This panel highlights the growing crisis in Eastern Congo, whose roots must be sought in the complex interplay between non-state actors, like foreign mining multinationals and the local militias they support; foreign political bodies, including the United Nations, the U.S. government, and most notably the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), the administrative headquarters responsible for the U.S. Secretary of Defense with fifty-three African countries; and the interests of neighboring states Rwanda and Uganda, and to some extent Tanzania. The exploitation of Congo’s vast mineral resources is enabled and perpetuated by the use of rape as a weapon of war that destroys women’s bodily integrity, shames communities and nourishes a culture of impunity. This event is intended to break the silence surrounding the conflicts in Congo and to come to terms with the devastating consequences of seemingly benevolent U.S. policies and foreign intervention.  Co-sponsored by the Chicago Society and the African and Caribbean Students’ Association.

International House, Assembly Hall, 1414 East 59th Street, 7:00 p.m., free and open to the public