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OHCHR / DRC VIOLENCE
STORY: OHCHR / DRC VIOLENCE
TRT: 1:56
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 08 FEBRUARY 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations exterior
08 FEBRUARY 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Liz Throssell, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“We are extremely concerned by recurring incidents of deadly ethnically-motivated attacks on internally displaced people’s camps by armed groups in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
4. Wide shot, briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Liz Throssell, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“On 1 February – which was widely reported - at least 62 internally displaced people, members of the Hema ethnic community, were killed and 38 others injured by the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) armed group in a night-time attack on the Plaine Savo IDP camp. All the victims were either shot or attacked with machetes and knives.”
6. Wide shot, briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Liz Throssell, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The Plaine Savo attack is only the latest in a string of devastating raids on IDP sites by CODECO in Ituri Province, where ethnic tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities have existed for years.”
8. Close up, spokesperson through camera viewfinder
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Liz Throssell, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“In 2021, we documented ten attacks on ten sites in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, and that lead to the deaths of some 106 people, and also some attacks of sexual violence.”
10. Wide shot, briefing room
FILE – MARCH 2020, BUNIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
11. Driving shot, IDP camp
12. Various shots, internally displaced persons
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it was “extremely concerned by recurring incidents of deadly ethnically-motivated attacks on internally displaced people’s camps by armed groups in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
At a press conference in Geneva today (08 Feb), OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said following deadly attacks last week and further attempts over the weekend, there is significant risk that other IDP sites could be attacked as well. The UN Human Rights Office called on the DRC authorities to urgently strengthen the protection of civilians, including by ensuring the safety and security of IDPs.
Throssell said, “On 1 February, at least 62 internally displaced people, members of the Hema ethnic community, were killed and 38 others injured by the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) armed group in a night-time attack on the Plaine Savo IDP camp. All the victims were either shot or attacked with machetes and knives.”
The OHCHR spokesperson said the Plaine Savo attack is “only the latest in a string of devastating raids on IDP sites by CODECO in Ituri Province, where ethnic tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities have existed for years.”
She said, in 2021, OHCHR documented ten attacks on ten sites in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, “and that lead to the deaths of some 106 people, and also some attacks of sexual violence.”
Throssell noted that the military authorities in the region have launched a preliminary investigation into the devastating attack on Plaine Savo. The UN Human Rights Office called on the government to guarantee victims access to a remedy by ensuring that these investigations are independent, effective and transparent, and to also investigate other attacks on IDP camps and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
Throssell added that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) stands ready to provide technical and logistical support to the authorities for these investigations and any potential prosecutions.
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