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Amazingly, a Dysfunctional Congress Delivers
Wed, 01/18/2012 - 15:11This week, the Washington Post published a poll showing that the U.S. Congress has set a new record for disapproval. A whopping 84 percent of Americans do not approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Media coverage of the House and Senate highlights the brinksmanship and polarized politicking that seems to surround every piece of legislation – and now, even routine nominations and confirmations.
Building on the Success of 2011
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:50Happy New Year, from all of us at Refugees International! Before we start tackling the challenges of 2012 – and there will be many – we bring you a brief wrap-up of all things RI from the year gone by.
First, "RI in 2011: By the Numbers":
Kicking Off 16 Days of Activism
Mon, 11/28/2011 - 11:57My first experience with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence was, for lack of a better word, claustrophobic.
It was November 2008, and I had just arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The streets were jammed, the midday traffic halted. Along the streets of Kinshasa, women marched around my car, calling out slogans against their country’s epidemic of gender-based violence.
World Refugee Day: Spotlight on needs
Mon, 06/20/2011 - 16:06
Today is World Refugee Day -- a day for people to spend a little more time recognizing and honoring the world’s most vulnerable people. At a time when only a few of the world’s refugees and displaced people make the news headlines, I welcome any day that reminds people to stop and pay attention to all 43.7 million people who are struggling to rebuild their lives and communities.
DRC: Sexual Violence Facts and Fiction
Mon, 06/13/2011 - 16:14
It seems like every day a new study on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) appears, each with a completely different picture of the situation and totally different statistics. Over the past two weeks my colleague, Peter Orr, and I have been in DRC interviewing people about protection of civilians and about sexual violence. The one thing that is totally clear is that no one has the full picture.
Protection is not Just a Military Task
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 16:00
In peacekeeping the attention (and pressure) tends to be focused on the military part of the mission, the military “blue helmets” patrolling villages and deterring physical attacks. People often forget that peacekeeping missions also include a huge range of civilian staff who work on activities including monitoring human rights abuses, engaging with communities and fostering reconciliation, analyzing political developments, promoting peace processes, and civilian policing. The list goes on.
Women for Women: Female Peacekeepers in the DRC
Tue, 04/26/2011 - 15:00
Women bear the brunt of the burden in wartime. Female civilians are
attacked and left to seek the survival of their families in the midst of
conflicts while they are simultaneously neglected and marginalized in
negotiations and peace talks. In the Democratic Republic of Congo,
women face the ever present threat of rape as a tool of war by all sides
of the conflict. Despite the nearly eleven year presence of what is
now called MONUSCO – the UN mandated peacekeeping mission in the DRC –
sexual and gender-based violence still pervades much of the east of the country,
further cont
DR Congo: Reactions to the UN Mapping Report and the Responsibility to Justice
Mon, 12/27/2010 - 01:00
“The discovery by the UN… in late 2005 of three mass graves in North Kivu was a painful reminder that past gross human rights violations committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo (DRC) had remained largely un-investigated and that those responsible had not been held accountable.”
So begins the UN Human Rights Mapping Report on the DRC, the most significant record to date of what transpired in the country during one of its worst periods of violence, from 1993 to 2003. The report, released to the public on October 1, 2010, was met with both praise and hostility. Some congratulated the UN for its thorough and honest investigation while others condemned the account as lies. The report does not lay blame yet the passionate response to its release shows how difficult it can be for countries to confront their troubled pasts even as they try to move forward towards peace.
So begins the UN Human Rights Mapping Report on the DRC, the most significant record to date of what transpired in the country during one of its worst periods of violence, from 1993 to 2003. The report, released to the public on October 1, 2010, was met with both praise and hostility. Some congratulated the UN for its thorough and honest investigation while others condemned the account as lies. The report does not lay blame yet the passionate response to its release shows how difficult it can be for countries to confront their troubled pasts even as they try to move forward towards peace.
Make it a Fair Fight- Establish Better Early Warning Systems
Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:46As the heinous details of the attack on a village in Livungu in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to unfold, it is quite natural for one to ask themselves, “Who is at fault?” “What more could have been done?” “ Why didn’t the peacekeepers prevent this?” Pointing fingers is usually the most immediate and emotional response to a tragedy of this scale, but at the end of the day, only the perpetrators should be blamed. However, there is one question that I heard after the news broke, that I will never forget. “When will there be a fair fight?”
From DRC, Unfiltered: What's Next?
Mon, 08/30/2010 - 10:34
I am just getting back to the U.S. after several weeks traveling around the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Matt and I set out at the end of July to identify the priority issues that need to be addressed in the DRC before the UN peacekeeping mission (formerly called MONUC, and now re-named MONUSCO) begins to withdraw.
The peacekeeping mission has – in one form or another- been present in DRC for over a decade. The peacekeepers – military, police and civilians – have been tasked with protecting civilians, supporting the rag-tag Congolese military, developing good governance structures and state authority, and generally bringing stability, security and democracy to a place where all of these things are unfamiliar in the extreme.
The peacekeeping mission has – in one form or another- been present in DRC for over a decade. The peacekeepers – military, police and civilians – have been tasked with protecting civilians, supporting the rag-tag Congolese military, developing good governance structures and state authority, and generally bringing stability, security and democracy to a place where all of these things are unfamiliar in the extreme.
Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.