RES/36/30 Technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

GE.17-17395(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-sixth session

11–29 September 2017

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 29 September 2017

36/30. Technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of

human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Human Rights Council,

Reaffirming that all States have an obligation to promote and protect the human

rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to discharge their obligations under the

International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant instruments to which they are

parties, and to fulfil their obligations under those treaties and agreements,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,

Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 of 18 June 2007, 7/20 of 27

March 2008 and S-8/1 of 1 December 2008,

Recalling further its resolutions 10/33 of 27 March 2009, 13/22 of 26 March 2010,

16/35 of 25 March 2011, 19/27 of 23 March 2012, 24/27 of 27 September 2013, 27/27 of

26 September 2014 and 30/26 of 2 October 2015, 33/29 of 30 September 2016 and 35/33 of

23 June 2017, in which the Human Rights Council called upon the international community

to support the national efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its institutions

with a view to improving the situation of human rights and to respond to its requests for

technical assistance,

Taking note of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights, submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with its resolution 33/29, on

the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the activities of

the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,1

Welcoming the progress made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in

particular at the institutional and legislative levels, with the adoption by the Senate of an act

relating to the protection and responsibility of human rights defenders and the creation of

1 A/HRC/36/34.

an interministerial committee responsible for monitoring the implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

Deeply concerned about the continued violations of civil and political rights,

particularly the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, committed by State actors

in the context of important electoral events,

Deeply concerned also about the humanitarian consequences of the violence

affecting civilian populations, particularly children and women, which have led to the

internal displacement of more than 3.8 million people inside the country and 7.3 million

people in need of humanitarian assistance,

Recognizing the important role of the United Nations Organization Stabilization

Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Joint Human

Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in documenting human rights

violations and in improving the situation of human rights in the country,

Noting the efforts made in the region, in particular by the Southern African

Development Community, the African Union, the International Conference on the Great

Lakes Region and the Economic Community of Central African States aimed at

contributing to peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Noting the progress made in the fight against impunity for sexual violence and for

access to justice for victims, including through the establishment by the Office of the

Personal Representative of the Head of State tasked with fighting sexual violence and the

recruitment of children, a helpline for victims of sexual violence that contributes to the fight

against impunity, and the adoption by the Government of an plan of action for the national

police to fight against sexual violence and to ensure the protection of children,

Noting also the efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to implement its

commitments under the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and the Region, signed in Addis Ababa on 24 February 2013,

1. Condemns unequivocally the acts of violence committed in some areas of the

country, and all those perpetrating them;

2. Notes the efforts made by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo to bring perpetrators to justice, and welcomes the convictions already pronounced;

3. Emphasizes the individual responsibility of all stakeholders to act in strict

compliance with the rule of law and human rights, and urges all stakeholders to reject all

violence;

4. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

respect, protect and guarantee all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, in

accordance with the State’s international obligations, and to respect the rule of law;

5. Recalls that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bears

the primary responsibility to protect all civilians within its territory, and urges it to exercise

maximum restraint and proportionate lawful use of force in its efforts to restore order, in

accordance with international law;

6. Reaffirms its strong commitment to respect fully the principles of non-

interference in the internal affairs of States and to the full respect for the sovereignty,

independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

7. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

intensify its efforts to put an end to violence on its territory, with the support of the United

Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

within its mandate;

8. Also encourages the Government to continue actively its efforts, with the

support of the international community, to end impunity for the perpetrators of these grave

violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and to ensure that victims of

such crimes receive adequate reparations;

9. Welcomes the efforts made by regional organizations, including the African

Union and the Southern African Development Community, to defuse tension in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and to promote inclusive dialogue in the

implementation of the political agreement of 31 December 2016;

10. Underlines the centrality of the agreement of 31 December 2016 and the

necessity of its full implementation, to pave the way for the timely holding of free, fair,

peaceful and credible elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and urges

Congolese stakeholders to redouble their efforts to prepare for the timely holding of free,

fair, peaceful and credible presidential and legislative elections, in accordance with the

provisions of the agreement of 31 December 2016, and in parallel to take additional

confidence-building measures, in accordance with the agreement, in order to create an

environment conducive to the successful conclusion of the electoral process;

11. Welcomes the progress made by the Independent National Electoral

Commission in the registration of almost 98 per cent of estimated eligible voters, the

logistical support afforded by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo in carrying out this exercise, and the initiation of the

registration process of voters in the province of Central Kasai, which commenced on 4

September 2017;

12. Urges the Independent National Electoral Commission, in consultation with

the National Council for Oversight of the Agreement and the Government of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, to assess objectively the entire election process in order

to make public, as soon as possible, a realistic electoral calendar, in accordance with the

agreement of 31 December 2016;

13. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

ensure that all citizens, regardless of their political affiliation, can participate freely in

public affairs and that they fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms, in

particular the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly;

14. Also encourages the Government to ensure equitable political participation

for all, and to create the conditions necessary for the holding of free, transparent, inclusive

and peaceful elections without further delay, in particular in view of the legislative and

presidential elections;

15. Welcomes the efforts made by the United Nations, the International

Organization of la Francophonie and the European Union to ensure the credibility and the

stabilization of the electoral roll;

16. Also welcomes the launch in Kananga on 19 September 2017 by President

Joseph Kabila Kabange of a forum on peace, reconciliation and development in the Grand

Kasai;

17. Invites the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to improve

and increase the participation of women in the political and administrative domains, and

notes with appreciation the legislative measures already taken in the framework of the

amendments to the Family Code and of the law on the parity of men and women;

18. Welcomes the establishment by the Government of the Democratic Republic

of the Congo of an interministerial commission to monitor the implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the context of the implementation

of its five-year (2016-2021) plan for the promotion and protection of the rights of disabled

persons, adopted on 20 and 21 May 2016;

19. Also welcomes the enactment of a law, on 10 March 2017, amending the

Code of Military Justice for the implementation of the Rome Statute, and notes the

validation, in May 2017, of the plan of justice reform, prepared in accordance with the

recommendations made at the conference convened in 2015 on the evaluation of justice

sector reform;

20. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

provide greater protection for all political actors, members of civil society, journalists and

human rights defenders during elections, and to ensure respect for all human rights;

21. Stresses the importance of releasing all persons detained arbitrarily, including

human rights defenders and persons of different political affiliations, of transferring

detainees from the National Intelligence Agency to regular detention centres, and of

granting unlimited access by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office to centres

under the responsibility of the Agency, and in this respect calls upon the Government of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo to fulfil promptly its commitment to eliminate Agency

detention facilities;

22. Requests all stakeholders in the electoral process to reject all forms of

violence and to abstain from any discourse inciting racial, tribal or ethnic hatred;

23. Calls upon the Government and all relevant institutions of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo to take all additional measures necessary to prevent all violations of

international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, and to conduct thorough investigations into all acts of violence and violations of

international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights so that all perpetrators, whatever

their affiliation, are brought to justice;

24. Emphasizes the individual responsibility of all stakeholders, including State

officials, and leaders of the political parties of the government majority and the opposition,

to act in strict compliance with the rule of law and human rights;

25. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

continue in its commitment to its cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, and the

Human Rights Council and its special procedures;

26. Commends the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the establishment and

operationalization of the National Human Rights Commission, in accordance with the

principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of

human rights (the Paris Principles);

27. Notes with appreciation the progressive operationalization of the National

Human Rights Commission, welcomes the adoption of its five-year strategic plan and the

release of its first annual report, and calls upon the Government to ensure that the

Commission is independent, including with regard to its funding, so as to ensure full

compliance with the Paris Principles;

28. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

maintain and strengthen the momentum of the efforts made to reform the army, the police

and the security services;

29. Also encourages the Government to maintain and strengthen its efforts to

pursue the reform of the security sector and of the judicial system, including by establishing

the remaining superior courts of appeal, and to reform and strengthen its penitentiary

system;

30. Further encourages the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure

the smooth functioning of all implementing agencies of human rights, including the human

rights liaison unit, the National Human Rights Commission, the interministerial committee

on human rights, the national commission for the universal periodic review and the unit for

the protection of human rights defenders;

31. Welcomes the appointment by the High Commissioner of Bacre Ndiaye, Luc

Côté and Fatimata M’Baye as members of the team of international experts on the situation

in the Kasai regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as mandated by the Human

Rights Council in its resolution 35/33;

32. Encourages the Government to organize a forum on human rights, in

particular on the impact of technical assistance by the international community to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo;

33. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to give an oral update on the

situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Human Rights

Council at its thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth sessions, in an enhanced interactive dialogue;

34. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a

comprehensive report on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, including in the context of the electoral process, and to present it to the Human

Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session in an enhanced interactive dialogue;

35. Decides to remain seized of the situation until its thirty-ninth session.

42nd meeting

29 September 2017

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 45 to 1, with 1 abstention. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Albania, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana,

Brazil, Burundi, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt,

El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia,

Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nigeria,

Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia,

Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates,

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Venezuela

(Bolivarian Republic of)

Against:

United States of America

Abstaining:

Republic of Korea]