Khaliah Ali Arrives in Kinshasa to Honor 35th Anniversary of Father Muhammad Ali's Historic 'Rumble In The Jungle' as She Culminates Humanitarian Trip

Social Activist, Author, Fashion Designer's Mission to Raise Awareness of the Efforts of UNICEF and Other Humanitarian Agencies Serving the DRC

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Khaliah Ali, daughter of legendary boxing icon Muhammad Ali, has arrived today in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to honor the 35th anniversary of the historic 'Rumble in the Jungle' bout between Ali and George Foreman. This marks the first time that an Ali family member has returned to the city where one of sports' most historic events occurred (October 30, 1974). Khaliah began her humanitarian visit to the DRC Oct. 25, in her mission to help raise awareness of the efforts of UNICEF as well as other Humanitarian agencies serving the region.

At a commemorative ceremony Oct. 30, Khaliah's visit to the DRC will culminate at the Mai 20 Stadium, site of 'The Rumble in the Jungle' where she will be greeted by members of the media, government and townspeople. She will also visit facilities where her father trained for the epic bout.

Upon arrival in the DRC, Khaliah was welcomed to the Province of Katanga, the first stop on her itinerary, by Governor Moise Katumbi Chapwe. Khaliah has visited Lubumbashi, where in addition to working with UNICEF, she met and spoke with many local Congolese citizens, addressed students at The University of Lubumbashi and learned about the diverse needs of the Congolese people. Khaliah also placed the first stone at The Georges Malaika School for Girls in Kalebuka, Katanga, founded by native Congolese Noella Coursaris Musunka, an international fashion model and humanitarian. Khaliah has also visited women's collectives, nutritional feeding programs, small farmers projects, and medical facilities created to serve the population affected by the region's ongoing civil wars.

"My father and the Congolese people share a remarkable bond born from an event that empowered a country and supported him as he reclaimed his heavyweight crown. I know that the spirit of the 60,000 people who witnessed the fight, lives inside his heart to this day," says Khaliah. "It has been my dream to show my deep affection and gratitude to the Congolese people for the integral role they played in my own family's history."

SOURCE Khaliah Ali

No arrest yet for ex-rebel leader Ntaganda: Kinshasa

(AFP) –

KINSHASA — The arrest of former rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda on war crimes charges is "not possible for the time being", a Democratic Republic of Congo government spokesman said Thursday.

The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, wants to try Ntaganda for alleged offences in Congo's northeastern Ituri region, particularly enlisting child soldiers in 2002-2003.

Ntaganda, head of the general staff of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) which waged a bloody campaign in eastern Congo, defected to the government side in January.

Since then, international bodies including the European Union have urged the Congolese authorities to arrest Ntaganda, who has been brought into the country's army as a general.

The defection of the CNDP leadership and the arrest of its former commander Laurent Nkunda in Rwanda in January brought some stability to eastern Congo.

In March the CNDP signed a peace deal with the government paving the way for it to become a political party.

At a news conference in Kinshasa, Lambert Mende, the Congo government spokesman, ruled out arresting Ntaganda and transferring him to the ICC for now.

Squabbles about bringing legal proceedings straight away could inflict a "cure worse than the illness" on an already fragile country, Mende said.

Officially Ntaganda has a non-operational role in the Congolese army, in charge of integrating former CNDP fighters, but in reality he is second in command of operations led against Hutu rebels in the east of the country since March.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

IMF’s Ames Flies to Congo After China Signs Agreement

By Michael Kavanagh

Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Fund’s Congo representative, Brian Ames, is flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo after China signed an amended agreement on mining and infrastucture with the central African country, Ames’s office confirmed by phone today.

Congo’s Deputy Mines Minister Victor Kasongo told Bloomberg News today that the agreement, which originally provided for spending of $9 billion, was signed by China four days ago.

“I have not seen the amended contract, but I expect the loan to be $6 billion,” Kasongo said today in a text message to Bloomberg News. “The IMF must now vet the contract.”

Congo needed the changes in order to move closer to debt relief from the Paris Club and to have a $600-million IMF loan program approved. The Washington-based lender previously said the deal could add to Congo’s $11 billion foreign debt.

China agreed in January 2008 to help rebuild the war-torn central African country in return for control of 10 million metric tons of copper and 600,000 tons of cobalt. The changes mean Congo won’t be liable for the Chinese investment into roads, railways, hospitals and universities, according to the IMF.

Four major infrastructure projects are nearing completion and the focus now will be on developing the mine with which the Chinese companies hope to recoup their investment, Wu Zexian, China’s ambassador to the central African country, said. in an Oct. 1 speech in Kinshasa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Kavanagh in Kinshasa at via the Johannesburg bureau at abolleurs@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 13:04 EDT

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR KEVIN SITES SPOTLIGHTS EASTERN CONGO

Posted by Robert Padavick on Oct 29, 2009

In early October, RAISE Hope for Congo held a fundraiser to benefit Actions for the Welfare of Women and Children in Kivu (ABFEK), an organization based in Bukavu. Founded in 2007 by Amani Matabaro, ABFEK spearheads two programs: the Kivu Sewing Workshop for the Welfare of Women, which helps survivors of violence and rape rebuild their lives, and Education Assistance for Children, which partners with local school headmasters to provide financial and social support to vulnerable children unable to afford school fees.

Thanks to a great turnout at Washington D.C.'s Stir Lounge, we raised $1,000 for ABFEK.

Now, pioneering journalist and author Kevin Sites is working to match that amount. Kevin, who has devoted his journalism career to reporting on the human toll of global conflict, met Amani while in the Congo for the "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" war reporting project on Yahoo News (full disclosure: I was supervising producer of the project). Amani served as Kevin's fixer, or local producer.

In a post on his Facebook profile, Kevin is calling for donations. It's simple: just visit the donation page. Be sure to write "Facebook match campaign" in the "In Honor of" field.

