Uganda Agent Of Unrest In DRC â€" HRW

By John KakandeA US-based organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has petitioned the UN Security Council to take action against Uganda, saying it is “an important agent of unrest” in the eastern Democratic Republic Congo.“HRW urges the Security Council to address the Government of Uganda as an important agent of unrest in the eastern part in the country, and to hold it liable for the grave rights violations and massive human suffering in territories under its occupation,” the organisation said yesterday in a statement issued in New York.The group said the UN Security Council would be discussing the Secretary General’s report on the deteriorating security environment in the Congo in the coming week. State minister for international affairs Major Tom Butime strongly dismissed HRW accusations. “We cannot be an agent of unrest. If anything, we are agents of stability,” Butime said yesterday. “We are in Congo in accordance with the Lusaka peace accord,” he added.Butime said Uganda’s presence in the eastern Congo has just been “renewed” to maintain law and order in the area.The Minister for Defence, Amama Mbabazi, recently called on the UN to send troops to take control of the area.Ends