Urgent NGO Appeal to Reinstate UN Independent Expert for Victims in Congo

Dear UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

Dear UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanenthem Pillay,

We, representatives of non-governmental organizations, reflecting the broad spectrum of international civil society, are appalled to learn of the serious violations committed by the Congolese government in recent weeks, and urge you to call for the immediate reinstatement by the Human Rights Council of an independent human rights expert to monitor, report on and help remedy the dire situation in the Congo.

Summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and rape are widespread throughout the country. Recent investigations by the UN Group of Experts show that the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is increasingly precarious. Its new report, to be discussed at the Security Council this week, describes unchecked impunity and a "complete lack of transparency" regarding government exploitation of natural resources. Other credible reports cite the alarming figure that 1,400 civilians have been killed since the inception of the Kimia II government military operation.

In March 2008, the UN Human Rights Council eliminated the position of the independent expert on Congo after several member states made false claims about the situation on the ground. Tunisia's Ali Cherif spoke of "the positive developments in the human rights situation there" — indeed, of "remarkable progress" — and chastised the expert because such "improvements" were not "duly reflected in [his] report." Algeria claimed "significant progress" in the DRC, where "the situation is being normalized." Egypt's Omar Shalaby, on behalf of the African Group, said the DRC boasted an"environment conducive to the promotion and protection of human rights", with "serious measures aimed at protecting the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights." He said that "the mandate has not offered clear prospects for improving the human rights situation on the ground"; that it "has not been of benefit to the DRC"; and that "any renewal of the mandate would be counterproductive." The mandate was one "to which no clear achievement can be attributed." Russia, among others, supported this line. On these unsubstantiated grounds, the Council then voted to eliminate the UN’s only dedicated independent human rights voice for DRC victims.

Soon after, there were massacres of civilians and increasingly crowded refugee camps with continued fighting between Rwandan rebel forces and the Congolese army. In November 2008, the Human Rights Council convened a special session on the human rights situation in Congo, but to no avail. The European Union was forced to withdraw its draft resolution and compromised on a watered-down text "calling for the immediate end to all human rights violations and unconditional respect for the rights of civilians," yet making no concrete proposals or recommendations to monitor the situation on the ground. Failing to reinstate an independent expert, the Council also struck the EU' proposal that the Special Rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions report on the DRC.

Then, in March 2009, an attempt was made by the European Union and Canada "to appoint, for a period of one year, an independent expert.whose tasks will be to provide assistance to the Government." Their draft text sought to express the gravity of the human rights situation in DRC and to highlight "the recruitment of child soldiers by armed groups and the ongoing and widespread acts of sexual violence against women and children." Regrettably, this proposal was defeated.

Today, the situation continues to worsen. The UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, has just reported that "civilians have also been gang-raped and hacked or shot to death by the Congolese army — the very force that is supposed to protect them." Professor Alston's report lays bare the need for a dedicated expert to monitor the DRC. An early warning system could close the protection gap currently shrouding abuses by the Congolese government.

We urge you to call for and take all necessary action to reinstate the mandate of the independent expert on Congo, eliminated without basis by the UNHRC in 2008, and against the wishes of the victims. The Security Council is now scheduled to vote on a resolution to extend the mandate of the Congo peacekeeping mission. The Human Rights Council should likewise assume its own responsibilities. Civilians remain at high risk in a conflict that has already claimed the lives of 5 million people.

We urge you to act now for the suffering victims of the Congo, before it is too late.

[NGO signatories]