Nearly a million people within the Democratic Republic of Congo have been displaced from their homes this year, the UN human rights chief said Tuesday, AFP reported.
Volker Turk said the situation in the country was deteriorating by the day, and voiced alarm at the growing numbers on death row after the DRC lifted its de facto moratorium on the death penalty.
Turk, who visited the DRC in April, told the UN Human Rights Council that the central African country was gripped by an "explosive mix of escalating violence, regional and international interests, exploitative corporations and weak rule of law".
He said the number of victims of human rights violations was continuing to rise, with 85 percent of abuses committed in the conflict-affected east in the 12 months to June 1. Armed groups were thought responsible for 61 percent of those violations.
Some 700 new victims of sexual violence were recorded in that period.
"According to humanitarian sources, 940,000 more people have been internally displaced this year, bringing the total number of internally displaced people to more than 6.4 million," Turk said.
He added that 23.4 million people were food insecure, meaning they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food.
Turk said he remained concerned by the lifting in March of the de facto moratorium on the death penalty in place since 2003, calling it a "major step backwards".
Since then, 128 men have been sentenced to death by military courts, he said.
"I urge the authorities to ensure that these sentences are not carried out," Turk said.
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