Understanding children’s rights violations in eastern Congo

by Ihotu Ali

Child rights research is particularly difficult in the Eastern Congo. / Ihotu Ali

“Jambo!” and other words of welcome greeted our research team in each new village as we conducted a population-based survey of human rights abuses committed against children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This past summer, I joined a team of Columbia University public health students, staff and Congolese partners in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and UNICEF to utilize epidemiologic research methods for human rights monitoring in South Kivu Province, Eastern DRC.

In 2005, the United Nations’ Resolution 1612 established a monitoring and reporting mechanism for conflict countries to document trends in six categories of internationally identified “grave violations” perpetrated against children by armed groups. Over 10 weeks and with less than $60,000, our team systematically measured the incidence of child military recruitment, abduction, killings and injuries, population displacement and disruptions of education, with a special initiative evaluating NGO reports of attacks on schools.

Our team of four American researchers and six Congolese interviewers and drivers visited 35 villages across an area twice the size of Rwanda. We interviewed health centers, village chiefs, women’s committees, school directors and randomly surveyed hundreds of household residents regarding recent social disruptions and human rights violations caused by armed groups.

The “on-the-ground” approach showcased the potential of public health methods such as cluster surveys to contribute to the human rights field and capture statistics on violations across large swaths of land, even in regions with low infrastructure and high insecurity.

Because of the challenges of conducting research in areas like Eastern DRC, few prior studies have been able to accurately capture the nuances of the current human rights situation on a tight budget, much less distribute those results to a global audience. We found short-term child abduction to be the most common violation and the underpaid and minimally managed Congolese national army (FARDC) to be the most common perpetrator of all abuses. Local partners found these results to be hardly surprising. For the international community, however, current data on violations and perpetrators can be compared with other regions to tell the “big picture” story across conflict zones, with potential for developing more accurate and “real time” policy solutions.

Our research also revealed an unexpected “big picture” of conflict in South Kivu. The data show that several regions within the province had been relatively stable and free of soldier activity for months, while other regions remained “hot” with concentrated conflict, following the trail of Congolese army operations. This suggests a mixed view of insecurity throughout South Kivu, instead of its global reputation of having widespread violence.

With this finding a disturbing irony was uncovered — vital aid organizations were virtually non-existent in many of the “hot” regions, whereas relatively “safe” areas such as the provincial capital, Bukavu, overflowed with UN trucks, barbed-wire-topped buildings and international “emergency” funding. For security reasons and due to donor restrictions, medical and social services could be rarely provided in the regions of the greatest need.

Humanitarian organizations, particularly those receiving foreign funds, provide “emergency” aid for child soldiers in Bukavu, despite the vast majority of child soldiers living far from Bukavu and receiving nothing. I wondered if children in Bukavu (a small and economically depressed town) might benefit more from schools and jobs than from short-term demilitarization programs that offer few viable non-military alternatives for income and social support. Job creation, I was told by local NGO partners, is done with “development” funding, not “emergency” aid.

When heads of households were asked what was most needed for children to cope with violence and displacement, the most common response was education. However, the Congolese government neglects to fund schools and most NGOs can only support short-term projects for a fraction of schools. As a result, rural families shoulder the burden of exorbitant teachers’ fees, making education difficult to access.

Local partners knew rural education was suffering, and our research could quantify it: over 50 percent of children are missing periods of school every year. However, as long as South Kivu is eligible for “emergency” aid only, international funders will provide school kits and tarps rather than more durable education solutions.

Innovative methods from complementary disciplines, such as cluster surveys from the public health field, can help human rights workers understand the province-wide impact of a generation of war, poverty and sexual terrorism. As our research shows, Eastern DRC faces these massive challenges. Still, the situation deserves up-to-date research, as does every country, to tell the nuances of its need for development, as well as continued security needs. Identifying the nature and perpetrators of today’s crimes and areas of changing needs for program funding is necessary for effective global policy. It is especially crucial in protracted conflicts with high insecurity. No one else will do this work, if not human rights advocates.

Published in RightsNews Volume 29, no. 2, February, 2011.
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