Paris-Geneva-Kinshasa, 27 August 2024. Repression of peaceful demonstrations, arrests of human rights defenders, announcement of the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty, continuing conflict in the East... The beginning of 2024, which marks the start of President Félix Tshisekedi’s second term in office, has been marred by a multitude of significant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as described in the report published today by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (International Federation for Human Rights - World Organisation Against Torture), the Groupe Lotus, the Ligue des électeurs, the Association africaine des droits de l’Homme (ASADHO), and the Alliance pour l’universalité des droits fondamentaux (AUDF). The report shows that, in the continuity of previous regimes, the Congolese authorities, as well as non-state actors, continue to target human rights defenders, including those defending the environment and the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people, citizen movement activists, journalists and lawyers, with the aim of silencing any dissenting voices.
“The repression of human rights defenders is by no means an appropriate response to the blatant deterioration of the overall situation in the DRC. It is only by guaranteeing fundamental freedoms and the opening of civic space that the DRC will be able to respond to the many challenges which prevent its people from living in security and thriving. It is high time that President Félix Tshisikedi finally understood this.”
The report notes that, although some efforts have been made, notably with the adoption of a law on the protection of human rights defenders in 2023, the Congolese legal and institutional framework and judicial system remain fragile, fostering a climate of widespread impunity for serious crimes committed against human rights defenders, and failing to ensure their effective protection. On the contrary, a wide range of tools are used by the Congolese authorities to intimidate and attack human rights defenders, such as certain provisions of the Criminal Code and the Digital Code, or the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty, which poses an additional threat to defenders.