...after refused to draw water for the military stationed there and was severely tortured while he was held in detention in the camp. A local non-governmental organization (NGO) reported that the boy was released only after a large fine was paid. In November 2005, three soldiers from the United Congolese forces tied an 11-year-old girl with an electric cable and repeatedly raped her in a military camp, according to the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

These cases are examples of the brutal violations against Congolese children, as documented by the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict in its April 2006 report, Struggling to Survive: Children in Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country continues to endure the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis and, according to the International Rescue Committee, more than 38,000 people die every month as a direct and indirect consequence of the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As many as 45 per cent of these deaths occurred among children who fell victim to intolerable human rights violations committed in an atmosphere of almost complete impunity.

Despite the presence of MONUC--the largest UN peackeeping operation so far--and billions of dollars...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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