You can also mail your donations to us by December 1st, 2009. Make checks payable to "The Enough Project" and be sure to write “RHFC Fundraiser - Facebook match campaign” in the memo line. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to ABFEK. You can mail them to:

Enough Project
c/o RAISE Hope for Congo Fundraiser
1225 Eye Street, Suite 307
Washington, DC 20005

A big thank you from RAISE Hope for Congo and the Enough Project to Kevin, for helping to spotlight the invaluable lifesaving efforts of people like Amani in eastern Congo.

Photo: Amani Matabaro at the sewing workshop. (Enough/Candice Knezevic)

India announces $263-mn credit for Congo

By IANS

October 29th, 2009

NEW DELHI - India Thursday said it will offer $263 million line of credit for three projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and also set up an IT excellence centre in the Central African country.

This was decided in a meeting between the visiting Congo Foreign Minister, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, and his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna here.

Mwamba arrived here Tuesday for a four-day official visit. The last high profile bilateral visit had been Congo President Joseph Kabila’s visit to India in April 2008.

Krishna said the fresh lines of credit will be for three projects - the 60-MW Katende hydroelectric power project, $50-million Kinshasa City Urban Railway System Rehabilitation project and $45-million Kakobola Hydro-electric power project.

The largest amount of the Indian credit will go to the Katende power project, which is expected to cost $168 million.

Besides, India would also provide grants for setting up a centre of excellence in Kinshasa and three IT learning stations, and offer special slots for Congolese women at Barefoot College in India for training in solar electrification and water harvesting.

In a joint statement issued by both parties, the Congo minister expressed his country’s support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council (UNSC).

He also supported India’s candidature for a UNSC non-permanent seat in 2011-12.

Mwamba also conveyed appreciation for the Indian contingent of 5,000 soldiers in the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC) “which has not only engaged in peace-keeping but also carried out significant humanitarian work for the Congolese.

Indian soldiers have taken part in various peacekeeping efforts in Congo since early 1960s.

The two ministers also signed a cultural cooperation agreement at the end of their meeting.

Congolese Citizens Caught in Crossfire of Battle for Region’s Lucrative Resources

November 13, 2008

A quarter of a million people have been displaced in fighting between government forces and rebel militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where reports of rape, looting and murders of civilians continue to rise. We speak to Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo about the varying regional and international actors fueling the conflict. [includes rush transcript]

Krishna meets Congo FM Mwamba in Delhi

Zambia News.Net
Thursday 29th October, 2009 (ANI)

New Delhi, Oct. 29 : External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Thursday discussed bilateral issues with his Congo counterpart, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba in New Delhi.

Mwamba arrived for his four-day official visit to India on Tuesday.

Both the ministers discussed a wide range of issues and other avenues to improve economic ties. Certain agreements were also signed at this meeting.

In a bilateral meeting in 2008, India and Congo have agreed to explore the possibility of cooperating in industrial diamonds in view of abundance of availability of these in Congo and Indian expertise in cutting and polishing of diamonds.

India has played a key role on various occasions in Congo, the first being the contingents of Indian Army and squadrons of ndian Air Force taking part in the UN-sponsored peace operations in early '60s.

Catonsville woman is 1st 'U.N. Citizen Ambassador' from U.S.

Writer-photographer's work from Congo won contest

Writer-photographer Emily Troutman is pictured with some of her photographs from her trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the background. (Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron / October 27, 2009

By Arthur Hirsch Baltimore Sun reporter

October 29, 2009

The United States' first and only United Nations Citizen Ambassador lives in an apartment above her father's garage in Catonsville with a couple of Persian cats, a few sticks of furniture, cameras and several computers. She doesn't have a car, so there's no way to know if the customary diplomatic parking privileges will apply, nor do lavish cocktail parties appear to be in the offing.

Still, Emily Troutman cannot help seeing her new status as an opportunity to take her international pursuits to another level, and that is apparently reward enough.

"I have the ear of the U.N.," said Troutman, one of five winners of the first and just-completed Citizen Ambassador video competition, and the only one in the United States.

For a few years now, Troutman - a graduate of Catonsville High School with a master's degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota - has been traveling, taking pictures and blogging about her experiences. She drew on that experience to create a three-minute video in response to a U.N. call for submissions last month that took the form of a question: If you could speak to world leaders, what would you say?

U.N. public information officer Einat Temkin said the contest builds on the partnership the organization established with YouTube a year ago in an effort to "engage young people with the work of the U.N."

Now posted on YouTube, Troutman's "letter" to global officialdom begins by emphasizing the human consequences of government action: "Every day, I want you to wake up and know that you work for 6.7 billion real people, one person at a time. People with children and dreams and stories."
Troutman appears in the video reading her message, her image alternating with pictures she took during about five weeks last spring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Years of civil war in the central African country of roughly 66 million people have taken a catastrophic toll: more than 5 million dead since 1998, mostly from disease and malnutrition, according to the International Rescue Committee, and 45,000 still dying every month. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been attacked as gang rape has become a "tool of war," the humanitarian organization CARE reported. The U.N. now has about 17,000 peacekeepers in the country as fighting between the government and rebels continues, driving more than a million people from their homes to escape the violence.

Troutman, a freelance writer, spent her time in North Kivu, a province in eastern Congo close to the Rwandan border, working out of a house in the city of Goma rented by a representative of a humanitarian organization. Conditions for a photographer were hardly ideal, as the country is not only dangerous, but she was told about an official prohibition against taking photographs.

Enforcement of the restriction is apparently selective, as Troutman - traveling only with representatives of the U.N. and humanitarian groups - was able to take some 3,000 pictures.

Two months ago she made a five-minute video, "Why Congo Matters." This month, when she saw the U.N. notice calling for three-minute presentations for the Citizen Ambassador competition, she got quickly to work. She wrote her message in a day, recorded it at the Washington School of Photography in Bethesda, where she'd been a student, and did the editing of the images on a computer in her apartment.

