UN Human Rights Council to hold emergency session on Congo

GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold a special meeting to discuss the situation in the eastern Congo city of Goma after it was seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, a U.N. statement said.

The rebels last week captured regional capital Goma in an anarchic and mineral-rich part of Democratic Republic of Congo, where wars in 1996-1997 and 1998-2003 killed millions and drew in outside nations.

The conflict has led to a surge in human rights violations including summary executions, the bombing of displacement camps, reports of gang rape and other sexual violence, the U.N. rights office (OHCHR) has said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo requested the session and it would take place on Feb. 7 in Geneva, the U.N. statement said. So far, 27 countries have supported the meeting, surpassing the requirement for a third of the 47-member council, it said.

While the council has no legally binding power, its debates carry political weight and criticism can raise global pressure on governments to change course. Sometimes, investigations mandated by the council can lead to prosecutions for war crimes in international courts.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Alex Richardson)

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