The leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo asked UN member states on Tuesday to recognize a “silent genocide” in his country, as France announced it will host an emergency conference on the conflict there next month.
“All the signs of planned extermination are present… This is not just a conflict, it is a silent genocide that has been affecting the Congolese people for more than 30 years,” DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said in his address to the UN General Assembly.
He called for an independent international commission of inquiry to help “break the cycle of impunity that has fueled this tragedy for decades,” as well as for UN sanctions against perpetrators of “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide” committed in the east of the country.
A UN investigation recently reported possible war crimes and crimes against humanity “committed by all parties” in the conflict.
Rich in mineral resources, eastern DRC has been plagued by conflict for three decades.
Violence has intensified since 2021 with the resurgence of the anti-government M23 group, which the UN says is supported by neighboring Rwanda and its army.
M23 seized the major cities of Goma in January and Bukavu in February. According to the UN, clashes since January have caused thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France will host an emergency conference on the dire humanitarian situation in the DRC in October.
“In the Great Lakes region, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,” he said.
“We must restore hope to the population of Kivu and to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced there.”
Observers fear an M23 offensive on Uvira, a city of 500,000 people in South Kivu province that is still under the control of the Congolese army and pro-Kinshasa militias.
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