Solidarity with DRC Letter to Canadian MPs

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is frequently listed as one of the most dangerous places on Earth to be a woman or girl. In the North Kivu province, conflict has exposed women and girls to unfathomable levels of suffering. In overcrowded and dangerous displacement camps in and around the provincial capital, at least 70 women per day face sexual violence.

Canada’s leadership is urgently needed right now. Join Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in calling on the Canadian Government to fund the humanitarian response in North Kivu, DRC as soon as possible.

MSF is calling on the Canadian Government to:

Fund the humanitarian response in North Kivu, eastern DRC with new resources.
Demand that multilateral partners better respond to this crisis.
Demonstrate leadership when the rest of the world looks away from North Kivu, eastern DRC.

Recipients:

Mélanie Joly (Liberal - Minister of Foreign Affairs, MP for Ahuntsic-Cartierville)
Ahmed Hussen (Liberal - Minister of International Development, MP for York South-Weston)
Rob Oliphant (Liberal - Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, MP for Don Valley West)
Anita Vandenbeld (Liberal - Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, MP for Ottawa West-Nepean)
Garnett Genuis (Conservative Opposition Critic for International Development, MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan)
Heather McPherson (NDP Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs, International Development, MP for Edmonton Strathcona)
Stéphane Bergeron, who is the Bloc Québecois Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs and International Development, and the MP for Montarville

Canada must support women, girls and displaced people in North Kivu, eastern DRC

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RE: Canada must support women, girls and displaced people in North Kivu, eastern DRC

To [Decision Maker],

I write to you today as a concerned Canadian to draw your attention to the urgent needs of women, girls and forcibly displaced people in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, who are currently experiencing a catastrophic yet neglected humanitarian crisis.

Conflict in North Kivu has exposed people to unfathomable levels of suffering. Women and girls are among the over 600,000 people who have been forced from their homes and are now living in camps around the province's capital. According to the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), at least 70 women per day face sexual violence in and around the overcrowded and dangerous displacement camps, often while simply trying to find food, water and latrines which are all in scarce supply.

It is unacceptable that women and girls cannot safely and easily find basic food, latrines, water or shelter in the North Kivu displacement camps without fear of sexual violence.

MSF teams have also witnessed alarming rates of malnutrition and death in some of the camps. In May, MSF treated one in four children for malnutrition in one camp. In this same camp, many displaced people report having received no food assistance since their arrival.

MSF has been able to respond to this emergency because the organization's independent funding model enables them to act without waiting for government resources to be available but can't do it alone. That's why I am calling on the Canadian Government to make new humanitarian assistance funding available to help more organizations have the resources they need to respond to the current crisis in North Kivu as soon as possible. This must be new funding and not a reallocation of previously committed resources from other emergencies elsewhere. Funding must be directed to the emergency response in the areas where there are the most urgent needs: malnutrition/food distributions, water and sanitation, protection, shelter and emergency medical care.

Canada's leadership is urgently needed right now to support women, girls and other forcibly displaced people in North Kivu, eastern DRC.

Thank you for taking the time to attend to my letter, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, Province/Territory, Postal code]
[Your Email]