M23’s Human Rights Abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Since late January, fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has intensified after the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, sparking a wave of human rights abuses. Amnesty International reports that M23 fighters have raided hospitals, abducting patients, including wounded soldiers and civilians, from their beds and subjecting them to torture. The organization has documented cases of gang rape by M23 combatants and the persecution of human rights defenders and journalists in areas under rebel control.

For instance, on 28 February and 3 March, M23 gunmen stormed two hospitals in Goma, kidnapping more than 130 people and forcibly transporting them to a stadium where some were whipped, beaten and pressured to join the rebels. Many of those seized remain missing after these raids. In Bukavu, hundreds of bodies have been discovered in the wake of the M23 offensive: between mid-February and mid-March, the Red Cross collected over 400 corpses across South Kivu province, including at least 110 civilian victims.

The toll on the population has been devastating, the United Nations says roughly 3,000 people were killed during the battle for Goma alone, and the conflict has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, with many fleeing into neighboring countries. M23, also known as the March 23 Movement, is a predominantly Tutsi-led rebel faction that re-emerged in late 2021 after years of dormancy. 

The UN and Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of bolstering M23 with troops and weapons, an allegation Kigali denies, and UN experts estimate that about 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are supporting the rebels. The renewed insurgency has been fueled by long-standing ethnic and political grievances and competition over eastern DRC’s mineral riches; the region hosts dozens of armed groups and decades of conflict have displaced more than seven million people to date. Amnesty International’s Tigere Chagutah noted that “the violence has been enabled by decades of impunity for serious abuses” in eastern Congo.

The international community has responded with growing alarm. The UN Human Rights Office condemned the hospital attacks by M23 as “deeply distressing” and, alongside Amnesty, called for all abducted patients and medical staff to be released immediately. A UN Special Rapporteur expressed “extreme concern” over M23’s targeting of human rights defenders, warning that activists in rebel-held areas “are living in fear” of reprisals.

In February, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning the M23 offensive and urging Rwanda to halt any support for the rebels and withdraw its forces from DRC. An International Criminal Court investigation is also underway into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in eastern DRC.

The European Union has voiced deep concern: the European Parliament in mid-February overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning M23’s occupation of Congolese territory and urging the EU to freeze aid to Rwanda until it cuts ties with the rebel group. Amnesty International is calling on regional organizations and other international actors to increase pressure on all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law. Regional diplomacy has intensified as well: under international mediation, the presidents of DRC and Rwanda agreed in April to draft a peace deal by May, pledging to respect each other’s sovereignty and cease any support to armed groups.

written by Matilde Angela Paganini