Since 1981, Médecins Sans Frontières has been intervening in ex Congo-Zaire, renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 1997. For nearly 10 years, this country has been going from war to war. As always, it is the people who suffer the most: hundreds of thousands of direct or indirect civilian deaths, while survivors try to survive on a ruined and divided territory. So far, the international community has been powerless, even impassive…
In October 2001, MSF collected the proof of this tragedy: a maximum of quantitative and qualitative data on the fate of the men, women and children taken hostage by the conflict. The evidence came from all four corners of the country: North and South Kivu, Katanga, Equateur, Bas-Congo, Province Orientale (Kisangani area) and Kinshasa. Violent crimes, torture, sexual violence, children forced to fight, and looting causing displacement and famines are the lot of the country.
In all of these provinces, MSF supports health programs, responds to various humanitarian emergencies, and provides assistance to displaced populations… The duty to assist must be combined with the duty to inform and warn, so that international political will can finally stop this crime.