After successfully leading the Genocost 2024 campaign under the theme ‘Justice and Dignity’, Dr. Debora Kayembe has officially announced the end of her term as ambassador and patron of the campaign. On her social networks, she expressed her gratitude to all those who supported her, making CAYP’s initiative for this year wide: ‘I thank all the Congolese people who accompanied me during the commemorations of 02 August’, she declared.
Throughout this campaign, Dr Debora Kayembe has tirelessly denounced the atrocities committed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a region plagued by recurring violence, causing millions of victims and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Under the leadership of Dr Debora Kayembe, the Genocost 2024 campaign has highlighted the urgent need to restore dignity to the suffering Congolese people and to obtain justice for the crimes committed, often with total impunity. By putting people at the centre of its discourse, it succeeded in raising awareness among a wide audience of the human rights violations that have been perpetrated for decades in the DRC, while calling on governments and international institutions to take action.
The Genocost campaign has resonated beyond the borders of the DRC, with commemoration and awareness-raising events taking place in several major cities around the world, including Frankfurt in Germany, London in the UK, Brussels in Belgium, Lyon in France, São Paulo in Brazil and Nairobi in Kenya. These events brought together activists, victims and supporters around the campaign’s strong message: to demand justice for the victims of the conflicts in Eastern Congo and to promote human dignity.
These events not only commemorated the victims, but also served as a platform for denouncing the systematic abuse and illegal exploitation of natural resources in this rich region, which has been devastated by decades of conflict.
The 2024 campaign was marked by the leadership of Dr Debora Kayembe, who breathed new life into the initiative. Her approach, centred on human dignity, put the victims back at the heart of the debate, while calling for solid legal mechanisms to be put in place to hold the perpetrators of crimes to account. Under her leadership, the campaign took on an unprecedented international dimension, raising awareness and mobilising growing support for the Congolese cause.
Although Dr Debora Kayembe is stepping down from her role as ambassador and patron, her impact will continue to influence future editions of the Genocost campaign. With her powerful message and unwavering advocacy, she has rallied thousands of voices to the cause of human rights in the DRC. Now a new chapter is opening, but the momentum she has created will continue until there is total peace in the DRC.
