News stories by Emmanuel Chaco

KINSHASA, Jul 13 (IPS) - In some Democratic Republic of Congo schools, teachers and senior authorities are using their status to abuse girls who do not know their rights, according to the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights.

KINSHASA, Dic 27 (IPS) - Despite the health risks, hundreds of families are living in a cemetery in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. Municipal authorities seem powerless to act.

KINSHASA, Aug 16 (IPS) - A rash of recent rape cases has sparked local criticism of the weakness of the justice system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where inadequate resources and simple incompetence mean survivors of sexual violence hold little hope of obtaining justice.

KINSHASA, Jul 12 (IPS) - Non-governmental organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo province where Thomas Lubanga Dyilo used children as fighters in his militia in 2002 to 2003 have slammed his 14-year sentence as inadequate – and potentially dangerous.

Non-governmental organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo province where Thomas Lubanga Dyilo used children as fighters in his militia in 2002 to 2003 have slammed his 14-year sentence as inadequate — and potentially dangerous.

KINSHASA, Jul 02 (IPS) - "I saw at least three or four little fighters accompanying each adult soldier," said Jean Claver Rukomeza, a resident of Runyonyi, one of the strongholds of the M23 rebellion that has rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since March.

'I saw at least three or four little fighters accompanying each adult soldier,' said Jean Claver Rukomeza, a resident of Runyonyi, one of the strongholds of the M23 rebellion that has rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since March.

A report by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office has slammed the government and security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, condemning electoral violence linked to the Nov. 30 elections which led to at least 33 deaths in the capital, Kinshasa.

The International Criminal Court delivered its first verdict Wednesday: Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was found guilty of recruiting children under the age of 15 to fight in a militia group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Farmers' organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo say the country's new Agriculture Law — enacted last December — could lead to many smallholder farmers losing their land.