Congolese Kids Not Reaping Any Benefits From Country's Step Toward Democracy

July 25, 2006 — -- As many as 1,200 people die a day amid the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and more than half of them are children, according to a new report by the United Nations Children's Fund.

With preparation for Sunday's first free elections under way, the humanitarian tragedy in the country continues to unfold.

More children under the age of 5 die in the war-battered African nation each year than those in China, which has a population 23 times larger, UNICEF said in "Child Alert -- Democratic Republic of Congo."

The report, which was released on Monday, was compiled by former BBC war correspondent Martin Bell, who traveled to eastern Congo as a UNICEF ambassador earlier this year.

"Numbers at hand, it is easy to be overwhelmed by what has happened in DRC because of the sheer scale of it," said Tony Bloomberg, UNICEF representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo while in London.

"The eight-year-long conflict has killed over 4 million people, displaced 1.6 million, and created the largest concentration of child soldiers in the world -- as many as 30,000 at the height of the conflict."

Children bear the brunt of unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is slightly less than one-fourth the size of the United States.

Not only are they caught up in the violence as casualties and witnesses, but they sometimes are forced to participate in atrocities and crimes that inflict physical and psychological harm, the report says.

"They should be top of the agenda after polls on Sunday," Bell said. "Sexual assault on women and children has reached epidemic proportions, with 25,000 cases of rape in the east of the country in 2005, and these are only the reported cases. Forced to migrate, children are deprived of their basic right of schooling, health care, and are often caught up in combat."

Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability.

The war in the central African nation officially ended with a peace agreement in 2003, which led to a transitional government.

Conflict continues, though, in parts of the East. Despite not being the panacea for all the country's problems and woes, the elections are key to restore order and stability. The U.N-financed polls are expected to open on Sunday.

"For the first time in over 40 years, the Congolese people will have a real choice at the polls and a real chance to end what is often called the 'First World War' of Africa," Bell said.