Address by Ms. Flavia Pansieri, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the 30th session of the Human Rights Council: introduction to the reports on the Democratic Republic of Congo

29 September 2015

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to introduce two reports on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mandated by the Human Rights Council.

Let me begin with the report on the human rights situation in the country (A/HRC/30/32).

The DRC remains torn by conflicts on many levels - regional, national and local - intertwined and complex, and spurred by the DRC’s richness in natural resources. Rebel factions are fighting the government, fighting each other, and attacking civilians. In today’s turbulent world – with large parts of the Middle East in turmoil and with an ever increasing amount of situations on this Council’s agenda - let us not forget that the DRC has experienced some of the bloodiest conflicts since the Second World War, spanning over several decades of violence. Its conflicts destroy human life in a devastating and un-cinematic way, far away from scrutiny. Women are raped while collecting firewood, children die of preventable diseases in refugee camps, villages are looted and boys are forcibly recruited into armed groups. Despite the best efforts of dedicated journalists and human rights defenders, the suffering of its victims all too often goes unnoticed.

The report before you today reminds us on the situation in the DRC. It covers the period from June 2014 - May 2015. There have been positive developments, notably in reinforcing the national protection system and fight against impunity. But significant human rights concerns subsist.

Since most of you will have read that report already, let me focus today’s presentation on what has happened since 1 June this year.

In June, July and August alone, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) documented over 1000 human rights violations throughout the DRC causing nearly 2500 victims, mostly in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale. These were essentially violations of the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty and security of the person, and property. State agents were responsible for 564 violations that affected 881 persons, and armed groups were responsible for 532 violations that caused 1.604 victims.

In the conflict-stricken provinces in the East, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by parties to the conflict against civilians, including for their real or perceived collaboration with security forces or armed groups, remain all too frequent. From January until the end of June, we documented approximately 118 violations committed by combatants of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and approximately 250 human rights violations committed by combatants of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in North and South Kivu.

This represents a sharp increase in the number of violations committed by FDLR combatants in comparison to the previous six months. Having occurred in the wake of the Government’s February 2015 declaration of unilateral military operations against FDLR, this increase highlights the importance of cooperation, joint planning and information-sharing between FARDC and MONUSCO to ensure the protection of civilians during operations. The prospect of more unilateral military operations against armed groups poses increased risks to the civilian population.

When it comes to sexual violence, over the past three months only, UNJHRO registered 233 victims of sexual violence, including 65 children. Such violations were mainly committed by armed groups, namely the Rayia Mutomboki, FRPI, the Mayi Mayi Simba, and FDLR - often in the wake of raids on villages. Women and girls are also sexually assaulted by members of armed groups in broad daylight, on their way to and from the fields or the market. FARDC was also responsible for sexual violence, although to a lesser extent.

On a more positive note, in August, a new law on modalities of application of women rights and of parity was promulgated. This law constitutes an important step towards ensuring equality in the political, administrative, economic, social, cultural, and judicial and security arenas. We hope that the implementation mechanisms provided by this law will be swiftly established.

With elections coming up, we are deeply concerned about increased reports of restrictions of political rights and fundamental freedoms that could impact the credibility and legitimacy of the elections. Since the beginning of this year, UNJHRO has documented 122 election-related human rights violations. In recent months, violations of freedom of expression have been most common, as well as violations of the right to liberty and security of the person in connection with the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. The victims are mainly journalists, members of civil society organizations and political opponents. We urge the authorities not to restrict their activities, lest the credibility and legitimacy of the electoral process be damaged.

In that regard, we welcome the National Assembly’s adoption in June of the bill on public demonstrations. It replaces the requirement of administrative authorization with the obligation to inform the authorities' prior to demonstrations. We hope the bill will promptly be adopted by the Senate.

We registered however slow progress in the past three months in the judicial proceedings against several human rights defenders and political activists. At least five remain in preventive detention – and we are concerned by what appears to be a trend to use the justice system to silence them. For example, on 18 September, in Goma, four civil society activists of the national movement Lutte pour le changement (LUCHA) were found guilty of inciting civil disobedience and convicted to a six months suspended sentence of imprisonment with a probationary period of 12 months. On 28 August 2015, Gombe’s Tribunal de grande instance held a mobile court hearing at Makala prison, in Kinshasa, for the trial of Fred Bahuma, of LUCHA, and Yves Makwambala, a technician in charge of the website of Filimbi, a platform of citizenship education movement. During the hearing, they explained that during their one and a half month long detention in ANR cells, they were not assisted by lawyers, suffered cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and were obliged to sign inculpatory statements without having read their contents. However, the Court accepted the contested statements.

