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	DRC: how rampant impunity for crimes leads to endless cycles of violence by International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)   Mar. 16, 2022   With today’s release in French cinemas of Thierry Michel’s latest film, "L’Empire du Silence", the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the League of Voters (LE), the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ASADHO) and the Lotus Group (GL), call on the congolese authorities and their partners to engage in concrete efforts to fight impunity for the gravest crimes in the DRC.   In his latest documentary, "L’Empire du Silence", Thierry Michel retraces the different cycles of violence and impunity for crimes committed in the DRC since the 1990s. We see and hear victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and those responsible for these serious crimes throughout the DRC. Activists in the fight against impunity, including 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Denis Mukwege, other actors in this struggle such as former members of UN investigation teams and local journalists, are featured.   The film is based partly on the findings of the 2010 Mapping project report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which lists the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in the DRC between 1993 and 2003.   More than ten years after the publication of this report, the FIDH and and its member organisations in the DRC regret that no follow-up has been made regarding our recommendations, despite the efforts of several civil society actors to encourage the Congolese authorities to open investigations and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, so that the victims may finally have effective access to truth, justice and reparation.   Our organisations have been working to support the implementation of this report for over 10 years through advocacy, support, and awareness-raising activities at the local, national, and international levels.   Even before the Mapping Project report, FIDH and its Congolese member organisations documented the serious human rights violations committed and supported survivors in their quest for truth, justice, and reparation. They documented many crimes committed in 2002 and 2003 in the east of the country and published several reports.   They transmitted testimonies of victims and witnesses of "Operation Wipe the Board" to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which opened an investigation in June 2004 into the international crimes committed in the DRC since July 2002. Several Congolese survivors of crimes committed in Ituri in 2002, represented by FIDH lawyers, were recognized in 2006 as participating victims at the ICC investigation stage.   FIDH and its member organisations supported the opening and holding of trials at the ICC in the cases against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain Katanga, and Bosco Ntaganda, calling for effective victim participation, adequate outreach programs to affected communities, as well as meaningful reparations measures for victims. They also called for the establishment of a Mixed Specialised Court in DRC to try international crimes committed in the country. Our organisations welcome the recent arrest of Roger Lumbala and the opening of a judicial investigation against him in France for his role in crimes against humanity committed in Ituri province in 2002-2003.   Our organisations support the campaign against impunity in the DRC through the film initiative entitled "Justice for Congo". Recently, they joined the initiative of the Collective of young Congolese volunteer activists who launched a memorial of the Mapping Report online sponsored by Dr Mukwege.   In this context, our organisations supported the petition of NGOs initiated by the National Survivors Network in the DRC, the Panzi Foundation (DRC and USA), and the Mukwege Foundation, addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations, calling for support and assistance to the Congolese authorities to implement the report’s recommendations.   "Since at least the 1990s, we, the Congolese people, have suffered this violence and we see that these crimes continue again and again, with rampant impunity. Yet, the evidence is there. The victims are sometimes still alive to testify. What are we waiting for to open investigations and prosecute those responsible!" - Paul Nsapu, FIDH vice president   FIDH and its members in the DRC also recall that other serious crimes continue to be committed in the country since 2003, generated by growing impunity. Our organisations have thus investigated the serious crimes committed in December 2018 in Yumbi, in the province of Maï-Ndombe, and then those committed in the provinces of Kasaï during the pre-electoral period from 2016 to 2018. For over ten years, our organisations have called for truth and justice in the case of those responsible for the assassination of human rights defender Floribert Chebeya and the disappearance of his driver Fidèle Bazana.   This case had inspired one of Thierry Michel’s previous films, "L’affaire Chebeya, un crime d’Etat?" which FIDH and its member organisations supported when it was released in France in 2012. While trials have been opened in these cases, our organisations deplore the scant progress made in these cases and the fact that those responsible for these crimes are still in office or even promoted.   FIDH and its member organisations in the DRC therefore call on the Congolese authorities, with the help of their partners, to promptly implement a holistic response to the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes, as part of a broader framework of transitional justice through, among other things:   - the opening of independent, impartial and transparent investigations into cases ;   - the implementation of a "vetting" process within the DRC’s defence and security forces, and the adoption of a national plan for reparations to victims of serious human rights violations, including a specific programme for victims of sexual violence ;   - the establishment of mediation and support mechanisms for victims and affected communities ;   - the implementation of necessary reforms to ensure the effectiveness, impartiality, and independence of the judicial system   Oslo, 10 Dec. 2018   Nobel Peace Prize 2018: Speech of Denis Mukwege   "On the tragic night of October 6, 1996, rebels attacked our hospital in Lemera, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). More than thirty people were killed. Patients shot in their beds at close range. Staff unable to flee, killed in cold blood. I could not imagine that this was only the beginning. The human toll of this perverse and organized chaos was hundreds of thousands of women raped, more than 4 million internally displaced persons and the loss of 6 million lives.   