<\/p>\n
The experts said civilians in affected areas have faced sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour, abductions, killings and forced recruitment. \u201cRapes, gang rapes, violent assaults and killings of civilians are a common feature of M23\u2019s modus operandi,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these crimes are not exclusive to M23, the number of individuals affected is staggering and must end.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The latest phase of the conflict in eastern DRC began in 2021 when the M23 militia resumed fighting against the Congolese army. The conflict is rooted in regional tensions linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and decades of insecurity in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The violence has displaced more than eight million people over years of conflict, with civilians continuing to bear the heaviest burden.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An April report by UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres found that cases of sexual violence committed by M23 against civilians more than doubled between 2024 and 2025. Women and girls have been disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The experts said M23 maintains control over civilians through intimidation and punishment. Reported abuses include arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture, blackmail, arson, forced armed recruitment and detention in poor conditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to UN reports, M23 has used allegations of collaboration with DRC\u2019s armed forces, failure to comply with compulsory communal labour or suspicion of criminal activity as grounds for targeting civilians.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Detainees are reportedly held in overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, with many subjected to frequent beatings and denied adequate food, water and medical care. \u201cThe violence is unacceptable. It must end immediately and be thoroughly investigated so that those responsible are held accountable,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The UN experts said concerns have been raised with the DRC government and with Rwanda, which has been accused of supporting M23.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The experts called for accountability for those responsible for abuses and urged all parties to respect international human rights and humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40305,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-40304","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Independent United Nations (UN) human rights experts have condemned what was described as M23\u2019s \u201creign of terror\u201d in areas under the armed group\u2019s control in eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), accusing the Rwanda-backed group of widespread abuses against civilians.","published_date":"","news_description":"Independent United Nations (UN) human rights experts have condemned what was described as M23\u2019s \u201creign of terror\u201d in areas under the armed group\u2019s control in eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), accusing the Rwanda-backed group of widespread abuses against civilians.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40306,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40304\/revisions\/40306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}