Lots of news out of the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past few weeks, as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels advanced into the centre of Bukavu, after taking the city of Goma. The bigger context here is the fear of a broader regional war, as has happened before, and behind much of the violence is a struggle for power, identity and resources. Eastern Congo is a big producer of the cobalt needed for electric cars and mobile phones.

But this is also a space that the International Criminal Court has its eye on – as Stephanie recalls, the first ever trial at the ICC in The Hague was Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga. More recently the court has called for information relating to “crimes committed in North Kivu since 1 January 2022” They are looking at “the grave escalation of violence over the past weeks in eastern DRC, in particular in and around the provincial capital of North Kivu, Goma”.

On what’s going on right now we have Claudine Tsongo Mbalamy a Congolese women’s lawyer and director of Dynamique des femmes juriste who is particularly concerned about the reported sexual and gender-based crimes being committed. At the same meeting where Stephanie spoke to her, she met up with Thea Hilhorst, a professor at The Hague’s ISS, focused on humanitarian issues. Check out her new podcast The Good Humanitarian which is connected to her work at the Humanitarian Studies Centre.

For the broader context of accountability in DRC, Janet spoke to Julie Baleynaud who works on Trial International’s programme supporting justice processes locally. Check out their work here: Trial International in DRC – and that link sends you to many more resources.