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Children are big victim of violence in DR Congo, UNICEF says
London (AFP) Jul 24, 2006 Four million people have disappeared or have been killed in the conflict between the Congolese army and rebel militias since 1998, claiming more victims every six months than the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that struck in December 2004, said the report published by the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF). Tens of thousands are believed to have been killed directly by the fighting, while disease and malnutrition caused by the instability pushed the death toll much higher. In a glimmer of hope, however, the study said the DRC's first multi-party elections in 46 years, due on July 30, offer an opportunity for change. Former BBC war correspondent Martin Bell, now a UNICEF ambassador and author of the report, which was released in London, said: "Peace is the missing link between a violent past and a more hopeful future. "Elections are not a panacea for all a nation's woes, but they can go a long way to restoring order and stability." The report notes that, each year, more children under the age of five die in the DRC than in China, which has 23 times the population. Home to what UNICEF estimates is the world's largest concentration of child soldiers, the DRC is thought to have up to 30,000 children either fighting or living with armed forces. The UN body, with its partners, provide short-term emergency aid and relief but said peace was needed to enable long-term development plans and prosperity. It has requested 93.67 million dollars (74.2 million euros) from the international community to fund ongoing aid programmes, noting that the current DRC appeal is 62 percent underfunded. UNICEF DRC representative Tony Bloomberg accused the outside world of turning a blind eye to the misery and death in the country. "While DRC has experienced death rates like that of the tsunami every six months, it has not received the attention it deserves, either from the media or the public," Bloomberg said in a statement. He hoped the UNICEF report would help raise the profile of the plight of the DRC people, especially the country's long-suffering children. The west African country, home to more than 60 million people, will hold both presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday. It was engulfed in one of the bloodiest conflicts since World War II between 1998 and 2003, and the widest inter-state war in modern African history, drawing in bordering countries backing either the government or various rebel groups. A peace accord creating a power-sharing government was signed in December 2002, but fighting still persists in the east of the country, where United Nations peacekeepers have been deployed since 1999. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
School resumes in Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Java
Pangandaran, Indonesia (AFP) Jul 24, 2006 Schools along the tsunami-hit coast of Indonesia's Java island reopened Monday as many traumatised pupils attended without uniforms or equipment lost to the waves, officials said. |
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