Pallade Veneta - UN warns worst may be yet to come if east DRC violence spreads

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said civilians in eastern DRC were suffering and insisted there could be no military solution to the conflict.

Turk was addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will decide Friday whether to launch an international investigation into alleged violations and abuses committed amid the deadly clashes.

The DRC requested the urgent meeting of the UN's top rights body to discuss the escalating fighting by Rwanda-backed armed group, the M23, in North and South Kivu provinces and drew up a draft resolution that would set up the probe.

Last week, M23 fighters and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu -- a mineral-rich region in eastern DRC that has been blighted by war for over three decades.

"The population in the eastern DRC is suffering terribly, while many of the products we consume or use, such as mobile phones, are created using minerals from the east of the country. We are all implicated," Turk said, opening the council special session.

"If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders.

"The risk of violence escalating throughout the sub-region has never been higher."

The UN high commissioner for human rights said more than 500,000 people had been displaced since the beginning of January.

"The military path is not the answer to the political, social, and economic challenges which are at the root of this conflict, including the illegal exploitation of natural resources," said Turk.

He called for M23 and the Rwandan forces to facilitate access to humanitarian aid.

- 'Indiscriminate bombing' -

M23's lightning offensive against Goma was a major escalation after more than three years of fighting.

Turk said that since January 26, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured, adding that the real figures were likely much higher.

The DRC's communications minister Patrick Muyaya told the council there had been mass human rights violations and attacks on civilians.

"Indiscriminate bombing against internal displacement camps and populated areas have compounded a catastrophic humanitarian situation. These attacks have deliberately targeted vulnerable people," he said.

"The Rwanda Defence Forces and their proxies have transformed areas of shelter into military targets, imperilling the lives of thousands of innocent people."

- 'International crimes' -

Eastern DRC has deposits of coltan, a metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops, as well as gold and other minerals.

The draft resolution to be discussed Friday condemns rights violations in Kivu and the "unlawful exploitation of natural resources", calling for strict measures to stop the plundering.

It "strongly condemns the military and logistical support provided by the Rwanda Defence Force" to M23 and demands that they "immediately halt human rights violations".

It also calls for the fighters to "immediately cease all hostile actions in and withdraw from the occupied areas" and urges them to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

The draft resolution calls for "an independent fact-finding mission on the serious human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law" in Kivu.

The mission should collect evidence of abuses for use in future court cases and try to identify those responsible, the draft text said.

Human Rights Watch and more than 70 other rights organisations called on the council to set up the investigation.

L.Guglielmino--PV