Geneva (ICRC) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stands ready to help facilitate the release of people detained in relation to the conflict under a declaration agreed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Congo River Alliance/M23 Movement (AFC/M23).
"Our team in DRC will help facilitate the release of detainees on both sides so that they can be safely returned home and reunited with their families," said ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric. "Humanitarian initiatives such as detainee releases are often the first steps that can build confidence and trust between parties in the long path to peace."
"The brutal conflict in eastern DRC has trapped generations of civilians in a decades-long cycle of suffering, death and displacement," said President Spoljaric. "This declaration mediated by Qatar, combined with an agreement signed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in Washington, DC last month, creates an important opportunity for the region to chart a new future rooted in peace and stability."
Between 30 April and 15 May, the ICRC helped transport more than 1,300 disarmed members of the DRC government forces and their families from Goma to Kinshasa. The operation, spanning nearly 2,000 kilometres across a frontline, was carried out at the request of the DRC's ministry of defence and veterans, MONUSCO, and the Congo Alliance River/M23 movement for the ICRC to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary.
President Spoljaric was in Rwanda and DRC in May. During her visit she met the leadership of both countries and offered ICRC's support to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary in the implementation of agreements. The declaration of principles signed in Qatar is the latest mediation effort to explicitly outline humanitarian initiatives to be undertaken by the parties with the support of the ICRC.
The ICRC has worked in DRC since 1978, providing protection and assistance to victims of armed conflict.