"I want us both to agree to say one true thing out loud every day," Troutman says in the video. "To remember one real person. To remind ourselves that our tragedies - yours and mine - are lived and felt one person at a time; just like our hope, our renewal, our future can also be lived and carried out into the world, one person at a time. You have a chance to be that person."

At 30, Troutman is the oldest of the five winners, who also include two men and two women from Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The five - whose videos were selected by a panel of six U.N. judges from 477 initial submissions - gathered at U.N. headquarters in New York last week to briefly meet Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to attend the annual U.N. Day concert dedicated this year to the organization's 115,000 peacekeepers.

As the Citizen Ambassador is a new creation, Troutman said the role is still being figured out.

"They're hoping that we're going to be able to spread the message" of global citizenship through online media, she said, adding that she hopes her success in this contest will expand her opportunities to travel. In the meantime, she plans to head back to the Congo in December, dismissing concerns about safety.

"It's hard to go anywhere if you're afraid," she said.

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun

French court decides not to probe African leaders

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY (AP) –

PARIS — A French court has decided not to pursue an investigation into three African heads of state for money laundering linked to their assets in France.

A French judge had been seeking to investigate Gabon's late leader Omar Bongo, the Republic of Congo's President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, following a complaint by Transparency International France, a group that tracks corruption.

But an appeals court ruled Thursday that the probe could not go forward because there was not enough evidence of wrongdoing.

A preliminary investigation had turned up numerous signs of wealth among the three leaders and their families, including luxury cars — Aston Martins, Bugattis and Mercedes — sometimes paid for in cash.

William Bourdon, a lawyer for Transparency International France, says those assets belong to the leaders' countrymen. The group said it would appeal the decision to France's highest court.

"This is a big blow, but it's just one step in a legal battle that will be long," said Maud Perdriel-Vaissiere of Sherpa, a human rights group that had also filed a complaint against the leaders.

Bongo ruled Gabon for more than 41 years until his death in June. His son Ali Bongo was sworn in as president this month following disputed elections that opposition candidates said were fraudulent.

French media have reported that Bongo's family owns abundant real estate in France — at one time, more Paris properties than any other foreign leader.

Ali Bongo's lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said his client had no real estate in France. The lawyer said he could speak only for the current leader, not the rest of the family.

"We are not hostile to the idea of transparency," Maisonneuve said.

Sassou-Nguesso seized power in the Republic of Congo for a second time in 1997 with help from Angolan troops. His lawyer was not present in court Thursday.

Equatorial Guinea is Africa's No. 3 oil producer. Its leader, Obiang, has faced several attempts to topple his government since he seized power in a coup three decades ago. His government is considered among Africa's worst human rights violators.

Olivier Pardo, a lawyer for Obiang, said his client has no assets in France and that he had responded to the complaints with a slander suit.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

For Congo's Military, a Mine of Difficulties

By SARAH CHILDRESS

NYAMPEGO, Democratic Republic of Congo -- The Congolese army has routed guerrillas from mines across the country's east in recent months, shifting control of a handful of mines to the military from ethnic rebel fighters.

Human-rights advocates and mineral-industry groups say the military may now be trying to consolidate its own power over Congo's rich mineral mines, with little ability to improve conditions for the thousands of miners scraping a living from the trade. Some groups accusing the military of complicity in mining and trading so-called blood minerals -- those mined amid violence, sold to fund conflict, or both.

View Slideshow

Dominic Nahr for The Wall Street Journal

Soldiers guarded their post at a cassiterite mine in Nyampego.

• More photos and interactive graphics

"As long as the region remains so militarized, even more now with these operations, it's very likely that the minerals are very directly profiting -- if not [militia groups] -- then the army itself," says Carina Tertsakian, a researcher for London-based Global Witness, an independent advocacy group.

"The national army doesn't occupy any mines, because they are busy tracking the FDLR," the dominant armed rebel group, says Colette Mikila Embenako, mining minister for the eastern province of South Kivu.

Col. Kahimbi Delphin, commander of operations in South Kivu province, says the military isn't profiting from mining.

During a recent visit to one cassiterite mine in Nyampego, a tiny village in South Kivu, tall, lanky Congolese soldiers patrolled the mine or lazed on the mountaintop, machine guns slung over their shoulders.

Cassiterite, a tin ore, is one of the most valuable minerals currently hauled from Congo's pits. It is used to make components of cellphones, computers and electronics. Congo produces a fraction -- about 4% -- of the global supply of cassiterite; amid loose regulation, it's difficult to know how much is mined legitimately.

That has left any company using Congolese cassiterite open to criticism. ITRI, an international tin-industry group, says that instead of making it easier for companies to operate in Congo's cassiterite trade, the recent military takeover is adding to the difficulty of determining whether the mineral is being mined legally and humanely. Kay Nimmo, manager of sustainability and regulatory affairs at ITRI, says rapidly changing conditions on the ground make it impossible to determine whether rights violations are occurring.

In Nyampego, along the roadside, men in uniform harassed women who were walking by and demanded money from locals for food and beer. Miners say the soldiers in Nyampego require that they pay a "security tax" equivalent to about $10 a week.

The military denies that it imposes a security tax on miners.

Col. Delphin, the South Kivu commander, said the military has no plans to permanently occupy mines taken from militants. He said he will investigate any allegations of wrongdoing. "The military command will never allow whatsoever the practice of exploiting the miners," Col. Delphin added.

Mining is the only real source of income for the people here, but it is grueling work. Some miners don't get a chance to bathe for weeks, they say, because they sleep below the surface. Some of their pants are so badly ripped they wear two pairs to cover the holes. Only the lucky have shoes.

The Congolese army drove out the FDLR fighters in August, raising hopes among workers that conditions would improve. Instead, miners say, the military imposed its own tax -- double what the militants had charged.

Working conditions haven't changed, miners say. Still, the miners, who now work under the watchful eyes of soldiers, say the military hasn't threatened violence as the FDLR once did.

