Humanitarian situation in Congo to be assessed

By Godfrey Olukya     23-4-2013

With effect from yesterday, the the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo.During his visit, which will last up to April 25th 2013, he is reportedly expected to assess and be in a position to report to the international community on the humanitarian situation in the country.

Maurer who arrived in the country’s capital Kinshasa yesterday is expected to travel travel to Goma, in the east of the country. He is to meet with senior government officials and with leaders of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Among what he is expected to discuss with Congolese officials are  the consequences in humanitarian terms of the country’s conflicts, and the ICRC’s operations to meet the most urgent needs of the people directly affected.

Maurer said, ‘In North and South Kivu, thousands of people are enduring the effects of large-scale displacement and serious violations of international humanitarian law on a daily basis amid nearly universal indifference. In Katanga and eastern province, there has also been a resurgence of violence. My visit must serve to draw attention to the plight of people weakened by years of high-intensity conflict.’

The ICRC opened its delegation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo  35 years ago. It is currently carrying out its activities across the  country from offices in Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu, Beni, Uvira, Dungu,  Kisangani, Lubumbashi and Kananga, and from outposts in Kirumba, Masisi, Walikale, Fizi, Lulingu and Minembwe.

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