February 28th

In the Congo, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) report that there have been mass rapes in South Kivu, with 200 men, women and children having been raped since January. Normally violence is not centralized to one area as it has been in this case. Victims state that those responsible are members of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération de Rwanda (FDLR), which is made up of former persons responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. Amid the continuing unrest, states, international organization, and NGOs are preparing for the predicted global food shortage which is bound to effect those persons already in crisis due to violence and poverty. This crisis is currently impinging on Libya. France said that humanitarian aid must be the priority rather than military action to oust Muammar Gaddafi, one day after the United States said it was moving warships and air forces closer to Libya.

Food Shortage in Libya:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/east-libya-could-face-food-shortages-soon-source/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/france-urges-aid-not-military-action-for-libya/
The Congo:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92062
On the global food shortage:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/oxfam-calls-for-radical-shake-up-of-food-aid/
Britain threatens to leave UN Food Agency due to ineffectiveness:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/britain-threatens-to-quit-un-food-agency/

Feburary 15th

In the wake of various international incidents in Sudan and Egypt, the ongoing chaos in the Ivory Coast has been forgotten. However the conflict continues. Gbagbo's lawyers are now filing to have election results declaring Ouattara president overturned by a Nigerian court. They are seeking to sue ECOWAS, the Nigerian court of law, to achieve this ends. ECOWAS has been vocal in its condemnation of Gbagbo. Meanwhile two international banks have suspended operations in the Ivory Coast, one of which cites security concerns. Gbagbo is also seeking legal action against these banks, specifically the BNP Paribas, which a spokesperson for Gbagbo stated: "has illustrated in the recent past a willingness to stifle the Ivorian economy". In my opinion this is simply a tactic to shift blame for the current economic conditions away from the conflict on Gbagbo's part. The two leaders have yet to meet face to face since the November 28th elections.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-threatens-legal-action-on-banks/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-seeks-to-sue-ecowas-over-polls/
Http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91924

A report on the roles of the US and France:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91921

Why Certification of Conflict Minerals is Important...

"The mass rape of over 300 women in Walikale this past summer was a shocking reminder of the humanitarian implications of the unregulated minerals trade in Congo and the failure of the state to protect its citizens," Enough Co-Founder John Prendergast

http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/view-north-kivu?link=1
http://enoughproject.org/files/view_from_kivu.pdf

January 26

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the worst place in the world for females to live: "Statistics reveal that an average of 40 women are raped every day in just two provinces. Of these, 13 per cent are under 14 years of age, 3 per cent die as a result of rape and 10-12 per cent contract HIV and AIDS"(http://www.worldvision.ca/Education-and-Justice/Policy-and-Analysis/Pages/Rape-in-the-Congo.aspx). In a recently released report, UN officials found that the number of Congolese women raped New Years eve in an organized attack is exponentially larger then previously thought. One of the senior army commanders who coordinated the attack has been arrested, 10 other soldiers are in detention. 200,000 women are reported to have been raped in the Congo over the past 12 years of conflict. Those committing the attacks are not just Congolese, but members of the Rwandan Hutu militia have also previously been arrested. It is for this reason that extreme measures must be taken to end the conflict in the Congo. As I have written before, conflict minerals, such as coltan, fuel and fund this conflict and many others across Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi), and for that reason alone it may be time to pay more for our electronics, so minerals can be monitored and measures can be put in place to ensure they are arriving from a legitimate source.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-finds-many-more-congolese-new-year-rape-victims/
http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/why/why-congo

Pray for an end to violence

Violence worsens in Cote D'ivoire. Gbagbo (incumbent president) supporters are killing, raping and causing the disappearances of Ouattara supporters. Persons who look to be of an ethic group which typically supports Ouattara (immigrants from other parts of West Africa and Muslims)are routinely the targets. Last week a report was released which stated Cote d'Ivoire media could be brought up for crimes against humanity by the ICC because of the hatred and violence the air waves were inciting.

Quote from Ouattara's UN ambassador:
"Unfortunately, as things stand, the worst is yet to come," Bamba said, adding that "all member states of the United Nations collectively, and the regional powers in Africa ... should act immediately to put an end to that shame."

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-forces-kill-torture-watchdog/

In a situation such as this, is intervention the right solution? Would the North deciding a victor in this conflict bring stability? Or would those people inciting violence find some other cause for doing so, further destabilising the country?

Civil society in Cote d'Ivoire: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91733

January 23

Impartiality lets you off the hook. Not believing one thing or the other makes inaction acceptable. In myself, I call this cowardly behavior. If I refuse to make up my mind on a subject and thus am inactive, and allow potentially harmful things to happen as a result, I am guilty by omission. It is a refusal to take responsibility for the lives of anyone but yourself. Which is selfish. To a point, tolerance is another word for impartiality. As a side note, in a meeting held this past week, Canada MP David Sweet confirmed that in an effort to balance the budget Canada is cutting its funding to the Millennium Development Goals.

January 19th

The Kenyan President has reported that the African Unions mediation talks in the Ivory Coast have failed and that sanctions and force must now be used to end the conflict. There are now about 30,000 displaced persons in Liberia, 75 percent of which are women and children, and another 18,000 displaced internally in the Ivory coast. Aid agencies worry about the thousands of displaced children, many of which are separated from their parents, are in danger of sexual exploitation and recruitment into the violent conflict. Continue to pray for peace.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/displaced-ivory-coast-children-at-risk-of-sexual-exploitation/