allAfrica.com: Congo-Kinshasa: Monthly Human Rights Assessment

Summary: Germain Katanga, warlord and leader of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI) militia was transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial; In Kisangani, Province Orientale, two military magistrates were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by FARDC soldiers acting on the orders of the Commander of the 9th Military Region; The UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the DRC addressed the UN General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian and Cultural (third) Committee.1

In Katanga Province, an attempted prison break in Buluwo resulted in five deaths; The "Gédéon" trial continued before the Kipushi Military Tribunal, Katanga Province; MONUC and Congolese military justice officials conducted a second investigative mission into allegations of mass rape perpetrated in Lieke Lesole, Opala territory, Orientale Province; FARDC and PNC elements were responsible for a huge number of violations of the rights to life and physical integrity, including rape.

Main developments

1. On 30 September 2007, two military magistrates attached to the Office of the Military Prosecutor in Kisangani, Orientale Province, were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by FARDC elements acting on the orders of the Commander of the 9th Military Region. The men were arrested at their residence located in the Makiso commune at around 5:00 p.m. by General Kifwa himself, accompanied by twenty members of his security detail.

They were undressed, severely beaten in the presence of members of their respective families and subsequently taken to the Katele military camp, almost naked and with their hands tied behind their backs where they were again subjected to severe beatings. On the morning of 1st October, they were further humiliated by being exposed during the weekly military parade presided over by General Kifwa. The victims were admitted to a local clinic in a serious condition.

2. In reaction to the above incident, all civilian and military magistrates operating in the city of Kisangani went on strike and subsequently, on 2 October 2007, addressed a memorandum to the President of the Republic in which they condemned the recurrent intrusion and interference in the independence of the judiciary by senior military commanders, in violation of the Congolese Constitution and international norms and standards as well as the use of torture, cruel , inhumane or degrading treatment by the Commander of the 9th Military Region.

The signatories to the memorandum also recommended that the perpetrator should be suspended, replaced and brought to justice, sine qua non condition for the end of the strike; the clarification of the type of relationship that should exist between the military leadership and the judiciary and an end to interference of high-ranking officers in the administration of justice. MONUC condemned the illegal arrest and mistreatment of the magistrates in a press release issued on 4 October 2007. MONUC also supported the demands expressed in the memorandum signed on 2 October by Magistrates of Kisangani; recommended that the Commander of the 9th Military Region and his subordinates should be immediately suspended and brought to justice; and urged the relevant authorities to take all necessary measures to guarantee the independence of the judiciary in the DRC.

3. Germain Katanga, leader of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI) militia in Ituri, was transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the night of 16-17 October 2007 with the assistance of Congolese authorities. He is accused of having committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ituri in 2002 and 2003. Germain Katanga was allegedly involved in many serious massacres committed in Ituri, including in Nyakunde in September 2002 where at least 1200 civilians were massacred by FRPI militiamen under his command.

Germain Katanga also allegedly directed many other massacres including those of Bunia, Komanda and Bogoro where hundreds of civilians were tortured, enslaved and killed. Germain Katanga was promoted to the rank of General in the FARDC on 10 January 2005, together with five other former warlords of Ituri, all accused of similar crimes. He was arrested on 11 March 2005 together with Thomas Lubanga and with three other leaders of the Lendu/Ngiti militias (Floribert Ndjabu, Goda Sukpa, Pitshou Iribi).

4. On 26 October 2007, the Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the DRC, Mr. Titinga Pacere, addressed the UN General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian and Cultural (third) Committee. He stated that the human rights situation in the DRC remained a matter of grave concern, characterized by arbitrary executions, rape, torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment perpetrated by the FARDC and the PNC as well as armed groups, in a climate of total impunity.

He deplored the fact that in North-Kivu, the ongoing clashes involving pro-Nkunda soldiers have been accompanied by serious human rights violations. He denounced the widespread problem of sexual violence, most specifically in North-Kivu, South-Kivu and Equateur Provinces. He called upon the authorities to give special priority to preventing and combating the prevailing climate of impunity. To this end, he called for the creation of an International Criminal Court or mixed Chambers specifically to deal with crimes in the DRC, and urged the government to adopt a "zero-tolerance" policy for perpetrators of serious human rights violations.

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