Amnesty International has issued a call for the cessation of explosive weaponry usage in populated regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This appeal was made in a press release where the organization urged that such attacks be investigated by the International Criminal Court as potential war crimes. Between January and July 2024, over 150 instances of such weaponry usage were reported, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people. These attacks, executed by both the Rwandan-supported M23 group and the Congolese Army, often occurred near internally displaced person (IDP) camps, where there were no visible military targets.
Amnesty’s concerns are grounded in international humanitarian law (IHL), which mandates that combatants distinguish between civilian and military targets, directing their operations only against legitimate military objectives. Per Article 48 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, indiscriminate attacks that cannot be directed against a specific military objective are expressly prohibited.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, emphasized the detrimental impact of the lack of accountability, stating that without it, human rights and humanitarian law violations persist. Furthermore, Amnesty is urging the international community, including entities involved in military cooperation with the DRC and Rwanda such as the EU, Belgium, and the United Nations, to ensure their support does not facilitate these violations.
Complementing Amnesty’s position, Human Rights Watch has also reported on the aggravation of the humanitarian crisis due to hostilities between Rwandan forces and M23 rebels. Accusations of unlawful killings and rapes have previously been leveled against the M23 group, as noted in a 2023 report. However, Rwanda has denied responsibility for such attacks.
The dire situation is further underscored by United Nations reports showing that the number of internally displaced individuals in the DRC had surged to 6.1 million by mid-2023, marked by significant distress and humanitarian needs (UN report).