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Congo boycotts pledging conference, says crisis exaggerated
Source: Associated Press
Congo boycotts pledging conference, says crisis exaggerated
By JAMEY KEATEN
50 minutes ago
GENEVA (AP) — Congo on Friday took the extraordinary step of boycotting an international conference that reaped hundreds of millions of dollars to help its people, saying the Central African country’s humanitarian crisis has been exaggerated.
The rare and possibly unprecedented snub of the U.N.-led pledging conference by President Joseph Kabila’s government — which one U.N. official called “unfortunate” — came amid differing views about the needs of a sprawling country where millions are displaced and hungry during a brewing political crisis.
U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said he expected $530 million in pledges by the end of the day. He said he was “pleased” and surprised the figure was so high but said he was unable to immediately specify whether it was entirely new funds. Donors this year had already pledged $209 million toward a U.N. appeal for $1.7 billion to help some 10.5 million people in Congo in 2018.
Many speakers from 53 U.N. member states didn’t address the elephant in the room: Congo’s absence.
-snip-
Congo’s government has insisted the conference hurts the country’s image, and has downplayed the extent of the widespread hunger and displacement. Its ambassador to the U.N. in New York, Ignace Gata Mavita, told the Security Council last month that the U.N.’s crisis level for his country was “excessive” and “exaggerated.”
-snip-
By JAMEY KEATEN
50 minutes ago
GENEVA (AP) — Congo on Friday took the extraordinary step of boycotting an international conference that reaped hundreds of millions of dollars to help its people, saying the Central African country’s humanitarian crisis has been exaggerated.
The rare and possibly unprecedented snub of the U.N.-led pledging conference by President Joseph Kabila’s government — which one U.N. official called “unfortunate” — came amid differing views about the needs of a sprawling country where millions are displaced and hungry during a brewing political crisis.
U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said he expected $530 million in pledges by the end of the day. He said he was “pleased” and surprised the figure was so high but said he was unable to immediately specify whether it was entirely new funds. Donors this year had already pledged $209 million toward a U.N. appeal for $1.7 billion to help some 10.5 million people in Congo in 2018.
Many speakers from 53 U.N. member states didn’t address the elephant in the room: Congo’s absence.
-snip-
Congo’s government has insisted the conference hurts the country’s image, and has downplayed the extent of the widespread hunger and displacement. Its ambassador to the U.N. in New York, Ignace Gata Mavita, told the Security Council last month that the U.N.’s crisis level for his country was “excessive” and “exaggerated.”
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/ae246902628f4e21936023dcc09abba8/Congo-boycotts-pledging-conference,-says-crisis-exaggerated