These cases are a test of the independence of the judiciary .We call upon judicial authorities to uphold due process in all judicial proceedings, for all accused. The constitution’s guarantees and the law must be fully respected by the judiciary, and political interference resisted.

Detention conditions continue to be a huge concern in the DRC. Over the past three months, UNJHRO registered 35 deaths in detention centres, including 15 in August only. These deaths were mostly caused by a lack of appropriate medical care, hygiene and food. We urge the authorities to implement the recommendations of MONUSCO and OHCHR in their March 2013 report on deaths in detention centres.

We commend the Minister of Justice and Human Rights' initiatives and efforts to eradicate corruption in the judicial system and to provide relief to the prison population. In that regard, we note the release, on 5 September, of 110 inmates from the main prison of Mbuji-Mayi, Kasai oriental province, which was severely overcrowded. 52 other inmates, sick with tuberculosis, were transferred to a health facility to be treated. These decisions were taken after a visit of the Vice-Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and we encourage similar actions in other provinces, without impending the fight against impunity.

On the latter, there has been progress. On 2 September, the trial of former FARDC general Bosco Ntaganda opened before the International Criminal Court (ICC), demonstrating that perpetrators of serious crimes will not go unpunished.

And between June and August, at least 83 FARDC soldiers and 23 PNC agents were convicted for crimes constituting human rights violations – a modest but encouraging increase. Decisive actions to address human rights violations committed by the PNC, ANR and the FARDC, especially at senior ranks, is needed to restore confidence and end the ongoing impunity at senior levels.

On 17 September, the High Military Court rendered its decision in the proceedings of the presumed murderers of the renowned human rights defender Floribert Chebeya and his driver Fidele Bazana. It convicted only one suspect to 15 years of the prison. Four other suspects were acquitted. Many observers and civil parties expressed their disappointment on the High Military Court decision. The UNJHRO will continue to follow this case closely.

On a positive note, finally, we welcome the steps taken by the authorities to operationalize the National Human Rights Commission. On 23 July, its nine members were sworn-in. UNJHRO is providing technical support to the institution and will continue to do so.

Turning now to the study on the impact of technical assistance provided by the international community between 2008 and 2014 in the area of human rights (A/HRC/30/33), allow me to first express my gratitude to the Government for its good cooperation on the study. I would like also to thank all partners from civil society organisations, both international and national actors for all the information they provided for the study.

This is a vast topic, involving a considerable amount of actors, and it was challenging to produce the study within the very short timeframe and limited resources provided. It is thus far from exhaustive, but can be considered as a good entry point for further dialogue on the subject.

Overall, the report highlights progress recorded in developing normative and institutional human rights frameworks and in behavioural changes among duty-bearers and rights holders. At the same time, it notes a heavy focus on programmes and activities in the East of the country, and a general lack of coordination among the different actors engaged in technical assistance, and between them and the Government.

This is why the study invites Member States, international non-governmental organizations, the United Nations Country Team and other actors to better coordinate and strengthen their technical assistance to the DRC, in order to increase the capacity of both rights-holders and duty-bearers in the country.

As the study shows, this can have real impact. Let me give an example from the study: In 2008, security and defense forces were involved in 86% of human rights violations committed in the country. This number decreased significantly, to 53% in 2014. How come? Because of capacity building activities conducted by the international actors, an increase of human rights monitoring activities by the United Nations and local NGOs, and prosecutions and convictions of military officers and soldiers involved in human rights violations.

This shows that we can make a difference in people’s lives. Ultimately, war is a constructed thing. It is man-made. No natural law commands it. However long a conflict has lasted and however enormous it may seem, there is nothing inevitable about a conflict such as the one in DRC. With well-coordinated and well-targeted efforts by the Government and the international community alike, we can come a long way towards achieving both peace and full respect for human rights in the DRC.

Thank you.