"The only thing that brings us here to work is our family," says 25-year-old Alphonse Buhendwa, his skin, hair and clothing all stained orange from the earth. "If an army says to work for them, we will do it."

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A10

Congo soldiers kill unit chief after no-looting order: UN

(AFP) –

KINSHASA — Congolese soldiers killed their unit commander when he ordered them not to steal and pillage in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN mission to the country (MONUC) said on Wednesday.

"Three soldiers involved in this killing have been arrested (by the Congolese army) and another is one the run," MONUC said.

The UN said the men involved were former Mai-Mai militia members from the Congolese Resistance Patriots movement (PARECO) who recently became part of the army.

Many Mai-Mai militia members fought alongside government troops against Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and his former rebel group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People.

Some PARECO elements refused to join the army, choosing instead to side with Hutu rebels, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by unrest, and the country's army has been repeatedly accused of pillaging.

Ending Violence Against Women in Congo Symposium

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by gertiebeth in Photo Update

Sonya attended the Hollywood Film Festival’s Ending Violence Against Women in Congo Symposium on October 24. Here are some photos and the full set can view viewed here in the gallery.

Nyiragongo volcano: jewel or threat?

Despite the visible military activity in the region, tourists continue to come to the Democratic Republic of Congo to hike to the top of Nyiragongo, a very active volcano symbolising destruction to the local population.

In the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, signs of an ongoing war are everywhere. But it doesn’t mean the area has been completely abandoned by tourists.

Despite the visible military activity, travellers come here to hike up to the top of the Nyiragongo, a very active volcano. The climb takes about five hours. Groups remain under the protection of armed guards to deter an eventual attack by rebel soldiers. They too are very active in the region.

Volcanic fumes and toxic gases like sulfur dioxide are another source of danger. Despite all this, every month as many as 50 tourists reach the top of the volcano, culminating at 3,500 m. They are greeted by an amazing sight: a blazing cauldron of glowing lava encased in an 800-metre deep crater.

Many embassies warn visitors of the dangers of travel to the RDC, but local tour operators continue to be reassuring. On Jan. 17, 2002 the volcano erupted and lava flowed down to the outskirts of Goma - a town 20 km away with more than 250,000 inhabitants. Between 15% and 20% of the city was destroyed by two powerful lava flows and 200 people died. Now local residents are using the lava stone to rebuild the city. While Nyiragongo's activity is now being carefully monitored, the threat remains.

With the present technology, scientists are able to sound the alarm only a few days before an eruption. The level of the lava lake in the crater is rising, to the delight of hikers and to the fear of locals.

Congo Police Clash With Illegal Miners At Tenke Fungurume Mine

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The Congolese police has clashed with illegal copper miners operating in the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mining concession which started output in May this year, a company official told Dow Jones Newswires late Tuesday.

Tenke Fungurume communications officer Margaret Rashidi Kabamba said that a group of illegal artisanal miners were dispersed from Kakule hill, within the mining areas of Tenke Fungurume, over the weekend, which sparked off riots that culminated into clashes between the miners and local authorities. Tenke Fungurume is majority-owned by U.S-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ( FCX).

According to Kabamba, the individuals who had been engaged in the unsanctioned and illegal mining activities demonstrated outside the police station in Fungurume on Sunday demanding retrieval of the mineral ores confiscated by the police.

“Local authorities dispersed the demonstration and arrested one individual. No one was injured,” she said adding that the incident had no impact on operations of the copper mine.

Illegal mining activities remain one of the major challenges of mining companies operating in Congo. Analysts say that years of political instability and civil wars have left authorities with little control over mining concessions, allowing illegal miners to take over most facilities. Millions of Congolese are engaged in illegal mining activities mainly in Katanga and the lawless eastern and north eastern regions.

Freeport has spent at least $2 billion on Tenke Fungurume, which according to analysts is the largest exploited copper and cobalt deposit in the world. The company is also embroiled in a contract row with the Congolese government over the project.

Freeport holds a 57.75% stake in the project while Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.T) holds 24.75%, with the remainder owned by Congo’s state mining company, Gecamines.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +256 75 2624615; bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

FDLR rebels move through the forest, deep in the bush of eastern Congo.

The UN says Hutu rebels of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have attacked in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least ten civilians.

The incident happened over the weekend when the rebels ambushed civilian vehicles in the eastern province of North Kivu, Reuters reported.

A UN-backed radio station put the civilian death toll at 10 in the area, where there has been surge in attacks over the past few months.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in the region since Congo launched an offensive against the FDLR in January.

The UN-backed operation has been criticized for provoking reprisal attacks by the FDLR against civilians.

In the eastern Congo, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and Rwandan Hutu rebels of the FDLR have caused untold suffering for thousands of civilians.

Thr Great Lakes region has been destabilized since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which some LRA members participated in.

And the eastern Congo has experienced interminable cycles of violence since 1998.

The war in the Congo has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.4 million people dead.

UN counts internally displaced in central, E.Africa

(AFP) –

GENEVA — More than a million people in eastern and central Africa have fled their homes in the past six months, bringing the internally displaced population there to over 10 million, the UN said on Tuesday.

Between March and September, 10 out of 18 countries in the region recorded a jump of 1.08 million in the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) mainly due to conflicts, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.

A total of 10.18 million are now displaced within their home countries, it added.

The escalation of fighting in central Somalia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo had contributed significantly to the growth, said the Displaced Populations Report.

"An estimated 250,000 people were displaced from Mogadishu alone by fighting between forces of the transitional federal government and various militias in May 2009," said OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo alone recorded a net increase of over 779,000 IDPs in the past six months amid renewed violence in Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu provinces.

In all, 2.12 million people have been uprooted from their homes in the country.

The number of refugees who fled across borders also grew in east and central Africa, up 5,061 since March 2009 to 1.875 million, said OCHA.

