East DRC: Victims honoured at Geneva Conventions commemoration in Kinshasa

Kinshasa, August 31^st, 2025 (CPA).- Tribute have been paid on Saturday to the victims of the massacres perpetrated by the Kigali regime (Rwanda) during a conference held in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to commemorate the Geneva Conventions.  « On this day of commemoration of the Geneva Conventions, I would like to pay tribute to the Congolese people who have been suffering the consequences of the unjust conflict imposed by Paul Kagame’s Rwanda for more than thirty years. We are meeting at a time when violence continues in the east of our country, where women, men and children are suffering the most despicable horrors of war, including rape, and are deprived of an environment conducive to their development, » has declared Samuel Mbemba, Minister in charge of Human Rights.  This conference, held under the theme ‘The protection of victims of armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo’, has allowed the Minister in charge of Human Rights to reflect on ‘the impact of the Geneva Conventions in our context marked by persistent armed conflict’.   For Minister Samuel Mbemba, the massacres of innocent civilians, the forced displacement, the use of rape as a weapon of war and the recruitment of child soldiers are unacceptable crimes and flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions, which, in his view, undermine the fundamental human rights that are essential to the survival of every individual, whatever the circumstances. Faced with this situation, he has said, the Congolese government has not remained passive, citing, among other things, the ‘efforts made to protect the population.’ The Rwanda’s responsibility as the perpetrator of violations of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of engagement in armed conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been explained to the students attending the ceremony held at the University of Kinshasa (Unikin). The choice of this alma mater has been to remind students of the importance of collective responsibility in defending human rights and promoting lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is learned.  CPA/