e-4765 (Foreign affairs)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• More than five million people are estimated to be internally displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of violence and a resurgent, multi-faceted conflict;
• The inadequate response of the international humanitarian sector, including donor countries like Canada, to this emergency has left people across the Congolese provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri exposed to disease outbreaks and continued violence – including alarming levels of sexual violence targeting women and children;
• More than 400,000 people who have been displaced in North Kivu alone have sought refuge at various camps around Goma, the provincial capital, and the nearby town of Sake, where living conditions are dire and humanitarian services are insufficient despite the proximity of many international humanitarian agencies; and
• Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy compels Canada’s government to prioritize the needs of women and girls affected by humanitarian crises more generally, and to mitigate the human impact of sexual and gender-based violence more specifically.