“The children spent as long as five years away from their families, often in very difficult conditions,” said Despoina Spanoudi, who coordinates the ICRC’s family reunification efforts in the DRC. “It’s an important event for all concerned to be together again.”

Conflict and other armed violence in the DRC and in South Sudan have had serious consequences, including the displacement of women and children, for thousands of civilians. Children are especially at risk of being separated from their families and recruited by armed groups.

The ICRC and the Red Cross societies of the RDC and South Sudan, making use of a network of local contacts, visit the affected areas to identify the children and to try to find out where their families live.

On January 20 five children were flown on a specially chartered ICRC aircraft from Dungu, in the DRC’s Eastern province, to Yambio, in South Sudan, where their families were waiting for them. On the return flight, four other children were taken to the Haut-Uélé district of Eastern province.

A second ICRC flight took 13 children, including a baby, from Kinshasa, Kisangani and Goma to Lubumbashi and Kananga. Thirty-two other children boarded in Mbuji-Mayi and Kananga, in the DRC’s Western Kasai province, to rejoin their families in Lubumbashi and Beni, in North Kivu province. Further flights made it possible to reunite seven children with their families in Goma, Beni and Kinshasa.

In 2011, with support from the Red Cross Society of the DRC, the ICRC returned to their families in the RDC 838 unaccompanied children including over 390 former child soldiers, 34 of whom had been in neighboring countries. The ICRC visited all the children after the reunifications to help them rejoin their communities and families. In South Sudan, the ICRC reunited 36 children with their families between July and December 2011 in cooperation with the South Sudan Red Cross.

SOURCE: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Via African Press Organization

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“Children are the first to suffer from the burden of conflict; they are caught up in violence as victims of sexual assaults; they lose their families and homes as a consequence of constant migration and they are involved in combat as perpetrators of the conflict,” Cornelia Walther, UNICEF’s chief of communication in the DRC, said.

Walther said 101 children aged between 11 and 17 years were currently in the Centre of Transit and Orientation (CTO) in Bukavu, South Kivu’s provincial capital, following their demobilization from armed forces or groups.

At least 33,000 children have been demobilized across the DRC with UNICEF’s assistance since 2004, Walther added.

CTO is managed by the Congolese association, Bureau des Volontaires pour l’Enfance et la Sante (BVES), which has helped to demobilize more than 2,500 children since 2002.

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Rebuilding the lives of children associated with armed groups

At least 128,965 measles cases, with 1,573 deaths, have been recorded in the DRC in 2011, and 89 wild polio-virus type 1 cases had been reported up to 13 December, UNICEF said.

The current campaign against measles in Kinshasa is targeting at least 1.7 million children aged 6-59 months.

Alphonse Toko, UNICEF’s immunization specialist in the DRC, said: “Vaccination is the most efficient tool to protect children from epidemics that kill or paralyze”.

On 16 December, Health Minister Victor Makwenge Kaput urged parents to get their children vaccinated.

A door-to-door polio vaccination initiative using mobile health teams, which started on 19 December, will end on 21 December in the provinces of Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Kasaï Oriental, Katanga, Maniema and South Kivu, where at least 1.1 million children under five are being targeted.

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Measles immunization campaign targets 1.7 million children

In a statement, the International Relations Department said South Africa remained committed to a strategy of post-conflict reconstruction and development in the DRC that is aligned with that of the African Union and NEPAD.

"Furthermore, the South African government and its citizens reiterate [their] commitment to continue working with the government and the people of the DRC, with a strong emphasis on devising mechanisms and processes to ensure rapid development in existing and new bilateral projects for the mutual benefit of the two countries," the department said.

A presidential inauguration will be held today, where Pretoria will be represented by International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

There has been tension in that country after opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who lost in the elections, rejected the vote results.

Kabila won by 49 percent of the votes, while Tshisekedi got 32 percent.

Source: BUA News
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The chaotic management that has plagued the mining sector since the 1980s is, however, proving a sticking point in the process. The survival of thousands of artisanal miners is one of the humanitarian issues at stake in this project.

A guide to reforming the mining sector in the east, produced by researchers at NGO Ipis, explains that “despite calls for a map to be drawn up from the UN expert group in its December 2008 report, there is currently no reliable map available. The volatile security situation on the ground would mean that the map would have to be regularly updated.”

Data is urgently needed. Although it is not yet clear how it will be enforced, the Dodd-Franck Act, passed by the US Congress in July 2010, contains a provision allowing only minerals that have been certified “DRC conflict free” to enter the US. The European Union is considering similar legislation.

According to Sara Geenen, a PhD student at the University of Antwerp, who specializes in the South Kivu artisanal mining sector, traders are “willing to back a certification and traceability system, provided they reap some sort of benefit from it, such as a tax reduction”.

The International Conference for the Great Lakes Region, the UN Group of Experts, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are unanimous in calling for the mapping and categorization process to move as quickly as possible to avoid an embargo, which could inflame an already volatile region.

