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The myth of international protection. War and survival in Congo

Rethinking policies and intervention frameworks to protect the most vulnerable in conflicts

In this ethnographically based work, one of our experts Claudia relates the heart-wrenching stories of young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo—young people who live on the front lines of conflict, in neighbourhoods and villages destroyed by war, and on the streets in conditions of poverty and destitution. Claudia, a former child protection adviser and human rights investigator for the United Nations, chronicles her personal journey, which begins with the will to do good yet ends with the realization of how international aid can contribute to greater harm than good.

The idea of protection and universalised human rights is turned on its head as Claudia uncovers the complicities and hypocrisies of the aid world. In the promotion of “inalienable human rights,” aid organizations ignore the complex historical and socioeconomic dynamics that lead to the violations of such rights. Offering a new perspective, The Myth of International Protection reframes how the world sees the DRC and urges global audiences to consider their own roles in fuelling the DRC’s seemingly endless violence.

 

Find out more about Who we are and how we can help your organisation. 

“The more carefully I listened, the more I could hear the historical depth, political complexity, and global interdependence of the violence against which I was so desperately trying to protect children."

The myth of international protection. War and survival in Congo

Rethinking policies and intervention frameworks to protect the most vulnerable in conflicts

“The more carefully I listened, the more I could hear the historical depth, political complexity, and global interdependence of the violence against which I was so desperately trying to protect children."

In this ethnographically based work, one of our experts Claudia relates the heart-wrenching stories of young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo—young people who live on the front lines of conflict, in neighbourhoods and villages destroyed by war, and on the streets in conditions of poverty and destitution. Claudia, a former child protection adviser and human rights investigator for the United Nations, chronicles her personal journey, which begins with the will to do good yet ends with the realization of how international aid can contribute to greater harm than good.

The idea of protection and universalised human rights is turned on its head as Claudia uncovers the complicities and hypocrisies of the aid world. In the promotion of “inalienable human rights,” aid organizations ignore the complex historical and socioeconomic dynamics that lead to the violations of such rights. Offering a new perspective, The Myth of International Protection reframes how the world sees the DRC and urges global audiences to consider their own roles in fuelling the DRC’s seemingly endless violence.

 

Find out more about Who we are and how we can help your organisation.