The leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo asked UN member states on Tuesday to recognize a “silent genocide” in his country, as France announced it will host an emergency conference on the conflict there next month.

“All the signs of planned extermination are present… This is not just a conflict, it is a silent genocide that has been affecting the Congolese people for more than 30 years,” DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said in his address to the UN General Assembly.

He called for an independent international commission of inquiry to help “break the cycle of impunity that has fueled this tragedy for decades,” as well as for UN sanctions against perpetrators of “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide” committed in the east of the country.

A UN investigation recently re

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