SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO CONTINUES VISIT DESPITE SERIOUS INCIDENT

08.12.2003

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Professor Iulia Motoc, has decided to continue her trip to that country despite a serious incident which took place at the Buluo high-security prison in Likasi, Katanga. The Special Rapporteur will now go to Kinshasa where she will meet with senior government officials, including President Joseph Kabila, and representatives of civil society.

As part of her fourth trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo which started on 29 November, the Special Rapporteur visited on 7 December the Buluo high-security prison. During her visit, she listened to the complaints of many groups of prisoners. As her delegation left the main building of the prison, around 60 detainees blocked their exit, stopping them from leaving the prison for about three hours, and demanding their immediate release. The detainees said that they were being illegally detained and believed that they should benefit from the implementation of the 15 April 2003 amnesty law which pardons combatants from certain acts of war committed between 2 August 1998 and 4 April 2003.

The Special Rapporteur stressed that the defense of human rights should always be pursued by legal means, and that no right could be obtained by force. In a report to the UN General Assembly, she has called on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to immediately take the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of the 15 April 2003 amnesty law, with the exception of crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. During her present visit, she has noted that the implementation of the amnesty has been carried out in a slow and discriminatory manner.

Ms. Motoc decided to continue her visit in the interest of the victims of violations of human rights in the country.