| DR Congo "Wracked" by massive Human Rights Violations |
| DR Congo "Wracked" by
massive Human Rights Violations - Continuing conflicts that create refugees [The Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks third in the world among countries of origin of refugees] (Text in brackets is from the report that you can download from here: DRCongoUN.pdf ) UN expert sees widespread rights abuses in Congo By Irwin Arieff: Reuters Alert Net 24 Oct 2005 23:22:37 GMT [The tragedy of Congolese children is endless: from those used in armed conflict to street children to the massacre of "children for allegedly engaging in witchcraft". It is a situation that cries out for attention. A MONUC/Lubumbashi delegation found that over 100 children are working in a Chinese mining company in Lubumbashi. They work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, cleaning and packaging ores for export bare-handed and without any protection against dust and toxic substances.] - The Democratic Republic of Congo is wracked by "massive human rights violations at all levels," a U.N. human rights investigator reported on Monday. The situation is troubling throughout Congo's vast territory, but particularly in the east, where government forces and various other armed groups still prey on civilians two years after a 2003 peace agreement ended a five-year civil war, said Titinga Frederic Pacere, the U.N. independent expert on human rights in Congo. [The human rights situation remains worrying throughout the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in the eastern part of the country (Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu) and in northern Katanga, where militias and other armed groups, national and foreign, as well as the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Mai-Mai are committing atrocities and other massive human rights violations with impunity. Massacres of civilians, mass rapes of women and girls and summary executions, among other things, have posed a serious challenge to the Transitional Government's efforts to improve the situation.] A transitional government is running the country rich in diamonds, gold and other minerals until the elections, which have been delayed repeatedly and are now to be held by mid-2006. But its various factions are deeply divided and its reach in any case is tenuous in much of the country. Pacere, in a report to the 191-nation U.N. General Assembly, said Congolese security forces use excessive violence in cracking down on peaceful demonstrations and journalists and human rights defenders are threatened and harassed. [Violations of physical integrity, disappearances, cruel and degrading treatment, torture, death threats and the death penalty] While the transitional constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate peacefully, these rights were "sorely tested" in 2005, he said. "The administration must refrain from sending in the forces of law and order to disperse unarmed demonstrators using disproportionate violence. The use of firearms with real bullets is prohibited," he said. "Political parties for their part, must control their members and avoid harmful excesses." His report was particularly scathing in describing the Congo justice system. "The prison system is deplorable and inhumane and detention conditions are appalling," it said. "There is no decent food, no health care, no separation of categories of detainees or cells and a complete lack of hygiene." "The internal justice system is powerless and lacks resources," he said. There are far too few judges for the size of the population, the justice budget is inadequate, salaries are meager and judges have no protection from political pressures. [The main worries include the absence of consensus in the joint management of the transition period and the steady deterioration of law and order in Ituri (Province Orientale) following repeated attacks by armed militias. The absence of an independent judiciary and the executive branch's control over the judiciary and judicial decisions are also regrettable. Added to this is the problem of lack of security, the situation of women and children, the trafficking and illegal exploitation of natural resources and other violations of fundamental rights.] End of Bulletin: Source for this page: |