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POPSsexual violence as "a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in & disperse"
Amnesty International says women and girls are being targeted in conflicts around the world while the authorities do little or nothing to prevent it. In a report called Lives Blown Apart, the organisation says these crimes persist because those who commit them know prosecutions are rare. Despite promises, treaties and legal mechanisms, governments have failed to protect women and girls, Amnesty says. The human rights group says its investigations have found that violence against women is not just a by-product of war, but often a deliberate military strategy, with women particularly targeted in ethnic cleansing campaigns. "By attacking the women you are attacking the honour of your enemy, you demoralise the men, you scare people into running away," she said. "It's a very effective weapon, because the communities are totally destroyed." The question is whether those in conflict zones who use rape in war will be deterred.
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POPSAmnesty International launches "Demand Dignity" campaign In the 2009 report "State of the World's Human Rights", Amnesty International said that human rights were being relegated to the back seat in pursuit of global economic recovery. The world's poorest people were bearing the brunt of the economic downturn and millions of people were facing insecurity and indignity. World leaders are failing to tackle human rights abuses around the globe, Amnesty International says. It says world leaders should apologise for 60 years of human rights failures since the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The group also challenges them "to re-commit themselves to deliver concrete improvements".
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POPSDiary: Protecting mountain gorillas :eek:Recently, the rangers and their families had to flee from their homes and live in makeshift camps as the latest outbreak of violence engulfed the eastern part of the country. Diddy and Innocent are long-serving rangers who have spent their working lives protecting the remaining gorillas in the war-torn region. In this weekly diary, they describe life on conservation's frontline and the frustration of how current events are hampering their efforts.
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POPSOperation Lightning Thunder still chasing LRA However, two months since the operation was launched on the rebel camps in Garamba, allied forces are yet to locate Kony, who, along with his two deputies, is wanted at The Hague for war crimes. Estimated to number about 1,000 fighters, officials say the LRA has split into smaller groups which are now hiding at the Central African Republic border.
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POPSKony and 250 LRA rebels trapped in DR of Congo swamp Kony is the target of a joint operation by Congolese, Ugandan and South Sudanese forces that was launched last December. Meanwhile, the US military has defended its involvement in Operation Lightning Thunder. The joint offensive has been criticised for being poorly executed and leading to hundreds of civilian deaths.
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POPSlove in the time of crimes & cholera Furaha and her husband, Hakiza, both 30, fled with their two sons and two daughters to a makeshift camp, Kuhindo, in the eastern hills of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It lacks water, toilets and food but it is in a relatively safe part of this war-racked region. Laurent Nkunda, rebel leader, was arrested during a surprise joint operation by Rwandan and Congolese government troops. He is currently in Rwanda awaiting extradition to DR Congo. Circumstances apparently shifted after Nkunda's forces were accused of committing war crimes, and Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president - under pressure for the West - struck a deal with Joseph Kabila, the DR Congo president, last month.
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POPSUgandan President Museveni says LRA deputy to benefit from amnesty President Yoweri Museveni said LRA leader Joseph Kony would also have been forgiven had he signed the peace agreement in Juba, South Sudan, last April. The President made the comments while addressing a press conference at State House, Nakasero, yesterday. Museveni said although he did not believe in forgiving wrong-doers, Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu Diocese and Bishop Baker Ochola of Kitgum diocese had convinced him about the need for forgiveness in Acholi, which bore the brunt of the two-decade-long war.
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POPSWomen Cry for peace in Congo In Congo people are dying day in and day out from undramatic causes. Only a tiny proportion - a fraction of 1% - died from violence. Most died for mundane reasons associated with malnutrition, simple diseases or childbirth. A new report on deaths in DR Congo. The IRC believes that almost all of those deaths could have been prevented by basic health care.
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POPSUS helped Ugandan assault on LRA rebels US apparently aided the recent Operation Lightning Thunder as troops from Uganda, the DR of Congo and Sudanese rebels SPLA attacked Ugandan rebels Lords Resistance Army in the DR of Congo.
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POPSrape London's West End, Croydon Crown Court - ohn Worboys is accused of using date rape drugs dissolved in champagne to "stupefy" his victims before attacking them in the back of his cab. A doctor from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Mukwege, has said all sides have "declared women their common enemy". "African of the Year" is a title given for the first time by Nigerian newspaper the Daily Trust, equalling $20,000 (£13,700). His clinic receives an average of 10 new patients every day. The Panzi hospital helps women with the physical and psychological injuries after being attacked. It also provides help for women who have contracted HIV/Aids from their attackers. A third of patents undergo major surgery. "I am pleased to accept this award if it will highlight the situation of women in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo," Dr Mukwege told the BBC French service after accepting the award.
