[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] on Thursday urged [press release] the government of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] to ensure justice for the victims of the recently increasing violence. It has been reported that more than 100,000 people have been affected by the recent violence in the province of North Kivu in the eastern DRC, including killings, rape and the looting and burning of entire villages. One of the main perpetrators of such violence has been identified as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) [GlobalSecurity backgrounder], and Pillay has called for an immediate investigation into the incidents to bring criminal sanctions against the responsible parties. The Deputy Special Representative for the DRC Fidele Sarassoro also added [UN News Centre report]: “The chaotic situation families are facing is disastrous—many of them have been displaced many times before. We call on all parties to the conflict to respect human rights and international law and to spare civilians from the violence.”

The DRC has been criticized several times for its failure to quash the increasing violence. Last month Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic [official profile] stressed [JURIST report] that the government must restore the state’s authority and establish the rule of law to bring peace into the country. In March the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC [official websites] released [JURIST report] jointly as the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) a report alleging that military forces in DRC committed human rights violations during the presidential elections last year.