Let us prevent genocide in Congo: Can the Australian government and the international community afford to ignore the genocide unfolding in DR Congo?

More than 5 million Congolese have died from war-related causes in Congo since 1998 making id the worlds deadliest documented conflict since WW II. That is 1500 Congolese die each day as a result of Rwandan-backed conflict but the worlds attention remains focused elsewhere. How longer can the international community wait to stop the killing? The Rwandan army and rebels, not only the kill but they also use rape of tens of thousand women as a weapon. Dr. Mukwege, at the general hospital, recently explained: they rape a woman, five or six of them at a time but that is not enough. Then they shoot a gun into her vagina. In all my years here, I never saw anything like it. [T]o see so many raped, that shocks me, but what shocks me more is the way they are raped. Over the last couple of days tens of thousands of civilians, mainly Hutus of the Rusthuru and Masisi districts, have fled their homes and are now surrounded by Rwandan-backed rebels. The rebels and the Rwandan army have taken Rutshuru and Masisi, and their leader, General Laurent Nkunda, has vowed to seize Goma under the pretext of protecting the minority Tutsi population from Rwandan Hutu extremists responsible for the 1994 genocide. Unfortunately, Nkunda and his backers cannot discriminate between the Hutu of Rutshuru and Masisi, who are Congolese citizens, and Rwandan extremist Hutus.

A report commissioned by the United Nations found that Western companies, under the auspice of Rwanda and Uganda, were looting Congo. It noted that Eagle Wings Resources International, a subsidiary of Trinitech International of the US, continues to exploit the coltan from the Rwandan-controlled eastern region of Congo, and proceeds from this exploitation are sold to H. C. Starck, a subsidiary of Bayer AG of Germany, while 50\% of the coltan purchased by Ningxia Non-Ferrous Metals Smeltery of China originates from mining under control of the "Congo desk" of the Rwandan army.

If the 1994 killing of 700,000 moderate Hutus and Tutsis by extremist Hutus in Rwanda constituted genocide, what will it take for the international community to recognise that genocide is happening in Congo and to pursue those responsible?

The unfolding genocide is a legacy of the Clinton administration and the biggest moral failure of the Bush administration. The Australian government to the crisis in Congo has been meagre. Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, pledged $1 million in humanitarian aid. "When we get a better idea from the UN and the NGO assessments, we'll consider whether a further contribution needs to be made," Mr Smith said, adding that Australia was not considering contributing troops to the UN force.

This is unacceptable. You can make a difference. It is time for the world to act.
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