Ruptly
"Bertrand Bisimwa, leader of the M23 and deputy coordinator of the AFC, attended the closing ceremony of a training course on international humanitarian law in Goma on Wednesday. The three-day programme, organised by the NGO Geneva Call, focused on strengthening humanitarian standards and civilian protection for members of the movement. Footage shows Bisimwa arriving under heavy security to meet Geneva Call officials and oversee the final session. The video features gift exchanging ceremony, training sessions, and the distribution of participation certificates to the attendees. "Without human rights, our struggle would lose all meaning," Bisimwa said, adding the training aims to bolster awareness and the dissemination of humanitarian standards. For its part, Geneva Call explained that the objective of the program is to encourage respect for international humanitarian law among all parties to the conflict to mitigate harm to civilians. "This is necessary because we engage all parties to the conflict [...] What we aim for is the protection of civilians," said Roch Souabedet, the organisation's Country Director. According to the World Food Programme, more than 26 million people in the country are unable to meet their basic food needs, while approximately 6.4 million suffer from acute malnutrition, with the eastern provinces being the hardest hit. Clashes have continued in eastern DRC despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States and an accompanying economic agreement. Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel movement, an allegation Kigali denies. On March 2, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwandan Defence Force and four senior commanders, accusing them of violating the Washington Accords by continuing to support M23 operations, including the capture of the eastern Congolese city of Uvira in December."
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