"Chad, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania continue to host the highest number of refugees, with each having over 250,000 refugees at the end of September 2009," said Byrs.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

Stop Rape in Congo as a Weapon of War: John Prendergast Speaks Nov. 4

Posted on October 27, 2009


This year’s Nitze Fellow at St. Mary's College of Maryland, John Prendergast, seeks peace in Congo. (Submitted photo)

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. (October 27, 2009) — This year’s St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s 2009-2010 Nitze Senior Fellow, human rights activist John Prendergast, has passionately fought for many years to end genocide and other crimes against humanity in Africa, particularly in the countries of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Prendergast gives his first of three public lectures, “Stopping Rape as a Weapon of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo and Beyond,” at 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 4, 2009, in the Auerbach Auditorium at St. Mary’s Hall. A reception will follow at the James P. Muldoon River Center.

The DRC, formerly called Zaire, a vast beautiful country of immense economic resources, has been ripped apart almost continuously since its 1960 independence from Belgium by civil war, despots, and corruption. Millions have died from war, disease, and malnutrition, particularly in the Eastern region. “During some of the most intense flare-ups in eastern Congo,” Prendergast said in a recent blog, “soldiers from as many as nine countries were involved in the fighting, opportunistically seeing Congo’s instability as the chance to get their hands on some of the country’s vast mineral wealth. The war served as a pretext for exploitation, which ultimately became a driving force behind the violence.”

And as often happens, the Congolese women are exploited the most. “Congo,” said Prendergast, “has the highest rate of sexual violence and systematic rape in the world.” Prendergast says he is encouraged by what appears to be a stronger commitment by the Obama administration to aid the Congolese and by the choice of President Obama as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner. “It is enormously encouraging that the Nobel Committee chose its Peace Prize winner on the basis of the hope he instills and inspires around the world. Nowhere else is such engagement more pressing from a humanitarian and human rights standpoint than in Congo and Sudan, two of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman or a girl due to the prevalence of sexual violence.”

During the Clinton years, Prendergast was director of African Affairs at the National Security Council and special advisor at the Department of State. He authored eight books on Africa, including New York Times bestseller Not on our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, and is finishing two more, one on his 25 years in the Big Brother program and one on human rights and peace activism. Prendergast co-founded the Enough Project in 2007 to promote peace; has taken journalists to Africa, including those from Nightline, 60 Minutes, and The Lehrer Newshour; and has produced a number of documentaries. The activist travels regularly to Africa's war zones on fact-finding missions, peace-making initiatives, and awareness-raising trips.

Each year, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) invites an accomplished writer, journalist, or other professional figure to be the Nitze Senior Fellow and to make several visits to the campus to give lectures and meet with classes. Last year, former Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid was the Nitze Fellow. Other previous Fellows include Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland; David Sanger, the New York Times chief correspondent for the White House; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward P. Jones.

Human Rights workshop held on torture and death in the DRC’s prisons and detention cells

Kinshasa, 27 October 2009 - A one day workshop was held today in Kinshasa with the theme “the Congolese justice system and the problem of death and torture in detention.” The aim of the workshop was to discuss the prevailing situation in the DRC’s prisons and detention cells, with a view to proposing future solutions.

The workshop, which had approximately 40 participants, focused on issues such as the Government’s responsibility to prevent torture and death in detention; the issue of torture and death within the judicial framework; challenges for prison authorities with regard to torture and death of inmates; and medical issues arising out of inappropriate detention conditions and lack of medical care.

As well as the United Nations joint Human Rights office in the DRC, other participants and speakers at the workshop came from the Appeals Court, the Public Prosecutors’ office, the Supreme Court, the Justice Ministry, the DRC prison service and human rights organisations.

Jean Marie Bouaka, Deputy Director of the Joint United Nations Human Rights Office in the DRC said that “torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, is one of the crucial issues in the places of detention as well as during the procedures by Judicial Police officers.”

He added that these acts are sometimes perpetrated in all impunity by the persons responsible for the application of the law, and the judicial response remains incomplete.

The DRC, although having ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture, has not taken express legislative measures aimed at penalizing those who commit torture. Numerous victims await justice and compensation that is guaranteed to them by the Constitution.

Jena Marie Bouaka said that the workshop is going to “allow us to examine the resources from which the Congolese judicial system can fulfill the constitutional obligation to the rights of its citizens, and to meet the legitimate expectations of justice efficiently.”

Following introductory speeches, the workshop was later divided into three working groups focusing on: improving the legislative framework for the prevention and repression in relation to torture and death in detention; legal issues in relation to detention, the responsibility of the justice authorities and civil society; and health, hygiene and food in detention - a collective responsibility?

DR Congo, Kinshasa: millions have access to potable water because of unofficial distributors

October 26, 2009 · Leave a Comment

A World Bank study revealed that only 22% of the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo has access to potable water, although the picture is brighter in the capital, Kinshasa, where 41.5% of residents have water service. Serge Ikamba, former counselor in charge of infrastructure for the Ministry of Public Health, blamed the shortage upon antiquated water networks, most dating back to colonial days 50 or 60 years ago. Failing a reliable water supply from the state-run REGIDESO utility, most people fall back upon private vendors. In Kinshasa, these consist of thousands of small boys who sell half-liter plastic bags in the streets for 50 francs apiece. [Global Water News WatchSummary by Louise Shaler, 12 Oct 2009]

Source: Emmanuel Chaco, IPS [in French], 12 Oct 2009

hard working People in Congo

This how people work for there living. Its really a hard work this a gold mining in Congo. Look at this picture even a children are working in the mining. I think it’s not suitable for young age like them. Check it out.

Hip-Hop Battle Packs Out Stadium in Goma

Cercle Sportif, the main basketball court in town, was filled with 3,500 people sitting in the bleachers, climbing on the hoops, standing on the walls, all pressing in to see the SKIFF hip-hop dance competition featuring seven groups from Goma.

The event kicked off with a local Taekwondo performance done Congolese style to the music of Lokua Kanza, the famous Congolese rumba and jazz musician. The dance groups followed with local musicians performing in between the dances.

