The Rehabilitation Center for the Physically Handicapped (CRHP) in Kinshasa served as the setting, Friday April 5, 2024, for an information workshop on the launch of the investigation into abandoned children presumed born to MONUSCO peacekeepers. To note infoplusrdc.com
At the end of these discussions, the National Coordinator of the NGO Partnership for the Restoration of Hope (PHR) and representative of a partner NGO called the Eastern Caucus for Peace and Integral Development (CEPDI), André Limbongo Monga delivered the quintessence.
(…) Our initiative aims to support the children born to MONUSCO peacekeepers who are considered at this presumed stage, because the investigation will be launched tomorrow. These children will constitute a time bomb for our society. Congolese society is already concerned about several problems. We cannot accept that a mission (MONUSCO) which came to accompany us could leave major social problems behind. We believe that MONUSCO, the UN, the champion of the defense of Human Rights, will be sensitive to this issue and will facilitate the work that Congolese Civil Society is carrying out in favor of these children (…) “, he said.
And to continue: “(…) We are identifying these children to enable us to enter into advocacy which can have an aspect of transitional justice if MONUSCO and the UN facilitate the work. But in the event that there is a certain burden for the good of the children, we will be obliged, we will be obliged to file a complaint with the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights to see how to support these children and allow them to find hope again (…)”.
Before adding: “(…) We had data and concerns from victims in December. And in January, a compatriot, Dr Muterekeza, launched an appeal to raise the awareness of Congolese actors and we told ourselves how to carry out this investigation, this plea so that before MONUSCO leaves, we can have a consensus, a orientation which will sustainably benefit the children and women who care for these abandoned children (…)”.
At the end of the interventions, the interactive part followed marked by a question and answer game which shed light on concerns raised by a certain number of participants.