GENEVA (CNS) -- The atrocities unfolding in Congo call for immediate condemnation and the protection of human rights, said a Vatican official.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, said, "The international community cannot stand by idle and needs to speak out clearly" and act swiftly to counter the "grave infringements of human rights" in Congo.

The archbishop spoke Nov. 28 during a special session of the Human Rights Council focused on the situation in eastern Congo.

The daily reports of human suffering, death, rape, looting, forced recruitments and the displacement of civilians because of fighting in North Kivu "are deeply troubling to the delegation of the Holy See," Archbishop Tomasi said.

He urged the world community to condemn the violence and protect innocent victims by helping "to restore the rule of law and to search for the common good."

While deploring the recruitment of child soldiers, torture and sexual violence against women, the Vatican delegation also denounced the illegal weapons trade in Congo, especially small arms.

"They increase the intensity of violence and threaten the life and the integrity of an unacceptable number of innocent people," the archbishop said.

An estimated 2 million people have been forced from their homes because of past and current conflicts in Congo, Archbishop Tomasi said.

While many have ended up in camps and are receiving some form of aid, about 200,000 people cannot be reached by humanitarian agencies because of on-going violence, he said.

The Vatican urged all sides involved in the conflict to respect the cease-fire and comply with past peace agreements.

But international organizations and the African Union "should strengthen their efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the crisis," he said.

© 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops