings of the International Court of Justice, and invading other countries or taking their own people hostage without being held to account in the face of the paralysis of a collective security system that has become inoperative.

Moreover, the application of double standards in international relations has led to deep-seated frustrations that have often fuelled violence. This principle is closely linked to the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council, who are also all nuclear powers, but deny their responsibility to protect peoples in danger when their geostrategic and economic interests are at stake.

These double standards have profoundly eroded the credibility of international and regional institutions charged with maintaining peace and security and protecting universal human rights.

Finally, democracy and the rule of law are in sharp decline across the globe. Extremist ideas are becoming commonplace in society and in the political discourse of many countries, even democratic ones. Inequalities within and between countries are growing. No nation is spared by the worrying trend towards the regression of human rights. As in every period of crisis or instability, it is women who pay the heaviest price.

It is against this backdrop that a growing number of voices, particularly from the countries of the South, are calling for reform of the United Nations.

The effectiveness of this intergovernmental institution created by states depends on the political will of its member states, which is largely lacking today to guarantee collective security and ensure responsibility for protecting human rights and civilian populations. This imperative to reform and even renovate the international system was at the heart of the debates at the 79e United Nations General Assembly, held in New York last month.

On the occasion of the “Summit for the Future”, Secretary General Antonio Guterres asserted that “we cannot shape the future of our grandchildren with a system designed for our grandparents“, urging world leaders to relaunch and strengthen multilateral collaboration to better address the existential threats and challenges of the 21st century. At the Summit, a Compact for the Future was adopted to reform and strengthen the multilateral system, focusing on 5 priorities: sustainable development and development financing; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance.

Two other documents were adopted at the Summit: a Global Digital Pact, which constitutes the first universal agreement on artificial intelligence and also aims to reduce digital divides, and a Declaration on Future Generations, which urges leaders to exercise long-term-oriented leadership involving the participation of young people in all decisions that concern them.

These Covenants and this Declaration are intended to be the starting point for reforms aimed at restoring confidence in institutions, which will involve reforming the Security Council and the international financial institutions, and ensuring that the revitalized multilateral system better reflects the global issues of our time, notably by promoting better representation of developing countries and ending the marginalization of Africa within international decision-making bodies.

The cross-cutting issues that animated the debates that led to the adoption of these three texts at the United Nations General Assembly are intimately linked to those of the conference that brings us together today: justice, human rights and peace.

While it’s hard to say that they can be achieved today, it must be said that these developments already represent a step forward, because in order to tackle a problem, it must first be recognized. The fact that these debates around the indispensable reforms required for a new global governance capable of meeting the challenges of humanity’s future are driving the thinking of the world’s leaders augurs well for the possibility of a new beginning.

Even if it’s obvious that there will be resistance to this reform imperative, as those in power are often reluctant to change.

It will also mean providing a better framework for private players, the business world and lobbies, whose influence on the political world is growing. One only has to look at the influence of these lobbies in Brussels or Washington to understand their ability to exert pressure on political decision-makers.

To move in the right direction, we need genuine global leadership focused on the needs of both the present and future generations, and stronger political will to translate words into action, commitments into obligations and resolutions into results!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the heart of this savage globalization, this cynical geopolitics and this era of impunity lies the DRC, a country ravaged by more than a quarter century of chronic wars of aggression for base economic motives.

Indeed, the globalized economic system is largely based on the mining resources and natural wealth that abound in the DRC. These strategic raw materials are essential to the economic growth of the great powers, and generate colossal profits for companies that pay little heed to the origin of these minerals.

The political and security instability that the Congolese people have suffered for 30 years is maintained by proxy wars in which neighboring countries, which hold a veritable license to kill from the great powers, are used to destabilize and plunder eastern Congo in order to satisfy the mining needs of multinationals and the world market at low cost, while leaving the Congolese population and our communities wounded and traumatized in a state of unacceptable poverty.

Many interests are therefore at stake in the bid to lay their hands on the Congo’s natural resources and strategic minerals, and many states and private players stand to gain from maintaining instability and organized chaos in order to plunder the country.

The umpteenth aggression by the Rwandan army since the resurgence of the M23 in November 2021, in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, is part of this same approach.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the DRC, Ms Bintou Keita, reported in a speech to the Security Council on September 30 that: “In North Kivu, the consolidation of the M23’s administrative control over the Masisi and Rutshuru Territories has enabled it to establish total control over coltan production“. She added: “Trade in the Rubaya region, which is said to supply over 15% of the world’s tantalum production, earns the armed group around $300,000 a month.“

Indeed, numerous UN and civil society reports have documented that control of strategic raw materials, a large proportion of the world’s reserves of which are to be found in eastern Congo, is intimately linked to the recidivist wars of aggression and occupation waged by the regimes in Kampala and Kigali since the ’90s under cover of various pseudo-rebel movements (AFDL, RCD-Goma, CNDP, M23), with dramatic consequences for Congolese society: more than 6 million dead, over 7 million displaced and countless women raped.

It is the deadliest conflict since World War 2e and one of the worst humanitarian crises of modern times, yet it is largely overlooked due to lack of media attention, political will and funding to respond to the humanitarian disaster.

This selective indignation prompted the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tetros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to express his amazement at the double standards he encounters in various hotbeds of crisis around the world, saying: “I don’t know if the world is really paying the same attention to black and white lives“. To ask the question is to answer it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, economically advanced countries are planning the decarbonization of their economies to curb the climate crisis. The European Union has set 2035 as the target date for going “all-electric”, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that demand for minerals essential to the energy transition will triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040.

Pressure on the DRC, which is the world’s leading source of cobalt, accounting for two-thirds of global supplies of the metal used in batteries, will therefore increase, and will constitute a major geostrategic challenge for the global economy in the decades to come.

While several generations of Congolese have already been sacrificed for the communication and digital revolution thanks to coltan, we cannot accept without reacting that future generations be further subjugated and annihilated so that the economically developed world can advance towards a so-called “green” energy transition, but in truth “red” with the blood of Congolese women and children!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Against this backdrop, it is urgent that the political and economic world, and citizen-consumers, overcome their indifference in order to put an end to the paradox of abundance and the Congolese tragedy.

As Pope Francis pointed out during his visit to Kinshasa in 2023: “After political colonialism, an equally enslaving ‘economic colonialism’ has been unleashed. As a result, this largely plundered country is unable to take sufficient advantage of its immense resources: we’ve reached the paradox that the fruits of its earth make it ‘foreign’ to its inhabitants.“

It is high time to change course and transform conflict minerals into minerals for peace and development. Human dignity and social justice must be placed at the center of economic interests and efforts to build healthy globalization and lasting peace in the DRC.

Yet, in the context of economic globalization, where the West no longer dominates the world, the greedy, corrupt Congolese ruling class, out of touch with the people, is selling off the country’s natural and mineral resources, mainly to China, whose economic and military clout enables it to operate in Africa as a neo-colonial force that, what’s more, doesn’t bother with narratives of “civilizing mission” or “promotion of human rights”, which had been the prerogative of the Western world for 150 years.

I would like to draw the audience’s attention to the fact that the European Union (EU), whose added value is based on the values enshrined in its founding texts, signed a memorandum of understanding with Rwanda in February 2024 to promote the development of “sustainable” and “resilient” value chains for raw materials, while concordant sources report that the war of aggression imposed by Rwanda on the DRC finds its main motivation in the pillage and international concealment of strategic materials present in Congolese soil.

This lack of coherence on the part of the European Commission with the European normative framework illustrates a loss of the EU’s fundamental values in its relations with the rest of the world, and a growing cynicism in international relations which results in human dignity being sacrificed for economic and geostrategic interests.

In addition, the responsibility of the Congolese elites, who all too often confuse their personal interests with the common good by selling off the country and erecting a system of widespread predation, must be urgently addressed if we are to put an end to the perpetuation of the Congolese drama and see the emergence at the head of the country of a respected leadership that will finally be able to forge win-win partnerships with the rest of the world.

This new paradigm will only be possible if there is growing solidarity between African countries and greater integration of the African Union.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This empowerment of the DRC’s ruling class is also essential to galvanize the political will needed to address the root causes of violence, namely the illicit exploitation and illegal export of mining resources (1) and the culture of impunity (2), which are at the heart of our advocacy efforts.

1. Illegal exploitation of and trade in natural resources

We have already mentioned that the war in the DRC is mainly economic, and is akin to a major transnational crime in which Rwanda and Uganda have been the main players for 25 years, with the complicity of multinationals and certain greedy and corrupt Congolese politicians and military.

Various reports have established that the plundering of the agricultural, forestry and mining resources present in large quantities in Eastern Congo is one of the root causes of conflict and instability. The correlation between the illegal exploitation and predation of mineral and natural resources and serious human rights violations, including the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, has been widely documented, notably in the UN Mapping Report.

To curb the war economy at the root of the suffering of communities in the east of the country, we need to put an end to the links between Congolese and foreign armed groups and mining companies, smuggling and trafficking networks and opaque cross-border supply channels.

Various initiatives have been launched to ensure reliable traceability and guarantee that mineral extraction is not linked to child labor, the sexual exploitation of women or the activities of armed groups.

These include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guide for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from High-Risk and Conflict Zones, the US Dott Franck framework law, the European Union regulation and the certification mechanism of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region.

