UN committee warns children in Congo face sexual violence, killings under siege

• Committee calls for immediate ceasefire, end to violations against children

GENEVA

Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing an "unprecedented catastrophe," enduring summary executions, sexual violence, recruitment and abduction, the UN Child Rights Committee warned Thursday.

In a statement, the committee expressed deep concern over escalating violence in the North and South Kivu provinces, where armed groups are increasingly targeting displaced children and those in street situations.

Recent reports indicate a surge in child recruitment, abductions, sexual violence and killings as conflict spreads to these new areas.

Noting that verifying information is a "huge challenge," the committee said it was informed by a "reliable source" of a case of mass murder — 45 of the 120 children in street situations being cared for in a day transit center in Goma were killed.

The source added that 30 girls from the same day center were found in a border neighborhood after they had managed to hide in the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi. They are now living on the streets.

"Alarmingly, sexual violence has become the daily life of some children in these war-torn areas," the statement said, adding that an “increasing number of children, the vast majority of whom are girls, are being subjected to sexual violence."

According to UNICEF’s projection, 15.4 million children in Congo need urgent humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, more than 6.7 million people, 40% of them children, have been displaced across conflict-affected provinces.

The committee called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to violations against children, underlining the need to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable.

In January, the M23 rebel group captured Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province near the border with Rwanda, which is home to more than a million people.

Over the last week, the rebel group also took control of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, which is around 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from Goma.