The jury consisted of two professional Congolese dancers from Kinshasa, Lucie Mbuyi and Jolie Madala Ngemi, Ugandan breakdancer Abdoul Kanyinye, and Finnish dancer Anna Muionen. While the jury deliberated their decision, the crowd was entertained by a Michael Jackson dance competition featuring three groups whose moonwalks made one question if these boys were not somehow part of the Jackson family.

The top two groups were announced and danced off in a hip-hop battle both in groups and individually. The crowd voted on the winner by reverberating the stadium with it choice and ultimately the jury agreed; the prize went to the Street Dancers and the runner-up prize went to Lil’ Saint. Street Dancers won the chance to perform at Festival Munjansa in Kinshasa and Lil’ Saint won the chance to travel performing around the province of North Kivu.

Following the hip-hop battles, the film screening was Goma Focus, highlighting films made by Congolese filmmakers in Goma with actors from Goma. The films featured were Prejudice by Horeb Bulambo and 21 Puce by Modogo Mutembwi. Overall, the day was a success pulling together people from all different walks of life in Goma to show their support for local artists and for peace in the region.

Find out more about SKIFF and the youth of Goma

Keith Martin: Our mining companies' responsibility to the Congo

Posted: October 27, 2009, 10:30 AM by NP Editor

Keith Martin

If ever there was a hell on earth, then surely it is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A staggering 1,000 people die every day from largely preventable causes in this forgotten corner of the African continent, and more than 6-million people have perished in the last eight years alone. In some communities, a shocking 70% of the women have been subjected to extreme sexual violence; gang raped or violated with bayonets and other sharp objects, causing death or lifelong disabilities.

The DRC is home to the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War, yet it has received scant attention from the international community. The conflict is complex. It is partly rooted in disputes over land ownership, but mostly it is a battle for the vast natural resources the region possesses. Diamonds, gold and rare minerals are plentiful. However, few of these minerals are more important than coltan, an essential element that is used in the production of the computers, cell phones and other electronic equipment that are a ubiquitous part of our lives.

Interestingly, many of the mining companies operating in this region are Canadian.

Emily Troutman, UN Citizen Ambassador Speaks about Congo

Congo men strut their stuff, as Kenyan priest stirs the gay nest

A gay parade in Kinshasa, Congo, earlier in the year.

By OUR REPORTER/ Outside the Box (email the author)

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Posted Tuesday, October 27 2009 at 15:14

As the row over the gay marriage of two Kenyans two weeks ago continues to rage, a priest at the coast has added fuel to the fire.

Kenyan priest Fr Ambrose Muli said during his Sunday homily at the St. Anthony Catholic Cathedral in Malindi, along the Kenya coast, that men are turning to each other because “the women are no longer marriageable”. Women, he said, had become too complicated and unattractive in marriage.

While gay relations remains a touchy issue in most of Africa, with a proposed law in Uganda likely to impose the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality, and Burundi recently banning homosexuality, some countries have a surprising liberal attitude.

South Africa’s constitution, perhaps not surprising for Africa’s richest and among its freest countries, recognises the rights of gays — and has its gay parades. The other country with enough tolerance to permit gay parades in Africa is a surprise candidate: It is long-suffering and war-weary Democratic Republic of Congo.

The western part of the DRC, where the capital Kinshasa is located, is not ruled by the homophobia common in most of Africa. This year it had a gay parade that passed off without incident.

Why DRC would permit a gay parade, why more stable and richer nations will not countenance it is another puzzle in the books for one of Africa’s biggest countries, with a complex and twisted history.

Angola justifies expulsion of Congolese

Searching for diamonds

Angolan Foreign Minister Assuncao dos Anjos says his country has the right to expel undocumented workers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially those who come to take part in the diamond trade.

Dos Anjos said on Monday that the two countries have reached an agreement over tit-for-tat expulsions that ended this month.

However, Radio Nacional de Angola also quoted him as saying, "It's obvious that Angola will never give up the right to deport citizens whose actions are not beneficial to our country."

Tens of thousands of people have been expelled from both countries, some with nothing but their clothes.

Over the past few years, Angola has expelled hundreds of thousands of impoverished Congolese immigrants who have poured across its long porous border to search for diamonds in the crocodile-infested rivers of the Lunda provinces.

Angola is the world's fifth biggest diamond exporter and is one of Africa's two biggest oil producers, with Nigeria its only serious rival.

FTP/HGL

World must help fund, train African Union peacekeeping missions: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The international community must more actively and systematically support the African Union's (AU) peacekeeping role with enhanced funding and training to bring stability and development to the continent, the United Nations peacekeeping chief said here Monday.

"If the international community requests that the AU bear the brunt of its initial response to a crisis, it has an obligation to support the AU in ensuring that that response is credible," UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy told the Security Council at the start of a debate on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report on the issue.

"There is a need to provide resources for peacekeeping in a sustainable and predictable manner without undermining the flexibility required to respond to a crisis quickly," he said. "Currently, AU peacekeeping is entirely dependent on the same small pool of donors."

Citing UN support for AU missions in Sudan and Somalia, he said the international community must ensure that the most effective mechanism is made available to the AU when the 15-nation Security Council authorizes it to undertake peacekeeping operations.

"Building a resilient and responsive African Union is vital for the establishment of an effective complementary system for global peacekeeping," he said.

Le Roy noted that Ban's report laid out a number of areas for immediate action, including streamlining the UN presence in Addis Ababa, the seat of the AU headquarters, and providing additional capacity-building, calling it a further step in a long-term process of UN support to AU peacekeeping.

"Our partnership is strong and recognizes that security and the means of providing it is a prerequisite for long-term sustainable development," he said. "This is particularly true in Africa, where instability and conflict continue to undermine the aspirations of the people in a number of countries."

He cited cases where the AU has taken on responsibilities in complex situations with the Council's authorization when conditions have not been conducive to a UN peacekeeping role, and stressed the joint efforts of the two in Darfur (with the force known as UNAMID) and UN support for the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia (known as AMISOM) as examples of the kind of partnerships that can be achieved.