These initiatives are a step in the right direction, but they are not enough, as they are not binding on all links in the chain, and high-level corruption is hampering the achievement of the initiatives’ objectives. What’s more, certain economic giants are not concerned by these standards, notably China, a key player in the plundering of the DRC’s resources and a country well known for processing the products that flood our markets.

Thus, efforts to promote due diligence and ensure traceability have so far failed to prevent vast quantities of minerals from being illegally exported to neighboring countries such as Rwanda and Uganda.

By way of example, a study by the NGO Global Witness shows that “only 10% of the minerals exported by Rwanda had actually been mined on its territory, the remaining 90% having been smuggled in from the DRC.” What’s more, according to the Office des Mines du Rwanda, by 2023, its mineral export revenues had increased by 43%, reaching over $1.1 billion.

These figures attest to the profound motivation behind the recent war of aggression waged by the Rwandan Defense Forces and the M23, which, thanks to the occupation of large areas of North Kivu, including the mining-rich Rubaya region, is generating a sharp rise in exports of conflict minerals from Rwanda.

As Ms. Keita pointed out to the Security Council: “The criminal laundering of the DRC’s natural resources exported clandestinely out of the country strengthens armed groups, sustains the exploitation of civilian populations, some of whom are reduced to de facto slavery, and undermines efforts to restore peace.” She rightly stressed that: “unless international sanctions are imposed on those who profit from this criminal trade, peace will remain elusive and civilians will continue to suffer.“

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If we are to put an end to instability in the DRC, it is therefore imperative to ensure complete traceability from the extraction sites in the mines of Eastern Congo to the finished product purchased by consumers worldwide.

In addition, binding control and accountability mechanisms must be put in place at national, regional and international levels to ensure supply chain transparency and accountability for social and environmental risks.

Finally, we also need to invest massively in the processing of raw materials, in order to shorten the link between the mine and the place where the ore is processed. In this way, control over the chain and its participants will be made easier, and the producing country will be able to generate real added value, making it possible to share profits upstream in the chain, enabling local communities to benefit from the dividends of the riches of the national subsoil.

Today, we need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the new communications technologies revolution of the past, to ensure that the green energy transition is fair, equitable, sustainable and conflict-free for the communities and countries from which the minerals needed to curb the climate crisis are extracted.

The road to peace will also pass through justice.

2. The imperative of justice

In the face of the obvious failure of all attempts to find political and security solutions to put an end to armed violence, we need to combat the culture of impunity that fuels the repetition of mass crimes and thus represents a serious obstacle to any attempt to find lasting peace.

Every day, crimes that defy the imagination and should deeply shock the conscience of humanity are committed in the DRC as mere news items, in a prevailing climate of indifference, contributing to the devaluation of human life and the repetition of mass atrocities.

All levels of responsibility – individual and state – must be established. Justice is the missing piece of the puzzle in the DRC, if the vicious circle of violence and impunity is to be broken. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed in the DRC for over a quarter of a century! The time has come to highlight the close interconnections between conflict prevention, transitional justice, consolidation of the rule of law and peace-building.

This is the purpose of our advocacy efforts to implement the recommendations of the Mapping Report on the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between March 1993 and June 2003 on the territory of the DRC, published 14 years ago by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There can be no lasting peace without justice. Like all peoples, the Congolese are entitled not only to peace, which is the indispensable prerequisite for the enjoyment of all human rights, but also to justice, truth, reparations and institutional reforms aimed at ensuring that the most serious crimes are not repeated.

The use of all transitional justice mechanisms is the main recommendation of the Mapping report. Among the 617 crimes documented by this report, which can be qualified as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or even constitutive elements of the crime of genocide, are not only patients murdered in their hospital beds, but also women who were buried alive after being raped and impaled, and believers who sought refuge in churches and were burned to death. These most serious crimes have no statute of limitations and must not be forgotten or go unpunished!

Faced with the scale of the crimes that have ravaged our country for decades, the Congolese justice system, too often undermined by corruption, political interference and a lack of independence, does not have the means to meet the challenges of impunity. Moreover, the international dimension of these conflicts calls for an international response from the justice system.

It is against this backdrop that the Panzi Foundation published an advocacy note in 2021 calling for the adoption of a holistic national transitional justice strategy in the DRC. This strategy should combine judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, which are complementary.

In order to break the cycle of violence and impunity, prosecution must be at the forefront of transitional justice measures. It is a prerequisite for reconciliation and the restoration of peace.

Although President Félix Tshisekedi promised in 2020 to put transitional justice on the government’s agenda, only a non-judicial mechanism, the National Reparations Fund –

FONAREV – has been set up but is not yet operational and effective, which is causing much disappointment among victims.

