Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka has confirmed that over 7,000 people have died in the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since January. Speaking at a high-level session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Tuluka emphasized the severe humanitarian crisis, with at least 450,000 people left homeless after the destruction of 90 displacement camps.
Tuluka described the advancing M23 militia as a major escalation in the decade-long conflict in eastern Congo, one of the deadliest periods in recent history. However, Rwanda has strongly denied allegations from Congo, the United Nations, and Western powers that it is providing arms and troops to the M23 group.
In her speech, Tuluka called for immediate international action, urging the imposition of sanctions and other measures to halt the violence, which has led to widespread displacement, extrajudicial killings, and human rights abuses. “The screams and cries of millions of victims are impossible to describe,” she said, highlighting the suffering of the civilian population.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his opening remarks at the 58th UN Human Rights Council session, condemned the global erosion of human rights and drew attention to the particularly dire situation in the DRC, where human rights abuses continue to escalate.
