Dear Supporters,

Thank you for signing and sharing this petition. Your voices are critical in the fight for justice in Eastern Congo.

The humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. New atrocities have emerged, including the execution of children and inoffensive young men; On February 21, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels shot and killed  about 22 young men for refusing to join the rebels group, and on February 22nd,  they shot about 12 young men while they were working out. Rwanda remains a key financial and military backer of the M23 rebels, who, alongside the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF), continue to occupy Congolese territory.

When this petition began, the Red Cross and UNHCR were already counting daily deaths in Goma; Other Nord Kivu territories experienced worse atrocities, which are not always documented. Now, the situation has escalated—Sud Kivu, including its biggest city, Bukavu, is under rebel control. The Congolese government expects the death toll to surpass 8,000, with over 5,000 wounded in Goma only. Forced recruitment is rampant, and displacement camps have been bombed, leaving thousands without shelter, food, or clean water. More than 1100 children are found unaccompanied, many of whom have lost their parents. Many girls and young women are being raped as a weapon of war, and some rape cases have been reported in hospitals. The current situation in the Kivu provinces is apocalyptic - families and children count hundreds of corpses everyday, and are forced to remove them from the streets of Goma. UNICEF reported that more than 1 million children are out of school.

On February 20th, the U.S. sanctioned two individuals responsible for war crimes in the Congo. On February 21st, the United Nations cited Rwanda, for the first time since the war crimes have been ongoing for the past 30 years — with more than 10 million deaths, as the principal actor of this conflict, and condemned the Rwandan regime on the security crisis in the Congo. While this is a step forward, it is not enough. The real perpetrators—Rwanda and the M23 leadership—must face direct sanctions. The world is watching while Congo is bleeding. We must end the cycle of impunity.

We must keep pushing. Share this petition, contact representatives, and demand real action. The world cannot look away while millions suffer. Justice for Congo is long overdue.

Many thanks,

The voice for the voiceless