In the run up to the elections, the DRC authorities had demanded the lifting of these sanctions, arguing that their inclusion of a candidate to the Presidential election, Mr Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, was an infringement on the country’s election process.
FIDH and its member organisations in the DRC led several rounds of advocacy meetings before EU actors and provided regular information to contribute to this decision, arguing that the mere fact of standing for election was not a valid reason to wash away the crimes for which Mr Shadary had been sanctioned by the EU. In 2017, Mr Shadary was the DRC Minister of Interior topping the chain of command of the security forces who were the main responsible for the massacre of around 3000 persons in the Kasai.