A mutiny started by indicted war criminal, Bosco Ntaganda, in March 2012 is sowing significant insecurity in Congo’s eastern provinces.  Ntaganda’s new rebel group is called M23. More than 220,000 civilians have been displaced by the M23 rebellion since March 2012. The fighting is taking a severe toll on civilians and is now threatening North Kivu’s capital city, Goma.

The UN Group of Experts on Democratic Republic of Congo released a report in late June charging that elements within the Rwandan government and military have been giving significant support to Congo’s M23 rebels. In response, the US State Department has cut a symbolic amount of military funding to Rwanda. While the funding cut is small – only $200,000 – the move is a huge political step for the US in what has been a traditionally accommodating relationship with Rwanda since the 1994 genocide there.

Tell Secretary Clinton: Thank you, AND…

BY PHONE – Call Secretary Clinton at 202-647-9572 and tell her:

My name is _______and I’m calling from ____________. I commend the US Department of State for cutting some measure of military assistance to Rwanda. I urge you to make it clear to Rwanda that it will be held accountable—including with the conditionality of other assistance programs—if it continues its support of the M23 rebellion and its destabilization of Congo.

BY EMAIL – Copy and paste the following into the State Department’s Contact Page (choose “US Foreign Policy” as the topic):

I commend the US Department of State for cutting some measure of military assistance to Rwanda. I urge you to make it clear to Rwanda that it will be held accountable—including with the conditionality of other assistance programs—if it continues its support of the M23 rebellion and its destabilization of Congo.

BY FACEBOOK – Copy and paste the following onto the State Department’s Facebook Page (you’ll have to “like” the page first):

I commend the US Department of State for cutting some measure of military assistance to Rwanda. I urge you to make it clear to Rwanda that it will be held accountable—including with the conditionality of other assistance programs—if it continues its support of the M23 rebellion and its destabilization of Congo.