Imagine, the equivalent of the entire population of Denmark decimated. UN peacekeepers and experts have not been spared. Many died during the course of carrying out their mandate. The United Nations Mission in the DRC remains present to this day to ensure that the situation does not degenerate any further.   My name is Denis Mukwege. I am from a country which is one of the richest in the world. Yet my fellow countrymen and women are among the poorest in the world. The disturbing reality is that the abundance of our natural resources - gold, coltan, cobalt and other strategic minerals - is fueling the war which is the source of extreme violence and despicable poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo.   As I speak, a report is gathering dust in a desk drawer in New York. It is a result of a professional and rigorous investigation into war crimes and human rights violations in Congo. This investigation explicitly names victims, places, and dates but leaves out the perpetrators.   This Mapping Report, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, describes no less than 617 war crimes and crimes against humanity and possibly even crimes of genocide. What is it going to take for the world to take this into account? There is no lasting peace without justice, yet justice is not negotiable".   http://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/empire-du-silence-impunity-cycles-violence-drc http://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/1-october-2020-10th-anniversary-of-the-publication-of-the-report-of http://www.memorialrdcongo.org/ http://www.mapping-report.org/en/ http://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/   * Nov. 2021   IPC Democratic Republic of Congo Alert   Around 27 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between September and December 2021, of which around 6.1 million people are experiencing critical levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 4). The country has the largest number of highly food insecure people in the world. In the projection period, from January to June 2022, 25.9 million people or 25% of the analysed population will likely be in IPC Phase 3 or above, including 5.4 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-51/en/ http://bit.ly/3M4fTkr http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/resources/alerts-archive/en/ Visit the related web page
	Support Justice for Serious Crimes Globally by Kenneth Roth Executive Director, Human Rights Watch   July 2022   Countries should take concrete steps to demonstrate that justice for serious crimes matters, regardless of where abuses are committed and by whom, Human Rights Watch said today. To mark International Criminal Justice Day, Human Rights Watch created a social media initiative outlining five concrete actions that governments can take to bolster the international justice system worldwide.   “The international community’s response to address horrific abuses in Ukraine should become a paradigm for other crises,” said Balkees Jarrah, interim international justice director at Human Rights Watch. “There is a lot of work governments still need to do to extend the reach of justice to other places where atrocities are committed.”   Alongside civil society partners around the world, Human Rights Watch said that countries should demonstrate their commitment to accountability in the following ways:   Support courts tackling grave international crimes: Adequate financial and political support is critical to the effective functioning of courts, whether the International Criminal Court (ICC), or other international, domestic or hybrid courts, that provide critical fora for the prosecution of those accused of the most serious crimes.   Funding or in-kind support should be provided in a sustainable, long-term manner and avoid perceptions of politicization. In this context, ICC member countries should provide the court with necessary funding through its regular budget rather than ad hoc voluntary contributions. But support for various judicial institutions is about much more than money. Sharing of information and evidence, cooperation in the arrest and surrender of accused, and political backing are all essential for the successful delivery of justice.   Expand ICC membership: There are currently 123 ICC member states. At the same time, dozens of countries, including major powers, have not ratified the court’s treaty, significantly limiting the ICC’s reach. It is essential to continue engaging with those countries who have not taken steps to become ICC members to convince them to join the court. This way, a greater number of victims of serious crimes will have better access to justice.   Criminalize and prosecute grave international crimes domestically: At the national level, governments should pass laws that incorporate international crimes into domestic law, enable and actively pursue prosecutions based on universal jurisdiction, and circumscribe amnesties and immunities for serious crimes under international law. Setting up and providing adequate resources for specialized war crimes units and training local law enforcement on effectively building serious crimes cases is key.   Give all victims of grave international crimes equal access to justice: Double standards in access to justice will undermine the credibility and effectiveness of accountability efforts for serious crimes.   Governments should pursue and support justice for grave crimes, regardless of where they take place, both through national and international courts, and commit to not limit or obstruct investigations when they involve allied countries. Greater consistency in the judicial response to atrocities wherever they occur would strengthen the legitimacy of the international justice system as a whole. Victims of serious crimes, no matter where they are, need greater access to avenues to seek redress.   Restrain UN Security Council veto: Prospects for victims of serious international crimes have been thwarted by the use of the veto at the United Nations Security Council, which could have referred situations like Syria or Myanmar to the ICC. States should work to minimize the role of governments who limit access to international justice in the UN system, and endorse the political declaration on the suspension of the veto power in cases of mass atrocities.   http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/15/support-justice-serious-crimes-globally   Jan. 2022   Human Rights Watch World Report 2022, by Kenneth Roth.   Autocratic leaders faced significant backlash in 2021, but democracy will flourish in the contest with autocracy only if democratic leaders do a better job of addressing global problems, Kenneth Roth, executive director at Human Rights Watch, said today in releasing the Human Rights Watch World Report 2022.   