DR Congo: Launch of the “Fighter not Killer” awareness campaign to sensitize armed movements on the rules of war
27 July 2016
Goma, July 27th 2016
“Act as a fighter and not a killer”; this is the core of the multimedia campaign that Geneva Call launched in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on July 27th, in the presence of the Congolese authorities and the humanitarian community. In the weeks to come, radio spots concerning the law of armed conflict will be broadcast intensively on local radio stations in North Kivu, and videos will be shared on a Facebook page.
Furthermore, in order to strengthen the campaign, Geneva Call has developed a number of information tools, specifically made for combatants, in order to give them the opportunity to respect humanitarian norms in armed conflict. The mobile application “Fighter not Killer”, which can be downloaded free of charge from the website, gives combatants in armed groups the opportunity to test their knowledge of international humanitarian law and to inform themselves on fundamental principles such as the distinction between civil and military objects, or the prohibition to recruit children in their ranks.
Informative booklets and card games will complement the smartphone application and will allow those who do not have access to a mobile telephone to nonetheless inform themselves on their rights and obligations as combatants in armed groups.
This communication campaign aims to reinforce the Congolese culture of humanity and respect for human rights in a country that has faced over 20 years of conflicts. This campaign, which began in the Middle East in 2015, known under the name “Fighter Not Killer”, is being conducted in other countries where contemporary armed conflicts severely impact civilian populations.
Alongside this information campaign, Geneva Call directly engages with the different armed groups in the Eastern DRC on their policies and practices relating to international humanitarian law in order to promote a better respect for these norms. Geneva Call makes recommendations and provides human rights law training to armed groups on their obligations to civil populations affected by armed conflict.
Geneva Call regularly holds information sessions with Congolese authorities at the central, provincial and customary level in order to increase support for its approach towards strengthening the implementation of international humanitarian law.
Violations of international humanitarian law are numerous in the DRC, particularly against civilian populations as they are frequently and deliberately targeted. The United Nations has reported 1.8 million internally displaced people in the DRC in 2016 and several hundreds of thousands of victims since the beginning of the conflict. Finally, from among nearly 50 recorded incidents between January and May, 22% were kidnappings of humanitarian organization members.
For more information:
Contact: Tony Kiumbe Munse
Number: +243 824770703 or +243 997622056 or +243 997300014
Email: com@genevacall.org