The Council is an independent international body, established to serve as a consultative body for FONAREV and CIA-VAR in their efforts to secure formal recognition of the atrocities committed during the First and Second Congo Wars.
Its mission is to provide advice and constitute an authoritative, credible and coordinated group of international experts; to support the mobilisation of regional and international allies within diplomatic, legal, political and civil society networks; and to strengthen the visibility of the voice of the DRC and its survivor communities in relevant international bodies.
The Council acts independently of any partisan affiliation in the DRC. Its advocacy work is grounded in internationally validated evidence, rigorous legal analysis, and the testimonies of survivor communities.
More than three decades after the First and Second Congo Wars, the atrocities committed against millions of Congolese victims still lack formal international recognition.
The Council has been established to help close that gap, to bring sustained, coordinated international attention to these events, to support the survivor communities represented by FONAREV and CIA-VAR in seeking acknowledgement, and to ensure their testimonies are heard in the diplomatic, legal and political forums where recognition is decided.
Members have been selected on the basis of their credibility in genocide recognition, international law, humanitarian advocacy and international diplomacy and their independence and reputational integrity.
All members sit in a personal capacity and not as representatives of any institution or government to which they may be affiliated.
FONAREV is the DRC's national reparations fund, established by law in December 2022. It works to identify, support and provide reparations to victims of conflict-related sexual violence and other crimes against peace and the security of humanity, covering acts committed from 1993 to today.
CIA-VAR is a Congolese inter-ministerial commission based in Kinshasa that supports victim assistance and reform efforts.
Together, they lead joint international advocacy for recognition of the atrocities committed in eastern DRC.
For all enquiries, please email contact@ceadrc.org.
