A petition to protect Nobel Prize winner Denis Mukwege has been signed more than 12,000 times. The initiators want the Dutch government to work for the activist and gynecologist in Congo, who is being threatened with death.
The Congolese doctor has helped thousands of raped women and victims of sexual warfare and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018. He has been protected by UN troops for years; in 2012 he survived an attempt on his life. But because of the corona crisis, UN aid has been withdrawn.
That is why the Refugee Foundation and the Mukwege Foundation are on Thursday started a petition. The two organizations want the Netherlands to do everything possible to protect Mukwege. Earlier this week, the Labor Party said the government should push for the resumption of UN support for the gynecologist.
Threaters unknown
Last week, the UN Human Rights Commission called for an investigation into the death threats. The body recognizes that the activist’s life is in danger. It is still unclear who is behind the threats. His open condemnation of human rights violations in Congo are probably related to it.
Nieuwsuur interviewed Mukwege about his work in 2018:
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