Support Group for the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Extracts

V. Political killings in Kinshasa and Bas Congo

69. The serious problem of politically motivated human rights abuses in the west of the country, including killings of opposition supporters, receives disturbingly little attention. Hundreds of civilians were killed by the Congolese security forces in 2007 and 2008 in attempts to counter the threat posed by political opposition. It appears that no one has been held criminally responsible for any of these killings, and nothing has been done to reform the security agencies to prevent similar abuses in the future. At the time of my visit, intimidation and arbitrary detentions of presumed opposition supporters were ongoing. There is a very high risk of further violence during the next election period if urgent steps are not taken to reform the security sector.

80. I spoke with numerous individuals who had been arrested, accused of being Bemba party supporters and detained for long periods. Some had been released only a few weeks before my mission took place. A number of those I interviewed provided credible evidence of having been tortured during questioning of their political allegiances. They were subjected to lengthy and arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions without access to legal counsel or a judge. These cases are serious violations in their own right. But they also sound alarm bells ahead of the next national elections, because they highlight the security forces’ ability to operate outside the law and to intimidate the civilian population.

87. In addition, security and intelligence agencies, including the Republican Guard and army military intelligence, operate detention facilities, although they have no legal authority to detain. Their goal is to suppress political opposition, and their operations are unchecked.

CONGO TODAY

More than six million dead since 1998; 45,000 still dying every month – that's more than 500,000 a year; more than two million internally displaced persons; thousands of women and girls raped, mutilated and killed, or abducted and used for sexual slavery; 20 per cent of children die before they reach five years old; DRC in the bottom three countries globally in terms of life expectancy, education and standard of living... and declining.

CONGO SUPPORT PROJECT

The human rights situation in the DRC continues to deteriorate. Serious violations, such as arbitrary executions, rape, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are pervasive, committed mostly by the army, police and intelligence services. The latter, highly politicised, are often used to commit politically-motivated crimes during specific periods and then revert to daily harassment and intimidation of Congolese citizens. Armed groups operating in the country, both foreign and Congolese, although responsible for only six per cent of documented human rights abuses, have perpetrated massacres, arbitrary executions, abductions of villagers, and subjected women to systematic rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence with full impunity. Civil and military jurisdictions continue to be prone to corruption, and lack the human and material resources needed to function efficiently. Interference by military and political authorities in the administration of justice is widespread. Despite declarations by the authorities, hardly any progress has been made in the fight against impunity. Prolonged pre-trial detention periods, dilapidated detention centres, and the lack of food and medical supplies are common throughout the DRC’s correctional system.
UNCHR 2009