Act Now to Protect Civilians in Eastern Congo!

Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to escalate this week, as civilians face rape, torture, and murder from rebel militias and government forces alike. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks, with a quarter million Congolese newly displaced since August. The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUC, has been unable to protect civilians from the violence.

Last week, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of an additional 3,000 peacekeepers to bolster MONUC. But the deployment will take months – much too long for civilians in eastern DRC to wait without effective protection.

UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, echoing the calls of Congolese community organizations, international experts, and human rights groups, has thrown his support behind a French proposal to send a European “bridging” force to reinforce MONUC until additional UN troops arrive.

European leaders will be meeting this week to discuss the proposal. While France, Belgium, and the UK have backed the plan, other states are reluctant to send troops.

So what can we do?

Avaaz.org is raising money to place advertisements in major European newspapers, urging European governments to support the deployment of an EU bridging force. According to Avaaz, the placement of such an advertisement in the Times of London immediately prompted the UK’s Africa minister to call the organization, and led to a shift in the UK government’s position in favor of sending troops.

Click here to donate and help push more European governments to answer the Secretary General’s call for action.

While you’re fasting this week to support civilian protection efforts in Darfur and Burma, please consider donating to help protect civilians in eastern DRC as well, and ask your friends and family to do the same. Avaaz is collecting donations until the end of this week.

The people of eastern Congo have suffered enough. Let’s act now to help make sure they get the protection they need, and hold the international community accountable for its Responsibility to Protect.

Questions? Email congo@standnow.org.