From Cuba to Hong Kong, people took to the streets demanding democracy when unaccountable rulers, as they so often do, prioritized their own interests over those of their citizens, Roth said. However, many democratic leaders have been too mired in short-term preoccupations and scoring political points to address serious problems such as climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, poverty and inequality, racial injustice, or the threats from modern technology.   “In country after country, large numbers of people have taken to the streets, even at the risk of being arrested or shot, which shows the appeal of democracy remains strong,” Roth said. “But elected leaders need to do a better job of addressing major challenges to show that democratic government delivers on its promised dividends.”   The Human Rights Watch World Report 2022, its 32nd edition, describes the human rights situation in nearly all of the approximately 100 countries where Human Rights Watch works.   In his introductory essay, Roth challenges the common view that autocracy is ascendent and democracy is on the decline. Many autocrats claim to serve their people better than democratically elected leaders, but they usually deliver mainly for themselves and then try to manipulate electoral systems so citizens cannot deliver a negative verdict. Autocrats typically try to divert attention with racist, sexist, xenophobic, or homophobic appeals, he said.   Covid-19 spotlighted this self-serving tendency, with many autocratic leaders downplaying the pandemic, turning their backs on scientific evidence, spreading false information, and failing to take basic measures to protect the health and lives of the public.   In an important and growing development that must worry some autocrats, a broad range of opposition political parties has begun to gloss over their policy differences to build alliances that prioritize their common interest in getting corrupt politicians or repressive leaders voted out of office, Roth said.   In the Czech Republic, an unlikely coalition defeated Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. In Israel, an even unlikelier coalition ended the longtime rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Similar broad alliances of opposition parties have formed for forthcoming elections against Viktor Orban in Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey.   A comparable tendency within the US Democratic Party contributed to the selection of Joe Biden to contest the 2020 election against Donald Trump.   Moreover, as autocrats can no longer rely on subtly manipulated elections to preserve power, a growing number, from Nicaragua to Russia, are resorting to overt electoral charades that guarantee their desired result but confer none of the legitimacy sought from holding an election. This growing repression is a sign of weakness, not strength, Roth said.   However, to persuade people to abandon the self-serving rule of autocrats, democracies need to do better in addressing societal ills, Roth said.   For example, the climate crisis poses a dire threat to humankind, yet democratic leaders are only nibbling at the problem, he said, seemingly incapable of overcoming national perspectives and vested interests to take the major steps needed to avert catastrophic consequences.   The World Report 2022 includes assessments of the climate policies of the world’s top 10 greenhouse gas emitters, as well as more than a dozen other countries where there have been significant policy developments related to the climate crisis.   The Covid-19 pandemic also exposed weaknesses of democratic leaders. Democracies met the pandemic by developing highly effective mRNA vaccines with remarkable speed but have failed to ensure that the people of lower-income countries share this lifesaving invention. Some democratic governments took steps to mitigate the economic consequences of Covid-19 lockdowns, but have yet to tackle the broader and persistent problem of widespread poverty and inequality or to build adequate systems of social protection for the next inevitable economic disruption, he said.   Democracies regularly debate the threats posed by technology, he said. These include the dissemination of disinformation and hate speech by social media platforms, the large-scale invasion of privacy as an economic model, the intrusiveness of new surveillance tools, and the biases of artificial intelligence. But democratic leaders have taken only baby steps to address them.   Democracies fare no better when acting outside their borders. They frequently descend to the compromises of realpolitik, bolstering autocratic “friends” to curtail migration, fight terrorism, or protect supposed “stability” rather than defending democratic principles.   In contrast to Trump’s embrace of friendly autocrats when he was US president, Biden promised a foreign policy that would be guided by human rights. But the US has continued to provide arms to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel despite their persistent repression. In the face of an autocratic trend in Central America, Biden mainly prioritized efforts to curtail migration rather than autocracy.   Other Western leaders displayed similar weakness in their defense of democracy. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government helped to orchestrate global condemnation of the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. But while holding the European Union presidency, Germany helped to promote an EU investment deal with China despite Beijing’s use of ethnic Uyghur forced labor.   The government of French President Emmanuel Macron helped to coordinate broad condemnation of Beijing’s conduct in Xinjiang but was blind to the abysmal situation in Egypt.   If democracies are to prevail, their leaders must do more than spotlight the inevitable shortcomings of autocratic rule, Roth said. They must do a better job of meeting national and global challenges of making sure that democracy in fact delivers.   “Promoting democracy means standing up for democratic institutions such as independent courts, free media, robust parliaments, and vibrant civil societies even when that brings unwelcome scrutiny or challenges to executive policies,” Roth said.   “And it demands elevating public discourse rather than stoking our worst sentiments, acting on democratic principles rather than merely voicing them, and unifying us before looming threats rather than dividing us in the quest for another do-nothing term in office.”   http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022 http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/autocrats-on-defensive-can-democrats-rise-to-occasion http://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2022/01/13/human-rights-watch-country-profiles-climate-change-policy Visit the related web page
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