Six million people around the world are being asked to sign a petition launched by Amnesty International today, to demand justice for the victims and survivors of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has spanned more than 30 years and claimed an estimated 6 million lives.
The human rights organization’s “6 million Voices for Justice for Congo” campaign is calling for the establishment of an international judicial mechanism to investigate crimes under international law committed by Congolese and foreign security forces, armed groups and other actors between 1993 and 2003.
“How much longer do Congolese have to wait for justice? Victims and survivors have been promised justice for decades, yet most of the perpetrators of these horrific violations have not been held to account.
Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, Campaigns
The brutal fighting has had a devastating toll on civilians, marked by repeated attacks against them and the displacement of millions of people. Rape has been used as a weapon of war, destroying countless lives and inflicting trauma and injury on thousands of women and girls.
