As the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) enters a pre-election period, threats and attacks against independent voices, including human rights defenders, intensify. At its 30th session (14 September-2 October 2015), the UN Human Rights Council heeded our call to continue to monitor human rights in the DRC and extended its monitoring of the country. The Council will examine a report prepared by OHCHR and discuss it publicly at its 33rd session (September 2016).
The resolution the Council has just adopted will be key to contributing to efforts to prevent a further shrinking of the democratic space, as this public debate on the DRC will take place immediately prior to the official date of the presidential election.