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UN expert wants an end to abuses by Congolese Army
The UN expert on extrajudicial executions is calling on the Security Council to ensure that no further support is given to Congolese military operations commanded by individuals who have committed grave human rights abuses.
Philip Alston
Philip Alston said it is a contradiction of basic UN principles for UN peacekeepers to cooperate with a military operation led by individuals accused of war crimes and other human rights abuses.
The UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, has supported a Congolese military operation against the FDLR rebel group in eastern Congo. Alston said while action against the FDLR is necessary, the manner in which the operation has been carried out has been catastrophic for civilians who have been raped or hacked or shot to death by the Congolese Army, the very force that is supposed to protect them.
As the Council prepares to negotiate a new mandate for the UN Mission, Alston is calling on it to require MONUC to participate in or support only those Congolese operations which respect human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.
Diane Bailey, United Nations Radio
(duration: 1'09")
