Human Rights Council
HRC Introductory Letter
HRC Topic Guides
Director: Spencer Toth
Topic A: Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a long history of human rights abuses, dating back to its days as a Belgian colony. Since 1994, the country has been trapped in a state of perpetual violence. The aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide sent 2 million ethnic Hutus fleeing into neighboring countries including the Congo (then Zaire). The ensuing ethnic conflict between Hutu and Congolese Tutsi brought military intervention from Rwanda and Uganda. Rebel forces led by Laurent Kabila seized control of the country in late 1997. When Kabila finally ordered the foreign forces out of the Congo, it triggered the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003. This conflict involved eight countries and left over 4 million dead.
Much of the Congo has been relatively calm since the war ended. The Congo held landmark elections in 2006, and Joseph Kabila was sworn in on December 6 th . However, the eastern provinces have been in a state of anarchy. The repatriation of Rwandan Hutus, called for in the peace agreements, has never been fully resolved. Hutu militias, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), continue to wreak havoc and draw in foreign intervention. The current violence is the result of rogue Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda battling Hutu militias and government forces in the Nord Kivu province. As a result of this fighting, there are an estimated 800,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in that province alone. The Congo is also experiencing one of the world's largest epidemics sexual violence. The violence is being carried out by both the militias and the army. The Red Cross has treated over 40,000 cases of rape, and the actual number may be several times higher. The Sud-Kivu province alone reported 27,000 cases in 2006. There have also been reports of child soldiers being used by militias like the FDLR. Save the Children rehabilitated 7,000 child soldiers after the last war and it fears many of the same children are being pressed back into service. The group has rescued 800 children in just the past year.
The Security Council has recently extended the mission of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). The 17,000 strong force is the U.N.'s largest peacekeeping mission. While MONUC is unable to control the violence, it is arguably the only thing preventing rebel groups from seizing control of towns and cities. The Congo has so many different human rights issues that must be dealt with, and one can expect a continuous stream of alarming news. Should the U.N. increase its already large presence in the region? Can it provide medical care to victims of sexual violence? How will it deal with the 1.3 million refugees and IDPs living inside the country? The U.N. must help the victims of the conflict and prevent it from spiraling further out of control.
Topic B: Business and Human Rights
The focus of the United Nations has primarily been on states. Human Rights decisions have always been applied only to states. However, Globalization has given multi-national corporations an increasing role in international affairs. Businesses and other non-state entities can have a major effect on human rights. The most obvious examples are ‘sweatshops' and child labor. Companies move their operations to countries with the cheapest labor and possibly questionable human rights records to cut costs. The most famous case of business and human rights involved the labor practices of Nike. When it was revealed that the company was manufacturing its sneakers in Southeast Asian sweatshops, negative press and consumer boycotts took a toll on stock prices. Nike has taken steps to improve their human rights records, but there has never been any specific action by the U.N. or the international community. Measures taken to appease consumers are rarely thorough enough. Sweatshop labor is still widespread and there are still an estimated 200 million child laborers in the world. Another problem involves foreign investment in countries that abuse human rights. For example, foreign oil-companies are heavily invested in Sudan and continue to operate there despite the human rights abuses.
The closest the U.N. has come to a decision on this matter is the U.N. Global Compact. The Compact is entirely voluntary, and provides companies with ten simple rules to follow. The first two call upon companies to respect human rights and to avoid being complicit in any human rights violations. These rules provide an excellent starting point, but the U.N. could take a stronger course of action. However, there is no consensus on this matter. Can businesses be required to respect human right? What role should the U.N. have in this matter, if any? The council must consider these difficult questions before it can recommend any specific action by the U.N.