M23

“The Mouvement Du 23 Mars (M23) is an armed group operating in the DRC that has been the recipient of arms and related materiel, including advice, training, and assistance related to military activities. Several eyewitness testimonies state that M23 receives general military supplies from the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) in the form of weapons and ammunition in addition to materiel support for combat operations. M23 has been complicit in and responsible for committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of women and children in situations of armed conflict in the DRC including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, and forced displacement. According to numerous reports, investigations, and testimonies from eyewitnesses, M23 has been responsible for carrying out mass killings of civilians, as well as raping women and children throughout various regions of the DRC. Several reports indicate that M23 fighters have carried out 46 rapes against women and girls, the youngest of which was 8 years old. In addition to reports of sexual violence, M23 has also carried out extensive forced recruitment campaigns of children into the ranks of the group. It is estimated that M23 has carried out the forced recruitment of 146 young men and boys in the Rutshuru territory alone in eastern DRC since July 2012. Some of the victims have been as young as 15 years old. The atrocities committed by M23 against the civilian population of the DRC, as well as M23's forced recruitment campaign, and being the recipient of arms and military assistance has dramatically contributed to instability and conflict within the region and in some instances, violated international law.”