"Serious capacity and resource constraints have, however, hampered the ability to fully realize the potential of this partnership," he warned.

Ban's report outlined steps to boost AU capacity in UN-authorized peacekeeping and assessed the recommendations of an AU-UN panel which issued its own report last December, advocating concrete steps to strengthen the mutual relationship. Twenty-two speakers are scheduled to take part in today's debate.

Le Roy will travel to Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday to attend a high-level meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council. He is also scheduled to visit peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he will assess security in the strife-torn east and discuss the extension of state authority and institution building, and Burundi, where he will see first-hand how the UN integrated mission is working.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Mansa man shot on DR Congo waters

A 42-year-old man of Mansa is battling for his life in Mansa general hospital after being shot and wounded while fishing on the DR Congo side along the Luapula River in Mansa.

Luapula Province Police Chief, Auxensio Mbewe confirmed the incident to ZANIS and named the victim as Mwansa Chimbaya of Kalukuluku village in Chief Chinsunka’s area.

Mr Mbewe said Chimbaya was shot in the left leg around 18.00 last Friday as he fished on foreign waters on the Luapula River.

He said Chimbaya sustained a deep wound on his leg and is currently being nursed at Mansa general hospital.

Narrating the ordeal, Chimbaya said he had just cast his net on the Congo DR side along the Luapula River and while he was returning, he just heard gunshot adding that he does not know the people who shot at him.

Mr Mbewe said this is not the first time that a Zambian has been shot on the Luapula River on the Congo DR side.

He said the problem is that local people are fond of crossing over into the Congo DR waters on the Luapula River to engage in illegal fishing.

The police chief explained that Zambian fishermen are attracted by good stocks of fish on the Congo DR side because the Zambian side is said to be depleted

He said police have been doing everything possible to sensitize people to stop crossing into the neighbouring country waters to minimise the incidents.

“We have carried out sensitisations telling our people to desist from fishing in the Congolese waters on the Luapula River. They know that but sometimes they just tend to follow the fish which is plenty on the other side,” Mr Mbewe said.

[ZANIS]

Crediting plundered art

The Oct. 18 Style and Arts article "At the Phillips, Black and White but Never Plain" was accompanied by a photograph of an African statue labeled as "collected around the turn of the century in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

Talking about such art as "collected" is the equivalent of saying that a menorah from the Poland of 1939-45 was "collected" without mentioning that its availability was the result of the Nazi genocide that wiped out families and friends and nearly their cultures.

The genocide in the Congo during the administration of King Leopold II of Belgium (1885-1908) with the agreement of Western European powers was notorious at the time. (Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" was inspired by it).

Man Ray, Picasso and the curators of these objects in our museums cannot be credited with sufficient incompetence not to be aware of this inconvenient history.

I think we owe those victims at least the courtesy of remembering how and at what price their art came to grace our museums.

R.A. Metcalf, Rockville

Korea Resources Bids for Copper Mine in Congo, MoneyToday Says

By Kyung Bok Cho

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Korea Resources Corp. is seeking to buy a copper mine in Congo, MoneyToday reported, citing an unidentified company official.

The state-run resource developer is leading a group of South Korean companies, including Daesang Corp. and Taihan Electric Wire Co., in their bid for the mine, the Korean- language online newspaper said today.

Last Updated: October 25, 2009 20:46 EDT

Congo DRC: Constitutional review fears (opinion)

Posted by africanpress on October 24, 2009

A planned review of the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, has worrying implications for democracy and justice.

While a good case can be made for some minor constitutional adjustments, great care should be taken that such bolt-tightening is not used as an excuse for a wider-reaching overhaul that strengthens the executive's stranglehold over the country.

An expert commission was set up several months ago to evaluate the constitution and propose any amendments that it considers necessary.

The committee includes representatives from the presidency, the prime minister.s office, both houses of parliament and the supreme court.

It is lamentable that civil society is not represented, and there is a very real danger that President Joseph Kabila, who commands an overall majority in parliament, could drive through changes to the constitution that benefit his political career rather than the country as a whole.

Of particular concern is talk of extending the maximum length of time that a president can serve, currently set at two terms of five years each.

Some commentators have suggested that the expert panel is gearing up to propose a constitutional revision that would extend the presidential mandate to seven years, and permit presidents to run for office an unlimited number of times.

Should such a change go through, the 2011 elections would almost certainly be postponed and Kabila's grip on power over the country would strengthen.

Government aides, however, dismiss such talk as mere conjecture and say that Kabila has no plans to extend his mandate.

Another matter would have to be dealt with, too. An inconvenient constitutional clause makes it clear that the terms of the presidential mandate cannot be revised.

Therefore, before an extension of the mandate could be considered, the expert group would first have to figure out a way of overcoming this problem.

Another deeply worrying idea is the suggestion that the president and the minister of justice could be integrated into the high council of the magistracy.

This body, which was set up in 2006 to promote judicial independence, is woefully under-funded and suffers perpetual interference from the government.

From the outset, this has undermined the high council's claim to independence and its ability to perform the tasks it was set up to carry out.

Integrating government departments into the organisation will only make things worse.

Some argue that, since the government should have ultimate responsibility for the judicial system, it would be ill-advised to completely sever justice from the executive.

But such sentiments are dangerous, and ignore the perpetual struggle in the DRC to lessen government interference with the court least in light of comments made by Kabila earlier this year to step up the fight against corruption in the magistracy.

Without a truly independent judicial power, which enjoys a consistent budget and is not subject to the whims of government, it will be very difficult to achieve a lasting democratic order in the DRC.

There is some justification for considering a constitutional review.

When it was drawn up in 2006, the constitution gave the government 36 months to oversee the splintering of the country's existing 11 provinces into 26 new ones.

The idea of the 26 provinces was motivated, in part, by the need to consolidate national unity, which has been undermined by successive wars in the DRC.

