Congo-Kinshasa: HRW Oral Statement On DR Congo At the 37th Special Session of the Human Rights Council

Mr. President,

Since the resurgence of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group at the end of 2021, hundreds of thousands of Congolese have fled the conflict in the east of the country, in the face of brutal abuses committed by all parties. More than half a million people had taken refuge near Goma, where many camps have now been destroyed.

The scale of flagrant abuses is appalling and unacceptable.

UN reports of close to 3,000 deaths in Goma in just a few days of fighting are shocking. Our sources in Goma have spoken of numerous injured civilians in need of urgent medical care, summary executions, and sexual and gender-based violence. Humanitarians are caught in the crossfire. The Congolese and Rwandan armies, by allying themselves with abusive armed groups, have only exacerbated the danger and suffering faced by civilian populations.

Mr. President,

We express our solidarity with Congolese civil society, which is speaking out loud and clear to call for solid, independent documentation of the crimes committed, with a view to putting an end once and for all to the cycles of abuse and impunity that have perpetuated violence in Congo for decades.

This crisis is extremely severe and requires the utmost attention and complementary action from all actors in the international and regional human rights protection systems.

The Rwandan and Congolese authorities should work immediately to restore humanitarian aid – humanitarians should never be targeted. The M23 should respect the rights of displaced people and not forcibly displace them.

We reiterate our call, together with 78 other Congolese, regional, and international organizations, to all States represented on the Council to support the establishment of an independent investigative mission, which will be an essential tool in the fight against impunity and in support of the right of victims and survivors to truth, justice, and reparations.

We call on all members of this Council to support the urgent creation and operationalization of such a mandate without delay.

Thank you.

ADVERTISEMENT