Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that two problems were affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo: persistent insecurity and the under-funding of the Appeal.
In the Oriental Province, persistent insecurity remained the main obstacle for humanitarian action. Since September 2008, the Lord's Resistance's Army (LRA) had been terrorizing the population; it had routinely attacked, looted and burnt villages and abducted civilians, including children, said Ms. Byrs. These attacks had caused widespread panic, leading to a huge number of preventive displacements.
According to available information, the LRA has killed, since December 2007, 1,796 civilians and abducted 2,377 persons, including 807 children. In addition, a significant but unknown number of civilians had been mutilated, especially as regards their ears and lips, said Ms. Byrs. Between December 2009 and March 2010 alone the LRA had killed 407 civilians and abducted 302 persons, including 125 children - a highly worrisome increasing trend, which averaged 102 killed per month, as compared to 64 per month in December 2007.
The Kivus and Maniema Provinces were also affected by insecurity and human rights violations. Sexual and gender based violence was one of the greatest concerns there, said Ms. Byrs. In 2009 alone over 8,000 cases of rape had been reported, of which a majority have been committed by armed groups. An estimated 160 women were raped per week in the Kivu provinces, mainly by armed men. Humanitarian operations were severely restricted by the armed fighting and rampant banditry. Humanitarians were also frequently the victims of armed robbery, looting and other incidents.
In Equateur Province, persistent insecurity and limited access was also an obstacle for humanitarian action, said Ms. Byrs. Cases of sexual violence had also been reported around the Dongo area. In that province, the main concerns were for the health, nutrition and water and sanitation sectors.
Ms. Byrs noted that the Appeal for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was only funded by 30 per cent.
Answering a journalist's question on the effect on this situation of the announced withdrawal of United Nations troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ms. Momal-Vanian said that the Security Council had recently taken up the issue of the future of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and had adopted a new mandate for the Mission, which was now bearing a new name: the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Ms. Momal-Vanian added that although the resolution authorised the withdrawal of 2,000 troop, this would be from areas where security had improved enough to allow their removal. Further, the Secretary-General would travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the coming weeks.