And if I had but one wish on which to stand, I'd see the weapons all leave this land..

The countries of Uganda, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and DR Congo have long been home to widespread violation of human rights, and its not getting any better. Although in the reports to Congress on human rights around the world had some highlights in Angola, Ghana, Zambia, etc, the glaring violence in these troubled regions makes it very difficult to appreciate these areas of improvement. 

The Congo has been a very volatile area as of late, the report detailing that:

"The conflict continued to fuel the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, resulting in as many as 45,000 Congolese deaths each month, a total of more than one million internally displaced persons, and dozens of attacks on humanitarian workers by armed groups." http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/a

rticle/ALeqM5gqS1RKT0Jpu1Led3jW7Nx0qX0eCw

In Sudan, the genocide in Darfur continues to decimate the population as violent persists at the hand of government, militia, and tribal forces. The Zimbabwean people are still abused by and in a constant state of economic crisis as a result of Mugabe's government. Uganda, portions of which lie unfortunately between the unstable Sudan and DR Congo, continues to be plagued by the Lord's Resistance Army, led by rebel militant Joseph Kony. Ugandan rebels recently ambushed an army patrol in Central African Republic, setting off a string of conflicts reesulting in the deaths of several fighters. This violent instance brings about worry of similar LRA attacks in the region as they flee a "Ugandan-led multinational offensive against their hideouts in northern Democratic Republic of Congo"

 (http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSLP808389._CH_.2400)

Yesterday, the joint military operation between Rwanda and DR Congo against one of the most notorious rebel groups in the Great Lakes region (the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR) officially came to an end (http://allafrica.com/stories/200902260190.html). According to the Rwanda Workforce Development Authority (WDA) Marketing & Communication Specialist,

"it is the nonviolent approach largely employed during the joint operation which convinced even the most hardliners in the rebel ranks to surrender and abandon the genocidal ideology which they seemed to have sworn to serve all their lives." http://allafrica.com/stories/200902260190.html

The ending of this operation so quickly, after only one month of activity, is a shame, considering the strides that this joint effort made in the direction of peace. Both nations really need to resume diplomatic relations in order to continue on this path.

These few regions alone cast a terrible shadow on Africa's reputation as far as human rights are concerned, and any progress seems to always be just a little bit too slow. There is such a necessity for alliances, treaties, and just general cooperation in order to pacify such a war-torn area.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902260190.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSLP808389._CH_.2400

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gqS1RKT0Jpu1Led3jW7Nx0qX0eCw

DRC: Your empire needs protecting

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the site of countless human rights violations and a staggering death rate. For more than a decade, bloody civil war has kept the DRC in a constant state of fear and unrest.

The turmoil and bloodshed from the Hutu-Tutsi conflict and genocide did not remain confined to the borders of Rwanda, but rather spilled into the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was then Zaire, as early as 1996. Hutu refugees banded together with Zaire's military forces, fighting against the Congolese Tutsi people who in turn joined forces and rebelled. This rebel force, called the Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire, or AFDL, was led by Laurent-Desire Kabila and aimed to oust the current president, Mobutu. Mobutu left the country in 1997, at which point Kabila put himself in the position of president and gave the country its current name. Warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba 's MLC, or Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo, invaded in 1998 with support from both Rwanda and Uganda while Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sided with the DRC government. In 2001, Kabila was assasinated and succeeded by his son who quickly entered into peace talks. 

Despite the apparent resolution and the presence of UN peacekeepers, northeastern ethnic clashes rekindled the conflict. Another peace accord was drawn up, and by June of 2003 nearly all outside troops (save Rwanda) had been pulled from Congo. The first multi-party election since their 1960 independence was held in June of 2006, and a close contested election between Kabila and Bemba led to bloodshed and police control followed by a second election in October of the same year. The reign of the transitional government that had been in place came to a close with Kabila's December 2006 swearing in. 

