Goma: UN rights council mulls probe of abuses in DRC

M23 fighters seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu—a mineral-rich region in eastern DRC that has been blighted by war for over three decades. The UN Human Rights Council will decide on Friday whether to launch an international investigation into alleged violations and abuses committed as deadly clashes gripped the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. DR Congo requested the urgent meeting of the UN's top rights body to discuss escalating fighting by the armed group M23 in North and South Kivu provinces and drew up a draft resolution that would set up the probe. "It will be an occasion for us to present to the world what is going on—and to ask the world to act, to stop what is going on in DRC," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told reporters in Geneva. Last week, M23 fighters seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu—a mineral-rich region in eastern DRC that has been blighted by war for over three decades. Violations allegations The DRC's Foreign Trade Minister, Julien Paluku, stressed the urgency of international action, blaming Rwandan President Paul Kagame for the serious violations being committed. Footage captures buses transporting evacuated UN personnel amid the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN says it evacuated over 1,600 staff from the DRC to Uganda pic.twitter.com/xJLo2ylaoi — TRT Afrika (@trtafrika) February 4, 2025 "DRC is saying to the international community: be careful, President Kagame, whose people were the victims of that genocide, is in the process of doing the same thing." Rwanda's President Kagame has vehemently denied backing the M23 rebels. M23's lightning offensive against Goma was a major escalation after more than three years of fighting. Casualties The battle for Goma killed at least 2,900 people, the UN said on Wednesday, as the fighters launched a new offensive in South Kivu. The support of more than a third of the Human Rights Council's 47 member states is required to convene a special session, and 29 backed the DRC's call, along with 22 observer states. Rwandan ambassador James Ngango said, "Rwanda has always said that it will defend its security by all available means." The draft resolution to be discussed Friday condemns rights violations in Kivu and the "unlawful exploitation of natural resources" and calls for strict measures to stop the plundering. A mass burial has been held for dozens of civilians killed in the latest round of violence in DRC's city of Goma and its surrounding areas, where M23 rebels made advances in the past few days pic.twitter.com/5ST1JG3eZO — TRT Afrika (@trtafrika) February 4, 2025 It demands that the fighters "immediately cease all hostile actions in and withdraw from the occupied areas" and urges them to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to all those in need. ➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.