GENEVA — The office of the UN human rights chief on Wednesday accused the army and rebel troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of having committed "possible war crimes and crimes against humanity."
In two reports detailing the conflict that took place in Nord and Sud-Kivu during October to November 2008, the United Nations office found that at least 12 cases of arbitrary killings and some 70 rapes were committed by government soldiers.
The reports compiled jointly with UN mission in Congo (MONUC) also documented at least 67 cases of arbitrary killings by Tutsi rebels from the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
The victims "were not killed in crossfire, but were arbitrarily executed, often inside their houses, after fighting had stopped," said the report.
"The information that has been gathered points very strongly to war crimes and crimes against humanity but you need a judicial body to determine whether or not the acts committed are war crimes under international law," said Scott Campbell, who heads the Africa section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
He added that the reports offered only a "snapshot" of the violations that were taking place in the troubled eastern DR Congo.
"Rape and sexual violence are daily occurrences," he said, adding that "impunity is the norm."
Even if some perpetrators have been prosecuted and sentenced to jail, they are "subsequently freed or they simply walk out the door," said Campbell.
The "two reports on a series of human rights abuses, including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity... underscored the urgent need for the DRC government and the international community to institute fundamental reforms to the country's security and judicial systems," added the UN office.
The International Criminal Court has issued four arrest warrants for Congolese militiamen, including the CNDP's Bosco Ntaganda, who is still at large.
About 140,000-strong, DR Congo's army FARDC is often accused of attacking civilians, particularly in conflict zones where they are pursuing rebels from the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.
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