Funding crisis stalls UN probe into possible war crimes in Congo

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -A U.N.-mandated commission investigating suspected human rights violations and war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo cannot proceed due to a funding crisis in the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR), according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The OHCHR is facing a major cash crunch caused by some countries failing to fully pay their contributions, compounded by major cuts in foreign aid by the United States under President Donald Trump.

In February, a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva agreed to set up a fact-finding mission and a formal Commission of Inquiry to investigate rights violations, including massacres and sexual violence in North and South Kivu in the east of the DRC, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu after they were seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Rwanda has denied supporting the M23.

Less than six months later, the Commission of Inquiry cannot deliver results "until and unless funding is made available", according to the appendix of the letter sent by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.

He warned that financial and staffing constraints are "critically impeding" investigative work and voiced alarm at the impact of budget cuts on measures to protect human rights. Voluntary contributions to Turk's office are down by $60 million this year, OHCHR told Reuters.

Alex El Jundi, head of the Investigations Support Unit at OHCHR, told an informal meeting with council members on Monday the situation was regrettable given preliminary findings of summary executions and "horrific sexual violence," along with other violations.

Many of the abuses could constitute war crimes, he said.

Commissions of Inquiry (COI) can yield evidence that can be used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court.

El Jundi said the office's reserves are exhausted after it exceptionally allocated $1.1 million of regular funding to launch the fact-finding mission, leaving no resources to start the COI's work. It is budgeted at about $3.9 million.

South Africa's envoy at the meeting described the delay as a "grave mistake" and the DRC's representative said it risked creating the impression that the investigation was not important to the OHCHR.

The OHCHR told Reuters it would do "everything possible" to secure regular budget funds as early as 2026 to launch the COI.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; editing by Dave Graham and Mark Heinrich)