- Title: Congolese people welcome U.N. report but continue to fear for their wellbeing
- Date: 21st October 2016
- Summary: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE OPPOSITION UDPS PARTY LED BY ETIENNE TSHISEKEDI, JEAN MARC KABUND, TAKING A SEAT ON VERANDA (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE OPPOSITION UDPS PARTY LED BY ETIENNE TSHISEKEDI, JEAN MARC KABUND, SAYING: "The United Nations is here to defend the weak, because peace must be imposed. The U.N. guarantees world peace and they cannot tolerate that a regime may display the barbarity we have seen. We will also ask the European Union, which has already taken a step in that direction, to quickly impose sanctions so that Kabila's regime understands that it is unacceptable today to go on believing that they can rule through repression, through attacks on the opposition and civil society." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT NEWSPAPERS ON THE GROUND NEWSPAPERS ON THE GROUND "LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES" NEWSPAPER WITH HEADLINE READING (French): "The ICC warns Congolese politicians" (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO RESIDENT, ANDRE KAYEMBE, SAYING: "I applaud it (the U.N. report) but I am also a bit worried. Sanctions are not enough, they take a long time and it leaves us, the Congolese, in the hands of those who do not want to respect international laws. All the international charters that have been published across the world, it takes a lot of time and in the meantime the damage gets worse. Even as I speak to you now, we don't know what is going to happen and freedom of expression and the most fundamental rights are trampled and people in the (U.N.) Security Council make resolutions but nothing is followed through and we don't see any of that on the ground. Many of our citizens are still maltreated and pursued (by the police), kidnapped day and night. That is what worries me." PEOPLE IN THE MARKET PEOPLE IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO RESIDENT, WARAINE MAKASHE, SAYING: "The (the U.N.) Security Council is a great institution and they don't make decisions lightly. Before making their decisions they analyse everything on the ground. Here and there they take punitive measures in relation to the principal actors who took action at the time of the march which was allowed by the Kinshasa authorities and was a peaceful march and so we can only encourage and support this decision." VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION (CENI) GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) UNITED NATION ENTRANCE WITH FLAGS UNITED NATION SIGN VARIOUS OF NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SAYING: "The High Commissioner has expressed deep concern at the mounting number of these very serious Human Rights violations by State Security officers in recent months. He has urged the authorities to prioritize justice and accountability for serious Human Rights violations and remedy for the victims. Impunity for serious Human Rights violations, including the shooting, hacking and mass arrests of protesters has been a chronic problem in the DRC for decades now." JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SAYING: "There were at least 422 victims of Human Rights violations, including violations of the right to life, to physical integrity, to the liberty and security of the person, to peaceful assembly and expression. These figures do not reflect the full extents of the violations as U.N. teams were denied access to official records of some the morgues and public hospitals as well as various detentions facilities." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS UNITED NATIONS SIGN
- Embargoed: 5th November 2016 13:39
- Keywords: DRC Congo United Nations Kinshasa report
- Location: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO & GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO & GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Government/Politics,United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA00154Y7WW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Congolese residents said on Friday (October 21) that they welcomed the United Nations report about Congolese state security service abuses but said they remained worried for their well-being.
Congolese state security services shot, burnt, beat and hacked to death at least 48 civilians and reportedly hired thugs to attack protests last month against the extension of President Joseph Kabila's mandate, the United Nations said on Friday.
The death toll of the two days of violence in the capital Kinshasa, which also included four police officers killed by protesters and one other civilian, was higher than during the 2011 electoral process, the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office in Congo (UNJHRO) said in a report.
Jean Marc Kabund, the Secretary General of the main opposition party led by Etienne Tshisekedi, praised the U.N. report and said they were calling on the European Union to also impose sanctions on the government of Joseph Kabila.
Democratic Republic of Congo's government spokesman and justice minister could not be immediately reached for comment and a police spokesman said he had not yet seen the report.
"We will also ask the European Union, which has already taken a step in that direction, to quickly impose sanctions so that Kabila's regime understands that it is unacceptable today to go on believing that they can rule through repression, through attacks on the opposition and civil society," he said.
The government denied last week that on-duty security forces opened fire on protesters, who authorities say were conducting an armed insurrection. In its own report, it said 32 people, including three police officers, were killed by protesters or private security guards, or in accidents.
Congo's main opposition alliance had called for a march on Sept. 19 to demand that Kabila, who has ruled the vast central African country since 2001, step down in December as required by constitutional term limits.
The country's ruling coalition and other smaller parties agreed last week to postpone elections planned for November until April 2018, citing logistical problems registering millions of voters, but most major opposition parties have rejected the accord.
Congo has never experienced a peaceful transition of power and international donors fear that the impasse over Kabila's plans to stay on will lead to widespread bloodletting.
In Kinshasa one man said he was sceptical the U.N. report would change anything.
"I applaud it (the U.N. report) but I am also a bit worried. Sanctions are not enough, they take a long time and it leaves us, the Congolese, in the hands of those who do not want to respect international laws. All the international charters that have been published across the world, it takes a lot of time and in the mean time the damage gets worse," said resident Andre Kayembe.
Another, Waraine Makashe, said there was no smoke without fire and that he believed the U.N. report was probably correct.
"Here and there they take punitive measures in relation to the principal actors who took action at the time of the march which was allowed by the Kinshasa authorities and was a peaceful march and so we can only encourage and support this decision," he said.
In total, UNJHRO said, there were at least 422 victims of human rights abuses by state agents in Kinshasa between September 19 and 21.
Of the civilians killed, 38 were shot by the police, army and presidential guard and seven were burnt to death by members of the presidential guard, including during an attack on the headquarters of the main opposition party, the report said.
"There were at least 422 victims of Human Rights violations, including violations of the right to life, to physical integrity, to the liberty and security of the person, to peaceful assembly and expression. These figures do not reflect the full extents of the violations as U.N. teams were denied access to official records of some the morgues and public hospitals as well as various detentions facilities," U.N. spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing in Geneva.
Four police officers were burnt alive or beaten to death by protesters who also looted the headquarters of ruling coalition political parties, UNJHRO said.
The report said UNJHRO had received "concordant reports about the distribution by the authorities of machetes and money to about a hundred young men, with a view to disturbing the demonstration."
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor sent a delegation to Congo this week to urge restraint by all parties in the coming months and warned that human rights abuses could be prosecuted by the court. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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