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The United Nations has suspended its investigation into suspected war crimes and human rights violations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to a severe funding shortfall, casting doubt over the future of accountability in one of Africa’s most volatile regions.
According to a letter obtained by Reuters, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) cited a growing financial crisis, attributing the suspension to several member states failing to meet their financial commitments, alongside significant cuts to U.S. foreign aid.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, “The Commission cannot deliver results until and unless funding is made available,” noting that financial and staffing constraints are critically impeding investigative work.
He expressed alarm at how budget reductions are directly undermining the ability to monitor and protect human rights.
Türk singled out Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, Congolese government troops, and their allied militias for alleged atrocities in the eastern DRC, particularly in the North and South Kivu provinces.
Preliminary findings by the UN team had already uncovered accounts of summary executions and “horrific sexual violence.”
Disturbingly, nearly 40% of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in these provinces are children, highlighting the devastating impact of ongoing conflict on the region’s most vulnerable populations.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions escalated elsewhere on Thursday as Iran denounced recent comments made by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
In a message posted on X, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei condemned Rutte’s praise for recent U.S. military actions targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“It is shameful, despicable and irresponsible for the NATO Secretary General to congratulate a ‘truly extraordinary’ act of criminal aggression against a sovereign state,” Baqaei wrote.
Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, citing concerns over Iran’s growing ballistic missile capability.
The U.S. followed suit with air raids on three key sites, prompting Iranian retaliation targeting American military bases in Qatar and Iraq.
As funding crises derail justice efforts in Africa and military tensions escalate in the Middle East, global institutions face mounting pressure to uphold human rights and international law amid shrinking resources and deepening divisions.