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Keeping track of mineral resources

Gustave Bagayamukwe, president of a South Kivu-based civil society organization, the Association pour la défense des intérêts du Kivu:

“To date, South Kivu is ungovernable; we’ve had 15 governors in 15 years whereas other provinces have had only three governors in the same period. The long period of civil war in the province has retarded development and reconciliation. Our association is a platform of civil society organizations pushing for transparent and peaceful elections; we are sensitizing the population to the need to have peace before, during and after the elections.

“We are urging the population to vote for leaders who genuinely care about them; those who can make population-friendly laws. Unfortunately, the situation in most parts of the east [of the country] is like choosing between plague and cholera because most of the candidates are not suitable to be the country’s leaders. The other main concern in South Kivu is that voter registration did not cover most of the territories because of insecurity; this has denied a lot of people a chance to pick leaders they deserve.”

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Congolese voice their hopes for the elections

“We cannot know the exact cause of the disease but we know that it has spread from one person to the other due to poor hygiene,” said Laurence Sailly, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) assistant medical coordinator.

The cholera outbreak was first reported in March in the northeastern province of Orientale before spreading along the River Congo to the capital Kinshasa.

People seeking treatment at various points along the river had exacerbated the spread of the disease as far as Kinshasa, said Sailly.

Campaigns to encourage prevention measures, such as hand-washing after using the toilet, sensitization on symptoms and increasing the number of latrines at the ports were ongoing, said Sailly.

Cholera symptoms include acute watery diarrhea, which can lead to severe dehydration and death if untreated.

The DRC is also experiencing measles and polio outbreaks. Since January, at least 1,418 measles deaths in 15,630 cases have been recorded, according to OCHA.

The UN World Health Organization health cluster coordinator Kossi Ayigan said: “As the season changes there are new microbes [disease-causing micro-organisms] that develop and in environments that are not served with potable water, people easily catch diseases.”

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Cholera deaths and cases soar

Mountain gorilla populations are growing slowly, thanks largely to conservation efforts such as anti-poaching patrols, habituation projects and veterinary monitoring. However, poaching, live capture, conflict with humans, and habitat destruction continue to threaten the endangered animals.

In June, a Bwindi gorilla was killed after an altercation with men who were illegally hunting in the park. Regrettably, the men were released after paying paltry fines ranging from $19 to $38. The magistrate in the case said there was insufficient evidence to link the men to the crime scene.

“With fewer than 800 mountain gorillas left, it is essential that every individual be protected from harm,” says David Greer, WWF’s African Ape Programme Coordinator. “Through our partner the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, we are working closely with rangers and law enforcement investigators to ensure that when a wildlife crime does occur, evidence is handled properly so prosecutors can make a strong case in court.”

Each mountain gorilla is estimated to generate $1 million per year in tourist revenue for the Ugandan economy. Recognizing that value, punishments there for wildlife crimes tend to be stricter than in other gorilla range countries.

The results of the current census are expected to be released in nine months, allowing time for genetic analysis of fecal samples that are being obtained to guard against double-counting. The survey is being made possible, in part, by funding from WWF-Sweden, and will also include portions of neighboring Sarambwe Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo if the security situation on the ground allows.

Source WWF

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During a press conference held on Saturday at the UDPS headquarters in the district of Limete, in Kinshasa, Mr. Shabani urged their supporters as well as other opposition parties to attend the ceremony during which the party will present its candidate.

Mr. Tshisekedi, designated as the sole opposition candidate by a political alliance, will officially submit his candidacy to the election commission whereas another opposition coalition is preparing to choose a single candidate to run for the presidency, after developing a joint governance plan.

The parties which attended the press conference included, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the Union of the Forces for Change (UFC) led by Leon Kengo wa Dondo and the Congolese Union for the Nation (UNC) of Vital Kamerhe.

These three politicians have already been chosen as candidates for the polls by their respective parties.

As Tshisekedi is poised to present his candidacy, several political observers in DR Congo said that there is no chance for the opposition leaders to go to the polls with a sole candidate thus giving way to divergences which could favor the presidential majority led by the incumbent president Joseph Kabila Kabange.

Source African Press Agency

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This political coalition comprises the Congolese Union for the Nation (UNC) led by Vital Kamerhe, the Union for the Rebuilding of Congo (UREC) of Oscar Kashala, the Union of the Forces for Change (UFC) of Leon Kengo wa Dondo, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba and several other parties.

The key priority for the Congolese opposition lies in the development of a joint plan before designating a single candidate for the presidential election scheduled for November 2011.

According to the MLC secretary general Thomas Luhaka, who acted as a moderator during these political consultations, the signing of a common governance plan is a pre-requisite which indicates steps to be followed once in power.

The next step, he said, will be to appoint a single opposition candidate for the presidential polls to take place on 28 November.

This timeline has been designed as several other opposition parties had already chosen Etienne Tshisekedi as the sole opposition candidate for the forthcoming polls.

