This Week in Congo:

It's been a busy week for the Congo advocacy movement in the U.S.  A much-anticipated study is being released in the Journal of Public Health that finds that rape statistics in DR Congo are 26 times higher than those that have been previously reported.  The new statistics:  1,150 women raped every day.  That comes out to 4 women raped every 5 minutes.  We are talking about 2 million people here.  The report got tons of media attention this week, and it seems that many people are reading the articles and seeing just how widespread this particular human rights violation is within the Congo conflict.  You can read articles about the study here, here, and here, and in a number of other news outlets.


Then, on May 12, a letter signed by 77 organizations was sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Take a minute to read the letter if you can; it outlines specific steps that the U.S. government should take in order to "bolster and better coordinate U.S. diplomacy and assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to help avert a further deterioration of the situation there."  One of the key points of the document revolves around appointing a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, who would report directly to the Secretary of State as they craft and implement American policy in DR Congo.


This week online activists will be participating in a virtual protest on facebook, expressing their support for the appointment of a Special Envoy to DR Congo.  You can join in!  All you have to do is "like" the Special Envoy Now facebook page, then download some photos of yourself (and your family and friends) holding protest signs.


And... remember that we are less than a month away from the 5K!  We already have three times as many people registered as we had last year, but if you haven't registered yet, here's the link.  We are looking forward to seeing you.