DRC: UN reports reveal clear use of excessive force
DRC: UN reports reveal clear use of excessive force,
rife impunity for rights
violations
KINSHASA/GENEVA (21 October
2016) – Congolese police, armed forces and the
Republican Guard used excessive – including lethal –
force during demonstrations in Kinshasa last month, when at
least 53 people were killed over two days, 143 injured and
more than 299 unlawfully arrested, according to a UN
preliminary investigation report released today.
The
preliminary investigation by the UN Joint Human Rights
Office of MONUSCO* documented 422 victims of human rights
violations, including violations of the right to life, to
physical integrity, to the liberty and security of the
person, peaceful assembly and expression. The figures do not
reflect the full extent of the violations, as the UN teams
were denied access to official records of some morgues and
public hospitals as well as various detention facilities,
including two key facilities where many of those arrested
and many dead bodies were reportedly taken. Investigations
are ongoing.
Of the 53 people documented killed,
including seven women and two children, at least 48 were
killed by State agents, including the Police Nationale
Congolaise (PNC) and soldiers of the Garde
Républicaine (GR) and theForces armées de la
République démocratique du Congo (FARDC).
Perpetrators were not identified in the killing of four
police officers and one woman.
The vast majority of the
victims – 38 of them – were shot dead. Many of them were
shot in the head, chest and back, including a five-year-old
girl who was shot in the back, the report states. Others
died after being burned, stabbed, beaten or attacked with
machetes. Of the 143 documented as injured, 75 were victims
of the excessive use of force by State agents while 68 were
injured by unknown perpetrators.
The report documents the
harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention of local and
international journalists, as well as the destruction and
looting of the premises of eight political parties. The
report also documents reports of violence by demonstrators.
Of the four police officers killed, three were beaten to
death and one burned alive.
The Special Representative of
the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the DRC
Maman Sidikou urged Congolese authorities to conduct prompt,
thorough, independent, credible and impartial investigations
into the very serious human rights violations documented in
the report. Sidikou raised deep concerns about the
widespread impunity that prevails in the country,
highlighting the findings of another UN report ** released
today which reveals that a very low number of State agents,
especially senior officers, and leaders and combatants of
armed groups, are prosecuted and convicted in the DRC for
human rights violations.
“While there has been
progress, and some 447 FARDC soldiers and 155 PNC officers
have been convicted in relation to human rights violations
committed between January 2014 and March 2016, widespread
impunity continues,” Sidikou said.
“Strong
political will is needed to ensure justice and reparation to
all victims of serious violations. This is particularly
crucial in this volatile pre-electoral context,” Sidikou
said. “Effective justice is a major deterrent for future
violations of human rights and it is the cornerstone for
peace and stability.”
The report on impunity cites the
fragile legal framework and the lack of judicial
independence and resources as major challenges to the
prosecution of perpetrators. In light of the growing number
of human rights violations committed by police officers,
particularly in the pre-electoral context, the report calls
on the Congolese authorities to urgently develop and
implement a strategy to prosecute the perpetrators, and to
send a clear “zero tolerance” message to end human
rights violations by State agents.
UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed deep
concern at the mounting number of very serious human rights
violations by State security officers in recent months. He
urged the authorities to prioritise justice and
accountability for serious human rights violations and
remedy for the victims.
“Impunity for serious human
rights violations – including the shooting, hacking and
mass arrests of protestors – has been a chronic problem in
the DRC for decades now. This is clearly outrageous and
serves to fuel an already explosive situation in the
country. While the rate of prosecutions appears to be
rising, new violations continue to be perpetrated with
alarming frequency,” High Commissioner Zeid said.
“A
clear message needs to be relayed from the highest levels of
Government that security forces must operate in line with
international human rights laws and standards, must refrain
from the excessive use of force and that those who breach
these laws and standards will be held to account regardless
of the affiliations and rank of the perpetrator. As I
emphasized during my visit to the DRC in July 2016, the
Government urgently needs to take measures to defuse the
tensions in the country, particularly by freeing all those
detained for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly,
association and expression.”
ENDS