news

Amnesty International accuses Congo government of not doing enough to aid 100,000 expelled from Angola

AP

17 may. 04 - 09.10h

A leading international human rights group accused Congo's government of not doing enough to aid 100,000 Congolese expelled from Angola in recent weeks for allegedly mining diamonds there illegally.

Amnesty International said in a statement late Friday that most had arrived in Congo "exhausted and in many cases entirely stripped of their possessions and clothes."

Others were in "extremely" poor health due to diseases, dehydration and hunger, while some had reportedly been subjected to "serious human rights violations on both sides of the border."

But Congo "authorities have so far made very little practical effort to assist these people," the London-based rights group said.

"The government must urgently establish and implement a strategy to assist the returnees, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and promote the integration of returnees into local communities," the organization said.

Amnesty sited the United Nations' estimates that as many as 100,000 Congolese had arrived in Congo's Bandundu and Kasai Occidental provinces in recent weeks.

Foreign and local aid groups have responded to the returnees' needs with shelter, food and health supplies, but "but their resources are limited and they are not receiving adequate support" from Congo's government, Amnesty said.

Angolan security forces had subjected those expelled to "appalling human rights violations," holding them in transit camps for a week at a time, robbing and beating many and raping women, Amnesty said.

Human Rights Watch has reported similar abuses, including degrading and unhygienic body searches, rapes, beatings and looting of goods.

Some Congolese had to walk 14 days on foot after their expulsion. Others reportedly drowned as they tried to cross rivers to return home, Amnesty said.

In Congo, some returnees have been held by local security forces who free them only if they pay to be released, Amnesty said.

top of page