HR/98/18
23 March 1998


The following is a statement issued today by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson:

I am deeply worried by reports from the Mbandaka region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once again, the Secretary-General's Investigative Team (SGIT) has been prevented from carrying out its mandate in that area. The Mbandaka Team, led by Daniel O'Donnell and comprising experienced forensic experts and human rights officers, was forced to return to Kinshasa two days ago after the provincial governor said he could no longer guarantee their security.

The ostensible cause of the latest difficulties was an allegation that the Team wanted to excavate the burial site of a local chief at Wendji, a village near Mbandaka. The United Nations team has been scrupulous in respecting local sensitivities. However, their expert assessment in this case was that the site contained important evidence which should be examined.

This is the latest in a series of obstacles encountered by the Team since its arrival in Kinshasa on 24 August last year. To date, the reluctance of the Kinshasa authorities to facilitate their deployment to the interior of the country and obstacles once deployed have resulted in the SGIT being unable to accomplish its work plan.

This pattern of delays and difficulties calls into question the Government's assurances to the United Nations and to Member States that it would cooperate with the SGIT.

An advance group is currently in Goma, in the east of the country, preparing for the arrival of the investigative team. I call on the Government in Kinshasa and the local authorities in Goma to ensure that there is no repetition of the obstructions which have thwarted the SGIT's work in Mbandaka.

I am profoundly concerned that the efforts since April 1997, first by the Joint Investigative Mission of the Commission on Human rights and now by the SGIT have been frustrated to the point where we can no longer be sure of the Team's ability to carry out an investigation before its mandate expires at the end of May.

This investigation has at its core the fundamental human rights imperative to combat impunity. The purpose of the investigation is to inject accountability into a region which has been wracked for decades by cycles of inter-ethnic violence, massacres and forced displacement.

The latest developments run counter to the international community's stated desire that there be a thorough investigation which goes at least some way to ascertaining the facts and responsibility for the deaths of a large number of refugees and others over the past years. If there is no accountability then we send the wrong message and invite further suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.