What’s more, despite the launch of a popular consultation process on transitional justice at the instigation of the Minister of Human Rights in 2022 and the establishment of a Scientific Committee responsible for drawing up the draft national transitional justice policy in the DRC, this policy has still not been adopted to date, and we deplore the fact that the government’s action program for 2024-2028 contains only a cosmetic mention of transitional justice.

This bitter observation shows that there is no real political will on the part of the current regime to advance transitional justice in the DRC, which is highly regrettable but hardly surprising given that war criminals have traded in their uniforms to take up positions within institutions and the government.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Congolese also have a right to their own Nuremberg. That’s why, alongside the victims and survivors, we are calling for the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for the Congo and/or specialized mixed chambers.

In addition, we insist on the urgent need to reform the security sector, and to put in place a procedure to vet the security and defense forces, as well as the intelligence services.

After decades of denial, manipulation and lies, the search for the truth is essential to establish the responsibility of state and non-state actors, prevent atrocities from being repeated, lay the foundations for a trauma-free society and promote reconciliation within Congolese society and between the countries of the Great Lakes region.

Furthermore, given the time needed to set up the international and/or hybrid criminal jurisdictions to be established, we urge the international community and the Congolese authorities to facilitate as quickly as possible the deployment of a team of investigators integrated into the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, including experts in forensic anthropology, to proceed with the exhumation of the numerous mass graves in order to preserve and collect evidence of acts likely to constitute international crimes perpetrated in the DRC.

This exhumation process, which is a prerequisite for the prosecution and trial of the perpetrators and their sponsors as part of the transitional justice strategy to be implemented in the DRC, will enable the deceased to be given a dignified burial and the families to mourn.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To make up for the lack of initiatives and action on the part of the government, the efforts of civil society are continuing, and we welcome the publication in July 2024 of the documentary report on cases of serious crimes committed in South Kivu Province from 1994 to 2024. This research and mapping project, carried out with the support of TRIAL International in collaboration with Initiative Congolaise pour la Justice et la Paix (ICJP), aims to identify serious human rights violations that could constitute international crimes.

It also complements and updates the mapping work carried out as part of the UN Mapping project – which only covered the period from 1993 to 2003 – and is intended to serve as a model for civil society players in other provinces of the DRC.

We therefore call for this mapping initiative to be duplicated across the country, to bring out from the bottom up the imperative for national authorities to deploy the political will to implement the various mechanisms of transitional justice.

This is a prerequisite for preventing the recurrence of past and present atrocities, healing our ailing society, establishing the rule of law and raising our children in a culture of human rights and peace.

We also call on the International Criminal Court to continue its investigations and prosecutions in the DRC for acts committed after July 1er 2002, the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute, and we also encourage European states to use the principle of “universal jurisdiction” to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed in the DRC, notably those listed in the Mapping report. It’s time for France to stop parading criminals on red carpets in Paris, and for them to be confronted with a red line, that of the law.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we have seen, solutions exist and peace and justice are possible in the heart of Africa. But as long as the political will is lacking to ensure sound mineral management based on sustainable local development and the well-being of the population, and to highlight the added value of transitional justice, a corrupt so-called politico-military elite acting in collusion with destabilizing neighboring countries supported by certain powers and multinationals will continue to enrich themselves, and the overwhelming majority of our population will continue to languish in suffering and poverty.

I would also like to alert the Western world, the European Union and France to the consequences of selective indignation and variable-geometry humanism: while Africa is often presented as the continent of the future, the denial of justice and democracy is leading a new generation of Africans to increasingly reject European countries, and this latent frustration risks becoming patent if we do not create an environment conducive to development and peace.

It’s urgent to change course! Like all peoples, the Congolese nation has the right to control its resources and to live in peace, free from foreign interference.

International law and justice must apply equally everywhere. All levels of responsibility – national, regional and international – must be established, and Rwanda and Uganda must be held to account for their repeated acts of aggression and their leading roles in the plundering of natural and mineral resources and the commission of the most serious crimes in the DRC.

Only then will the countries of the Great Lakes region be able to reconcile and coexist peacefully, and the DRC be able to honor its dead with dignity, heal its wounds and build a nation free of exploitation, suffering, humiliation and injustice for future generations.

We call for a general mobilization, at national, regional and international level, in support of the martyred populations of the Congo, in order to move forward on the road to peace and justice.

Together, citizens and political leaders, civil society organizations and the media, let us build lasting peace and reject any infringement of our fundamental rights and a slide towards authoritarian and inegalitarian regimes; let us remain active and vigilant every day in building bridges, spreading the truth, working for solidarity in a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation; and let us reaffirm our faith in human dignity, equality between all and freedom for all.

Thank you very much.

Dr. Denis Mukwege

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