Primary area: DR Congo Secondary area: Primary theme: Laws and Policies Secondary theme: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unwire, 2004-04-27 U.N. Names D.R.C. Arms Embargo Monitors The United Nations has named four experts to monitor the embargo against weapons flowing to militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kathi Lynn Austin of the United States, Victor Dupere of Canada, Jean Luc Gallet of France and Leon-Pascal Seudie of Cameroon will focus on weapons going to rebel groups in eastern D.R.C. that are not signatories to the D.R.C. Global and All- Inclusive Agreement and, if necessary, to border areas of neighboring countries. Meanwhile, U.N. Organization Mission in the D.R.C. (MONUC) chief William Lacy Swing has sent letters to the foreign ministries of D.R.C. and Rwanda expressing concern over troop movements near the countries' shared border. Swing mentioned incursions by the D.R.C.-based Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) into Rwanda and the subsequent incursion by Rwandan troops into D.R.C. The presence of hundreds of Rwandan soldiers in D.R.C. was reported April 21 by a MONUC observation team (U.N. release, April 26). The D.R.C. government yesterday protested the "unjustified presence" of Rwandan troops on D.R.C. territory and warned it could harm diplomatic relations. The statement said the Rwandan army incursion was "even more unjustifiable since MONUC, which has observers on both sides of the border, has not to date confirmed the Rwandan charges of supposed incursions by armed FDLR groups." The statement was an apparent reference to an April 12 letter sent to MONUC by Rwandan Army Chief of Staff James Kabarebe claiming that the D.R.C.-based FDLR, blamed for Rwanda's 1994 genocide, had launched a raid into Rwanda (South African Press Association/News24.com, April 26). In an interview yesterday with Integrated Regional Information Networks, Rwandan military spokesman Patrick Karegeya said the alleged April 8 attacks by the D.R.C.- based Hutu rebels had prompted Rwanda to deploy numerous troops along its borders with D.R.C. and Burundi but that the troops had not crossed the boundary. "It is evident that these extremist forces are preparing to invade our territory," Karegeya said. "We have decided to deploy heavily along Burundi and D.R.C. to halt any of such attacks." Karegeya had earlier denied heavily deploying along the Burundian border, calling it a "troop readjustment." Karegeya also yesterday denied that Rwandan soldiers had crossed into D.R.C. "It is very unfortunate that MONUC can go ahead to make such baseless allegations without contacting us," he said. "In our view, MONUC has failed because it merely stand[s] by as extremists forces gather to attack our territory. We have not sent troops back into the D.R.C." (IRIN, April 26). In related news, D.R.C. officials said yesterday that the D.R.C. army had killed 39 Rwandan rebels in a week of fighting. The army also handed over seven Rwandan rebels to MONUC yesterday. The rebels reportedly said they wished to return home but had been misled by their commanders into believing the United Nations might kill them (Associated Press/CNN.com, April 26). According to analysts, the D.R.C. army's focus on routing Rwandan rebel groups signals an important "policy shift" (U.N. Wire, April 26). Rights Group Says Militias Still Recruiting Child Soldiers A D.R.C.-based rights group, the Congolese Initiative for Justice and Peace, said Friday that armed militias in eastern D.R.C. are continuing to recruit child soldiers in violation of national and international law. The group said the militias are continuing the recruitments in order to collect government cash. An estimated 30,000 children were enlisted as fighters during D.R.C.'s 1998-2002 civil war. Under a U.N. disarmament agreement, rebel fighters are supposed to be disarming or joining the national army. Under the program, militia members who are nominally part of the new national army are paid a modest wage, which in reality is partially pocketed by the militia leaders who dole out the funds, according to the rights group's Raphael Wakenge Ngimbi. Ngimbi says the wage, however paltry, is discouraging demobilization, and lack of oversight encourages corrupt militia leaders to boost their lists in order to collect more cash. Therefore the recruitment of children continues including the welcome of returning child soldiers who were already demobilized. "It is this mediocre wage that is at the origin of the mass return of already demobilized, former child soldiers to armed groups," Ngimbi said. A D.R.C. army official speaking on condition of anonymity said the government was aware of the problem but had no choice but to continue paying the wage, as it was part of the peace agreement (Aloys Niyoyita, AP, April 23). http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20040427/449_23215.asp