Human Rights Research League

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Research. Education. Advocacy. Development. (R.E.A.D.)

Congo (DRC)

 

The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which, for decades, has been particularly concerning, especially in the Eastern part of the country, reached a new level of tension since the recent occupation of the cities of Bukavu and Goma by the armed group M23.

 

The conflict between the armed forces of the DRC (FARDC) and various armed groups, has led anew to massive displacements and grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

 

While the recent signing of a peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda may seem to point in the right direction, the popolations the most exposed, even after the signing of a peace agreement, are those forced to flee their home. Among the principle challenges when it comes to the protection of displaced persons is the lack of legal documents and access to land, which often hinder successful return of displaced persons, even after a conflict.

 

These and other challenges we regularly put on the agenda, including when we organized an international conference in Kinshasa, DRC, on durable solutions to forced displacement, and successfully advocated, along with partners, for the ratification of the African Union (AU) Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) by the DRC government.

 

At the UN Human Rights Council, we frequently intervene on these and other issues concerning the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and participate in public discourse in the form of academic conferences, seminars, and lectures. 

 

 

 

On 8 October 2024, at the 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Human Rights Research League (HRRL) delivered an oral statement during the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Report by the International Team of Experts in the DRC. Speaking on behalf of HRRL, Tresor Maheshe Musole pointed to the desastrous conditions in the prisons of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as negatively highlighted in the recent prison break in Makala prison in Kinshasa, where more than a hundred prisoners were killed and many were raped and seriously injured. No independent inquiry has yet been initiated and while the authorities now focus on the conditions in Makala prison, the situation in fact is equally grave in all the prisons across this vast country. In order to find a durable solution to these problems, Human Rights Research League asks of the DRC government as well as international donors to focus on improving the prison conditions through the construction of new prisons and the supply of prisoners with food products. For further details, please see the video of the Oral Statement on UN Web TV.