Monday, April 20, 2009

Report of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide on his mission to the Great Lakes region from 22 November to 5

"The root causes of the current conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo are primarily political and economic and not related to
identity. However, extreme ethnic polarization and hatred have become associated
with that conflict.
The Special Adviser believes that the risk of ethnic targeting in North Kivu is
significantly pronounced above other underlying potential causes of genocide.
References to genocide having occurred in the past or allegedly going on at present
are powerfully used to predict that genocide may occur again in the future, in
particular against the Tutsi, who are popularly viewed as the principal perpetrators of
mass atrocities. The likelihood of ethnically motivated killings by armed groups and
the escalation of genocidal hysteria among the civilian populations are factors that
must be addressed in earnest. The regional dimensions of such a prospect must also
be taken into account." Source: United Nations

Download full pdf report
| Link to Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide

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