Source African Press Agency

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“I decided if I stayed, they would kill me too,” he told IRIN. “I took a taxi to Kalemie [in eastern DRC] and then a boat across Lake Tanganyika and then a bus to Lusaka [in Zambia]…I still had no idea where I was going.”After a month in Zambia and another two months in Zimbabwe, Tata made his way to South Africa where his youth and lack of English got him across the border despite having no documents.

“I arrived here by God,” he said.

But Tata’s troubles were far from over. South Africa’s progressive constitution and laws extend the same protections to unaccompanied minors (the term given to children who cross border without parents or adult care-givers) as to local children, but in practice they face immense bureaucratic hurdles and are often left to fend for themselves.

Although no figures are available, Mmone Moletsale of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that based on reports from their partners, South Africa was receiving an increasing number of such children, but still lacked an efficient system for dealing with them.

The Department of Home Affairs is responsible for issuing the immigration permits and identity documents the children need to attend school or access social services but will not do so unless they have been assigned a social worker by the Department of Social Development and have a Children’s Court order setting out their care arrangements.

“This is where one of the major problems arises,” said Moletsale, explaining that the type of assistance social workers are supposed to provide is not clearly defined and that there are inconsistencies between different government departments about which should come first – documentation or the Children’s Court order.

“Children’s Court, Social Development and Home Affairs all have different standard operating procedures when it comes to unaccompanied minors,” said Samantha Mundeta of Lawyers for Human Rights, who is currently helping 75 such children navigate the maze of conflicting regulations. “There’s a lot of passing of the buck.”

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
SOUTH AFRICA: Catch-22 for unaccompanied child refugees

The mission will be deployed six to eight weeks before the polls and will be led by Ms Mariya Nedelcheva, Member of the European Parliament.

“At the invitation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I have decided to send an election observation mission for the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on 28 November 2011 and to appoint Ms Mariya Nedelcheva, Member of the European Parliament, as Chief Observer to lead the mission. This decision forms part of the European Union’s continuing political support for the democratic process and comes on top of financial support amounting to EUR 47.5 million for the elections”, said Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice?President of the Commission

Source: Europa.eu

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According to Jasarevic, a lack of government funding halted follow-up mass immunization activities in the regions, leading to the measles outbreak.

Close to six million children were vaccinated in the most affected areas in April and May, but the epidemic spread to other provinces not covered in the immunization campaign.

Mass immunization campaigns are planned. At least 915,000 children in nine provinces are targeted for vaccination in the first two campaigns scheduled for July.

WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are seeking an additional $9 million to carry out these two campaigns in September and the first semester of 2012.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, preventable by immunization. It can cause complications such as blindness, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), severe diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia.

Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
DRC: Cholera, measles kill hundreds

Henri Okemba, representing DMC Iron Congo, presented Tuesday in Brazzaville to the Minister of Mines and Geology, Pierre Oba, the results of the survey conducted by the company in the district of Lekoumou, located in the town of Mayoko.

The first survey estimated mineral resources at between 700 million and1 billion tons.

“These results are very encouraging and confirm our belief that our subsoil is much richer than we thought. These figures allow this sector to play in the next few years a key role in the economic and social development of our country,” said Mr. Oba.

As an Austrian-owned company, DMC is authorized to conduct research in the area of mining in the Mayoko-Lekoumou zone, as part of development policies and promotion of the mining sector in Congo.

Mr. Pierre Oba, during a council of ministers meeting on June 1st had just renewed his search license. It was in April 2010 that research on iron ore deposits of the Lekoumou Mount had started, through the drilling on site at Mayoko.

Source African Press Agency

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WDC president Eli Izhakoff said a meeting of the Kimberley Process held last Thursday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, ended inconclusively after members failed to reach a consensus on the issue of diamond exports from Zimbabwe’s Marange region.

“In the meantime, the WDC urges all members of the trade to deal only in rough diamonds that are accompanied by KP certificates that comply with the consensus decisions of the Kimberley Process,” Izhakoff said.

Izhakoff’s comments added to the confusion over the real status of Zimbabwe’s diamonds following a declaration by KP chairman Mathieu Yamba last Thursday that the watchdog would allow exports of Marange diamonds.

Yamba of the DRC claimed that the meeting had decided to lift the ban on exports of diamonds from two of the five mines currently operating in the disputed Marange region.

Izhakoff added that the WDC would “advise industry members if and when participants to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme reach consensus on the issuing of KP certificates for the export of rough diamonds from the Marange region, when advised of the same by the KP Chair”.

Zimbabwe has been barred from openly selling its diamonds from Marange since 2009 due to alleged human rights violations by the army.

The issue of Zimbabwe selling the Marange diamonds has divided the KP along political lines, with Western countries led by the United States, Germany and Australia as well as civil society groups that are members of the organization calling for the extension of a ban of the gems due to alleged human rights abuses and rampant smuggling at the controversial diamond field.

African and other countries, including Russia, have however opposed the calls to ban the diamonds.

Source African Press Agency

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