About this report.
This report is the result of interviews with several hundred interlocutors, both Congolese and foreigners, who have witnessed atrocities committed in the country. It documents their testimonies and reflects their aspirations for justice. However, no report cannot really describe the horrors experienced by the civilian population in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where almost every individual has experience of pain and loss to relate. In some cases, victims became perpetrators of crimes and some perpetrators were themselves same victims of serious violations of human rights and international law in a cycle of violence that is not yet over.
The report is intended to represent acts of serious violence which have affected - directly or indirectly - a vast majority of the population living in the DRC. It reproduces the often shocking accounts of the tragedies experienced by victims and witnesses. It is a first step, after a violent conflict, towards a process of truth sometimes painful but necessary.
Since 1996, over 6 million people have died because of armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo is extremely rich in gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt, tin, uranium, coltan and many other precious minerals.
Congo has 64% of the planet's coltan, a precious mineral that is needed for manufacturing cell phones, computers, laptops, play stations, jet engines, electric cars and the list goes on and on.
In 1946, a "Strategic Minerals Stockpiling Act" was passed to obtain and stockpile cobalt. With the largest reserves of cobalt on the planet, Congo became a target.
Cobalt is a strategic and critical mineral that is essential for the aerospace, military and defense industries.
As the United States and the United Kingdom provide financial and military aid to Rwanda and Uganda, these neighboring countries are plundering Congo's natural resources as the death toll rises.
In four studies, the United Nations implicated multinational companies in sourcing coltan from Congo, stating that these companies serve as the ENGINE OF THE CONFLICT in the country.
As the world benefits from Congo's riches, Congolese men, women and children continue to be killed, tortured, raped, starved and displaced.
In 2010, a leaked United Nations' report cited "CRIMES OF GENOCIDE" may have been committed by RWANDAN TROOPS.
There is very little media coverage of what is actually happening in Congo. Nothing is mentioned about the involvement of foreign corporations in the looting of Congo.
48 women are raped every hour. Millions are displaced. Over 6 millions are dead. Half are children under the age of 5.
What is happening in Congo is a SILENT HOLOCAUST.
Uncovering the truth.
The ongoing conflict, instability, weak institutions, dependency and impoverishment in the Congo are a product of a 125 year tragic experience of enslavement, forced labor, colonial rule, assassinations, dictatorship, wars, external intervention and corrupt rule.
What's happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not only a congolese problem, nor an African problem, but most importantly a global problem.
Analysts in the film examine whether U.S. corporate and government policies that support strongmen and prioritize profit over the people have contributed to and exacerbated the tragic instability in the heart of Africa.