Dividing the country into smaller semi-autonomous regions, it was argued, would help reduce inter-ethnic conflict by creating more homogeneous local administrations.

However, so far little significant headway in addressing the issue has been made.

According to the constitution, both houses of parliament must agree on border demarcation by a three-fifths qualified majority.

Since the government enjoys a significant majority in both the assembly and the senate, the upper and lower house, it would not be difficult for it to push the change through if it wished.

But Kabila's government is showing noticeably little enthusiasm for setting up the new provinces.

If the government feels that it cannot set up the additional 15 provinces before the election, then it is conceivable that the constitution could be modified to prevent a slide into illegality.

But this review must be in compliance with the principles of the constitution, and great care must be taken not to use this as an excuse to tinker with other legal elements.

Without such caution, there will be no election in 2011 and fundamental democratic rights will be put in jeopardy.

* Eugene Bakama Bope is IWPR�s Congo analyst.

source.IWPR

‘Come Clean 4 Congo’ Video honored at Hollywood Film Festival’s Human Rights Symposium

Back in May, YouTube begin a video contest to demonstrate ‘connection between the "conflict minerals" used in cell phones and the war in Democratic Republic of the Congo’. Matt Smith’s "Come Clean 4 Congo," video in partnership with Enough Project, voted #1 by YouTube community, and will be honored at the Hollywood Film Festival's Human Rights Symposium, LA, announced.

“Its the deadliest conflict since World War II, and militias continue to use rape as a weapon of terror. The UN reports that in the first half of 2009, more than 5,000 women have been raped in the South Kivu province of the Congo”

Turning Pain to Power in the Congo

Katie Couric's Notebook: Hillary Clinton

Posted by Katie Couric

Watch CBS News Videos Online

She was the polarizing First Lady who spoke of vast right wing conspiracies, the carpetbagger who came to New York with a Yankees cap and a Senate campaign, and the presidential contender in a pants suit.

No matter what the role, Hillary Clinton's critics have delighted in eviscerating her.

But now, as Secretary of State, her approval rating of 65 is higher than Michelle and President Barack Obama's. Even some conservatives have done a 180. Glenn Beck told me he would have voted for her in the 2008 election.

Talk about whether she's being "marginalized" has grown tiresome even among Washington wags.

She's gotten some serious frequent flyer miles – 140,000 of them - traveling to 36 countries, and improving relationships with Russia, Cuba and even Iran.

And she's helped oppressed women facing horrific abuse in places like Afghanistan and Congo.

Just what you'd expect from a woman who broke so many barriers here. Nice to see she's getting the respect she deserves…simply by doing her job.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

Congo-Kinshasa: Child Disability, the Forgotten Crisis

23 October 2009

---

Goma — Looking at herself in the mirror, nine-year-old Helena squealed with delight at her reflection, standing upright with just the slightest support of her therapist. A year before, Helena was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and identified for therapy in Mugunga II IDP camp in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Helena, able only to crawl, had been confined to very specific spaces due to the lava in the IDP camp.

Helena was one of the lucky few to have received regular treatment. Robert Golden, a doctor, states in the 2008 UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) report, Monitoring Child Disability in Developing Countries, that it is an "important but largely unaddressed issue". This is especially true in DRC where child disability receives little attention among the myriad crises befalling the country.

According to the UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), two million people are displaced in the eastern DRC. Combine this figure with World Health Organization (WHO) data that 10 percent of the world's population suffer some form of disability, and that would mean 200,000 disabled people among the displaced, many of them children.

"Attention and funding for programmes addressing disability are largely under-funded worldwide, and particularly in Congo," says Heal Africa's Laura Keyser.

"The international community might not see disability as an emergency worth focusing on now, but it will become a full emergency if nothing is done," said Loran Hollander of Heal Africa's hospital in Goma.

Increasing Risk Factors

While funding for treatment remains minimal for agencies specializing in treating disabilities, the number of disabled children and those at risk continues to grow due to the increased risk factors brought on by the breakdown of the health infrastructure, ongoing violence and displacement in the eastern DRC.

Minimal access to healthcare, clean water, and overall poor nutrition during pregnancy lead to common congenital disabilities in children such as spina-bifida and limb deformities, and young children predisposed to early childhood diseases such as meningitis and polio, explained Keyser.

Access routes to health centres are often blocked for patients and medical teams. This lack of access leads frequently to birthing complications, child developmental delays and maternal mortality.

Furthermore, the prevalence of rape in the DRC is also linked to a probable increase in child disability. "Frequently women pregnant from rape do not seek pre- or peri-natal care, which can lead to the problems aforementioned, as well as birth trauma - either to the baby (ie lack of oxygen leading to cerebral palsy or some type of developmental delay) or to the woman (ie a fistula, which may or may not leave them incontinent)," said Keyser.

Vulnerability

"Unfortunately, disabled children are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, neglect and discrimination. They face reduced social participation and have less access to education and other social services than children without disabilities," states Golden.

In addition, according to Handicap International and Heal Africa, inside the camps as well as outside, children with a disability struggle daily with social stigma and discrimination.

Proper treatment, according to UNICEF, Handicap International and Heal Africa, provides the children with the physical ability to function more fully in society while also educating the community to break down stigma and social restrictions.

UNICEF notes that "early detection and intervention might confer benefits to children at risk for disability and prevent long-term functional limitations".

Jusbeen, 4, came to the Heal Africa's clinic with a serious infection, a noma, which had "scarred down" his mouth, making it difficult to eat or drink. Therapists discovered that Jusbeen also suffered from developmental delays. However, since his disability was caught early, he has undergone a significant transformation. With ongoing therapy and constant encouragement from his mother, Keyser notes, "he is now able to walk with hand-held assistance, smiles, laughs and engages in play activities which were impossible before".

Due to minimal international attention to child disability amid the numerous crises afflicting the DRC, children like Jusbeen and Helena, who received treatment, remain among the minority. "These children need all the help they can get," says UNICEF. At present, that help is limited.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]

Copyright © 2009 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).