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POPSLRA deputy ready to surrender Who is Okot Odhiambo ? Charles Okot Odhiambo is the 14th LRA second-in-command to Joseph Kony and ascended to the position in the rebel group in October 2007, replacing Vincent Otti, killed by Kony. He is a member of Control Altar that directs the rebel’s military strategy, including attacks and brutality aimed at civilians. Control Altar is constituted by top commanders. In October 2005, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Odhiambo, Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya and Dominic Ongwen. The arrest warrants followed a complaint to the ICC by President Yoweri Museveni. # According to the ICC, he is described by other LRA members as “the one who killed the most” and “a bitter man, who will kill anyone”. # Sam Kolo, a former LRA commander, describes Odhiambo as a soft-spoken but ruthless fighter, who would always carry out his missions aggressively.
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POPSHunger,gold& tin war,obama from kenya, M.L.King The day before Barack Obama is sworn in as the United States' first African-American president, his country is celebrating its national holiday for the black civil rights leader, Martin Luther King. Dr King's sister, Christine King Farris spoke to the BBC about her brother and gave her views on Barack Obama's presidency. Barack's bingo-loving stepmother, Kezia Obama lives in a council house in Berkshire & was once married to Obama's late Kenyan-born father, Barack Senior. Her children mostly live in Kenya, the place where she first met the man who is now one of the most important people in the world. Will the african children have food now, or just an ongoing gold war? its family now.
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POPSMore on LRA attacks in DR of Congo Uganda's army, with the backing of Congolese and South Sudanese troops, launched assaults on LRA bases in northern Congo on Dec. 14, aiming to crush the rebels and capture their leader, self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Kony. But in more than a month of operations, coalition forces have failed to track down the rebel leader, and his fighters, estimated to number between 800 and 1,000, have embarked on a bloody campaign of terror against local villagers.
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POPSDoes talking peace End War? Dissident CDNP leader Bosco Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, is pursuing separate peace negotiations as talks about the eastern DR Congo crisis resume. More than 3,000 extra UN peacekeepers are needed in the eastern DR Congo to protect civilians there. Will this help the crisis? What can be done to stabilise eastern DR Congo? Are you satisfied with the performance of the UN peacekeepers? Are you in DR Congo or Rwanda?
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POPSOperation Lightning Thunder continues as Kony evades capture The UPDF, Congolese army and SPLA of South Sudan launched a joint operation against the LRA rebels on December 14 after Kony refused to sign the final peace agreement agreed on in Juba, South Sudan for the fourth time. The offensive is code-named Operation Lightning Thunder.
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POPSSudan accuses LRA of more killings Forces led by Uganda and including Congolese and south Sudanese troops began bombing LRA bases in Congo's Garamba National Park on Dec. 14 after Kony again failed to sign a final peace agreement with the Ugandan government.
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POPSRwandan army leader meets DC Congo president DC Congo is plagued with serious upheavals as rebels, government troops,rebels from neighboring nations as well as Ugandan and Sudanese government forces battle it out across the country. The poor and innocent get crushed underneath it all.
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POPSOperation Lightning Thunder rages on in DR Congo Nankabirwa said the troops were closing in on the rebels and were recovering more items around the LRA base in Camp Swahili. “The number which is under Joseph Kony (LRA leader) is really very small. You need to be patient to detect their movement. If they were big, it would be easier to detect them.”
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POPSLRA rebels accused of more atrocities in DR Congo The LRA is facing a joint military offensive code-named Operation Lightning Thunder being undertaken by the UPDF, SPLA of South Sudan and the Congolese army (FARDC). The offensive was launched on December 14 after Kony failed to sign the final peace agreement that was negotiated with the Government between July 2006 and April 2008 in Juba, South Sudan.
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POPSLRA rebels accused of atrocities in DR Congo and Sudan “Their attacks are further justification of this joint action against the LRA: they were never for peace,” Magezi commented. “He is just a monster, a beast and terrorist who has no value for human life.” Magezi lamented that the rebels continued to use the same horrendous tactics employed during the failed peace talks, mediated by the South Sudan government.
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POPSOperation Lightning Thunder Strikes in DR Congo On fears that the attack would kill innocent children and women in LRA camps, Magezi said the armies took the issue into consideration. “According to our intelligence, LRA fighters have been living separately from their families. These (fighters’ camps) are the ones we have attacked. We will ensure that women, children and captives are spared as we did in northern Uganda and South Sudan.”
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POPSDoctor performs amputation following instructions sent by text Dr Nott was unsure that he should operate. “I had to think long and hard about whether it was right ot leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting,” he said. “In the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter.”
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POPSDR of Congo town adjusts to life under rebels A crowd of scared and hungry-looking people were being marshalled into lines. Journalists approached one young woman who was queuing up for her ration. "How is it here?" she was asked. "Well at least I will have some food now," she said. "But my problem is the rebels killed my brother." That was all she was willing to divulge, before leaving in something of a hurry.
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POPSActor Ben Affleck in DR Congo Touring the devastation of human crisis levels in DR Congo, actor Ben Affleck commenting on the Darfur crisis (with huge Hollywood concern) and the rather lackluster interest in similar or even worse problem in DR Congo
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