The state of Congo remains so fragile that human rights violations and conflict are abundant. In October of 2008, a rebel uprising out of Rwanda led to a crisis situation for refugees. Joseph Kony's LRA of Uganda, the Ituri conflict, and trouble in northern Katanga all contribute to what has been deemed the world's deadliest conflict since World War II with a death toll of  5.4 million people.

"Today at the dawn of 2009, people in the Congo are still dying at a rate of an estimated 45,000 per month and already 2,700,000 people have died since 2004. This death toll is due to widespread disease and famine; reports indicate that almost half of the individuals killed are children under the age of 5. The aftermath of the war has truly gutted the country. This death rate has been prevalent since efforts at rebuilding the nation began in 2004."  Wikipedia

As the terrible attacks in this area continue to plague the Congolese people, it appears that the UN has been falling short of their peacekeeping duties. The issue of the terrible LRA violence is extremely prevalent, as the Human Rights Watch claims the abductions of at least 160 childre with reports of new attacks every week, and the UN has reported 140,000 civilians have been displaced by the violence. Congo boasts a population of over 58 million, and the number of peacekeepers in place by the UN is only enough for approximately one per 3,400. Needless to say, this is not enough. Civilians are dying at an obscenely fast rate and the peace efforts are simply not cutting it. The people of Congo are in dire need of help to save them from the violent insurgence at hand. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#cite_note-18

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h1OdCrpy4HFMvxUdd05e88M2AmKgD96E7K602

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-16-voa39.cfm

A light at the end of a tunnel of poverty

The current situation in Zimbabwe can only be described as conflicted. President Robert Mugabe is the current leader of this crumbling nation, and has been in power since 1980.  His administration made a swift switch from supposed aims of peace, cooperation, and democracy to the authoritarian paranoia of late. Under Mugabe, there has been gross abuse of human rights and devastating economic decline. The level of inflation in Zimbabwe is to the point where something as simple as a loaf of bread will have increased so much in price from the time they picked it up off the shelf (if they were lucky enough to even find bread to purchase) to the time when they reached the register that they can no longer afford it.The hyperinflation has forced the vast majority of citizens below the poverty line. 80% of Zimbabweans make under 13 trillion Zim dollars a month, which might seem like an extremely high number until you realize that the current inflation level is approximated to be upwards of 231 billion percent, making this monthly equivalent a mere 41 American dol
lars.

On February 11, 2009, Zimbabwe began what one can only hope is an upwards path with the swearing in of new prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The terrible poverty of the people of Zimbabwe has led to high public appeal for the new prime minister, as his arrival in office seems to many to be an opportunity for economic and political reform. Upon his inauguration, Tsvangirai excited citizens by promising foreign currency pay for public servants such as doctors and teachers (although, potentially problematically, there was no mention of where this money would come from…).  Zimbabwe certainly has a long way to go in its recovery from incredible economic and political distress, and the former rivalry between now-coworkers Mugabe and Tsvangirai will undoubtedly cause some bumps along the way. Zimbabwe's situation really demands a revamped constitution, and the cooperation of these two officials is imperative to this or any other sort of successful reform.

Having experienced the terrible situation day to day for so long, Zimbabweans are desperate for any glimmer of hope or good news, and the ascension of Tsvangirai to his new office gave them just that, as he advocates cooperation despite political differences and promises a light at the end of their poverty-stricken tunnel.

Until the recent swearing-in of the new prime minister, Mugabe had successfully stifled his opposition. It will be very interesting to see how this “cooperation” between president and prime minister actually works, taking into account their individual political ideologies and especially their significant prior rivalry. For the good of the Zimbabwean people, one can only hope that Mugabe concedes to some of Tsvangirai’s ideas. Mugabe’s authority has been becoming more and more threatened as the economic circumstances continue to worsen and the citizens become more and more intolerant of the situation, so the incorporation of a second, and rather different, authority figure has so much promising potential for the rescuing of this poor devastated country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/643737.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Zimbabwe

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb059564-f831-11dd-aae8-000077b07658.html