Politicians and Congolese church leaders launched the Prayer for Peace in Congo initiative at the House of Lords today (June 30), calling for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

CAFOD has joined forces with a coalition of international organisations to raise awareness of the unacceptable suffering of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).

A regional political settlement must be reached in the Great Lakes to prevent any more humanitarian catastrophes as currently being witnessed in north Kivu, Christian Aid has said.

Staff working with a partner of the aid agency Tearfund in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s unstable eastern region are reporting evidence of torture admidst a growing humanitarian crisis.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been afflicted by internal strife for the last ten years. This has led to the displacement of 4.3 million people and the fact that around 8 million children do not go to school. Extreme poverty and severe violence have led to the deaths of millions of people, and ensured that whilst the DRC has some of the biggest mineral, timber and agricultural reserves, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Sponsor a child in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) here

The recent peaceful election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is just the first step in uniting a country ravaged by decades of war and dictatorship - writes Alain Kabeya N'tumba, advocacy officer for the Kinshasa office of CAFOD, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development.