San Francisco Frontiers - UN warns of worse to come if east DRC violence spreads

UN human rights chief Volker Turk stressed the need for urgent international action to stem civilian suffering, warning the whole world was implicated in the scramble for DR Congo's valuable minerals.

He insisted there could be no military solution to the conflict.

Turk was addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will decide Friday whether to launch an international investigation into alleged violations and abuses committed during the deadly clashes.

The DRC requested the urgent meeting of the UN's top rights body to discuss the escalating fighting by Rwanda-backed armed group M23 in North and South Kivu provinces, and framed a draft resolution that would set up the probe.

Last week, M23 fighters and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu -- a mineral-rich region that has been blighted by war for over three decades.

"The population in the eastern DRC is suffering terribly, while many of the products we consume or use, such as mobile phones, are created using minerals from the east of the country. We are all implicated," Turk told the rights council.

"If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders.

"The risk of violence escalating throughout the sub-region has never been higher."

He said more than 500,000 people had been displaced since the beginning of January.

- 'Indiscriminate bombing' -

M23's lightning offensive against Goma was a major escalation after more than three years of fighting.

Turk said that since January 26, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured, adding that the real figures were likely to be much higher.

Congolese communications minister Patrick Muyaya told the council there had been mass human rights violations and attacks on civilians.

"Indiscriminate bombing against internal displacement camps and populated areas have compounded a catastrophic humanitarian situation. These attacks have deliberately targeted vulnerable people," he said.

Muyaya urged the council to "hold Rwanda accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity" and claimed it had "the aim of permanently occupying these territories".

Rwanda's ambassador James Ngango said his country was not responsible for the instability, but claimed evidence had emerged of and "imminent large-scale attack against Rwanda".

He claimed Kinshasa had stockpiled weapons near Rwanda's border, including rockets, drones, heavy artillery which were "pointed directly at Rwanda", which would "not wait for the threat to materialise".

Ngango said Rwanda was committed to a political solution to the conflict and said it was a "widely propagated lie that mineral resources are the cause".

Eastern DRC has deposits of gold and other valuable minerals including coltan, a metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops.

- 'International crimes' -

The draft resolution being discussed on Friday calls for strict measures to halt the "unlawful exploitation of natural resources" in the area.

It "strongly condemns the military and logistical support provided by the Rwanda Defence Force" to M23 and demands that they "immediately halt human rights violations".

It also says fighters should "immediately cease all hostile actions in and withdraw from the occupied areas" and urges them to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

The draft resolution calls for "an independent fact-finding mission on the serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law" in Kivu.

The mission should collect evidence of abuses for use in future court cases and try to identify those responsible, the draft text said.

The European Union urged M23 and Rwandan troops to withdraw immediately and said it abhorred reports of mass rape and gang rape.

Britain called for M23 and Rwanda to reopen Goma airport and allow unfettered humanitarian access.

Backing the call for an investigation, South Africa said that "beyond the dire human rights situation" it was "also deeply concerned about the exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis".

Ghana demanded "accountability for all atrocities committed against civilians".

S.Jackson--SFF