DATA COLLECTION AND STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN EASTERN DRC. CAD OF THE CITY OF BUKAVU, KABARE TERRITORY.

The eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri) has been marked by nearly three decades of complex armed conflict. This chronic instability is fueled by the presence of over 120 armed groups, inter-community tensions, fierce competition for control of natural resources, and a weak state presence.

Problem

The daily life of rural populations is characterized by an intertwined web of systemic violations:

1. Human Rights Violations: Civilians are caught between armed groups and state security forces. Atrocities are frequent and include massacres, sexual violence used as a weapon of war, abductions, forced labor, recruitment of child soldiers, and looting. Access to justice is virtually nonexistent for the vast majority.

2. Environmental and Economic Rights Violations: The region's rich biodiversity (forests, wildlife) and immense mineral resources (gold, coltan, cassiterite, cobalt) are both a curse and a source of conflict financing.
Illegal and unregulated exploitation by armed actors or unscrupulous companies leads to:

a) Massive environmental degradation (deforestation, pollution of soil and rivers by mining chemicals).
b) Dispossession of community lands and resources, depriving populations of their ancestral livelihoods (farming, fishing, gathering).
c) Serious health impacts linked to pollution (respiratory, skin, and waterborne diseases).