Human Rights Watch slams DRC's rights record

05 Août 2020

Kinshasa, DRC, August 5 (Infosplusgabon) – Human Rights Watch has given a thumbs down to the human rights record of the administration of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) saying it has taken "a serious downturn" in 2020.

The DRC authorities, the human rights watchdog said on its website on Wednesday, have cracked down on peaceful critics, journalists, and political party members, while using state of emergency measures imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to curb political protests.

Dozens of people who have criticised government policies, including on social media, have faced intimidation and threats, beatings, arrests, and, in some cases, prosecution, it said.

“The human rights gains of President Tshisekedi’s first year in office seem to be rapidly dissipating,” said Thomas Fessy, senior DRC researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Tshisekedi should reverse course and stop this mounting repression of peaceful speech and assembly.”

Human Rights Watch said it interviewed 36 people in Congo, including victims of abuse, lawyers, human rights and pro-democracy activists, and journalists.

It said since January, it has documented at least 39 cases of threats and harassment related to free speech and media freedom across half of the country’s 26 provinces.

In 17 of the cases, people were arrested, including two who remain behind bars. At least 11 people were arrested on charge of “contempt toward officials”, including provincial governors, parliament members, and, in one case, the president. Of the 19 journalists facing harassment, eight were arrested

Heri Kalemaza, a 33-year-old lawyer and spokesperson for the Congolese Party for Progress (PCP) in South Kivu province, has been detained since 4 March on charge of contempt toward the provincial governor, Human Rights Watch said.

It also noted that in Mongala province since May, the authorities have ordered the temporary closure of at least four radio stations, revoked the credentials of six journalists, and suspended several broadcast programs of a political nature.

Human Rights Watch said since March, when the government banned large public gatherings under the state of emergency to curb the spread of COVID-19, security forces have used excessive and lethal force to break up demonstrations and disperse crowds.

On 9 July, as mass protests took place in several cities against the appointment of a new president for the electoral commission, police killed at least one demonstrator in Kinshasa and two demonstrators in the southern city of Lubumbashi. Scores more were injured.

In Kinshasa, protesters beat and stoned a police officer to death while another officer was severely wounded. Groups of demonstrators also destroyed both public and private property. Protests in other cities were largely peaceful. The authorities should promptly investigate the use of lethal force in the Kinshasa and Lubumbashi protests, Human Rights Watch said.

Congo’s human rights minister, André Lite, told Human Rights Watch by phone in response to its findings that he “condemn[ed] these abuses”.

“As the president urged, courts and tribunals have to be uncompromising in the respect of fundamental rights,” he said.

With respect to courts convicting people for exercising their basic rights, Lite said: “We will put victims forward for presidential pardon to empty their criminal records and inform the Superior Council of Magistrates of these abuses to sanction magistrates where it is necessary.”

Human Rights Watch said the Congolese government needs to continue to respect the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

When serious violations occur, the government is obligated to promptly and impartially investigate and take appropriate disciplinary or legal action, regardless of the rank or position of those responsible, it added.

All baseless charges against journalists and peaceful critics should be dropped, Human Rights Watch said.

It also asked the government to take concrete measures, in line with regional and international human rights instruments, to protect journalists and make good on President Tshisekedi’s pledge to turn the media into “a real fourth estate”.

DRC ranks 150th in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, out of 180 countries, it noted, stressing that new legislation should repeal criminal defamation and ensure that factual accuracy and the public interest are defenses to defamation claims.

“President Tshisekedi should recognise that attacks on journalists and peaceful critics are an assault on democracy,” Fessy said. “Unless (President) Tshisekedi stops resorting to his predecessor’s tools of repression, his assurances of respect for human rights will be nothing but empty promises.”

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/PLM/GABON2020

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