Accountability for killings of protesters vital, Zeid says, as DRC crisis continues (23.12.2016)

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GENEVA (23 December 2016) – Reports that dozens of people have been killed by police and soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the past few days are deeply troubling and point to growing instability in the country, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Friday.

Over the past week, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO) has documented at least 40 killings of civilians in Kinshasa, Lumbumbashi, Boma and Matadi, mainly of people protesting against President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down at the official end of his mandate on 19 December. Some 107 people have been injured or ill-treated and there have been at least 460 arrests.

“Such high casualty figures suggest a serious disregard by the various police, defence and security forces of the need to exercise restraint in policing demonstrations. Not only are soldiers participating in law enforcement operations, but all the forces involved are heavily armed and using live ammunition,” Zeid said.

The High Commissioner recalled that law enforcement officials, including the military acting in that capacity, must never use firearms except against someone representing an imminent threat to life or of serious injury and only when less extreme means are insufficient.

“The failure by the DRC authorities and the security forces, to abide by their international obligations to guarantee people’s right to freedoms of expression and of association and assembly is to be deplored,” he stressed.

The violence of the past few days has not been limited to Kinshasa, Lumbumbashi and the east but has also been reported in several regions, which indicates that the political crisis is leading to wider destabilisation, Zeid noted.

“Violent repression of dissenting voices and a heavy-handed and irresponsible response to demonstrations risk provoking violence in return by demonstrators and possibly even tipping the constitutional crisis over the president’s future into further conflict across the country,” the High Commissioner warned.

The High Commissioner noted that to date no one has been held accountable for the deaths of 54 people in Kinshasa in September when the defence and security forces used excessive force against demonstrators calling for constitutional deadlines to be respected and for President Kabila to step down at the end of his second and final mandate.

“Such impunity for past violence appears to have fostered a belief among security personnel that they can open fire against demonstrators without being held accountable for their actions,” Zeid said.

The High Commissioner reiterated calls by, among others, the National Episcopal Conference (CENCO) which has been trying to mediate an accord between the opposition and the ruling party, for an independent and transparent inquiry into the recent violence.

“It is essential that all those, at whatever level, who are responsible for human rights violations are held accountable. Without such a credible response from the government, the risk is that violent situations or ongoing conflict, including between communities over resources, could degenerate further,” Zeid said.

Among the violations documented by UNJHRO:

  • On 20 December, 13 civilians were killed in Kinshasa by defence and security forces and another two people were killed on 22 December. Eleven of these killings are attributable to the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC, including six by the Military Police (MP) and one by the Republican Guard (RG). Two policemen were killed by protesters. In addition, at least 12 people were injured by defence and security forces, and at least 150 people were arrested.
  • On 20 December in Lubumbashi, at least eight men and two children were killed and at least 60 civilians were injured by the security forces. During demonstrations in Lumbumbashi on 20 December, at least 130 people were arrested. A further 145 people, including 23 minors, were arrested in their houses during search operations on 21 and 22 December
  • In Matadi, on 20 December, at least three men were killed by officers from the National Police (PNC). Five people were injured by PNC officers and FARDC soldiers, and the police arrested at least 26 people.
  • On 20 December, in Boma, 12 civilians, including three women, were killed and 12 others were wounded by PNC officers and FARDC soldiers.
  • Between 17 and 22 December, at least 102 people were arbitrarily arrested in Goma, including 24 activists from the Lucha youth movement, a journalist and 10 members of opposition political parties.
  • Eight Lucha activists were also arrested in Mbuji-Mayi by agents from the National Information Agency (ANR) on 21 December.
  • In Oicha, at least 30 people, including 16 women, were arrested by PNC officers on 19 December.

ENDS

DRC: OHCHR press briefing notes (23.12.2016)

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Over the past week, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO) has documented at least 40 killings of civilians in Kinshasa, Lumbumbashi, Boma and Matadi. 

GENEVA, Switzerland, December 23, 2016 –

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Liz Throssell

Location:      Geneva

Subject:        DRC

Reports that dozens of people have been killed by police and soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the past few days are deeply troubling and point to growing instability in the country, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Friday.

Over the past week, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC (UNJHRO) has documented at least 40 killings of civilians in Kinshasa, Lumbumbashi, Boma and Matadi, mainly of people protesting against President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down at the official end of his mandate on 19 December. Some 107 people have been injured or ill-treated and there have been at least 460 arrests.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (22.12.2016)

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The Secretary-General deplores the reported loss of life in confrontations between the security forces and protesters, including in Kinshasa.

NEW YORK, United States of America, December 22, 2016 – The Secretary-General is closely monitoring developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as the mediation led by the Conférence épiscopale nationale des églises du Congo (CENCO) resumed today.

He urges all parties involved in the CENCO-led mediation to work constructively and in good faith the outstanding issues related to transitional arrangements leading to the elections, in keeping with the Congolese Constitution. He calls on Congolese political leaders to place the interests of the country and the people above partisan and personal considerations. He urges them to de-escalate tensions and create an environment conducive to the successful completion of the CENCO-facilitated dialogue and the holding of timely, credible and transparent elections. The Secretary-General encourages the new government led by Prime Minister Samy Badibanga to take concrete steps, in line with the 18 October political agreement.

The Secretary-General deplores the reported loss of life in confrontations between the security forces and protesters, including in Kinshasa. He stresses the need for the national security forces to exercise the utmost restraint in the maintenance of public order.  He calls on the DRC authorities to investigate any acts of violence and ensure the perpetrators are held accountable.

The Secretary-General calls on all political actors, including the opposition, to exercise maximum restraint in their actions and statements and urge their supporters to refrain from violence. He urges the authorities, once again, to promote and protect human rights and to uphold the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

RDC: Communication du Gouvernement (20.12.2016)

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RDC: Communiqué de presse de ALTERNANCE POUR LA RÉPUBLIQUE de Sesanga (20.12.2016)

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With continued drought, Horn of Africa braces for another hunger season (20.12.2016)

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Agricultural support critical now to protect livestock, equip families to plant in rainy season.

ROME, Italy, December 20, 2016 – Countries in the Horn of Africa are likely to see a rise in hunger and further decline of local livelihoods in the coming months, as farming families struggle with the knock-on effects of multiple droughts that hit the region this year, FAO warned today. Growing numbers of refugees in East Africa, meanwhile, are expected to place even more burden on already strained food and nutrition security.

Currently, close to 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance, as families in the region face limited access to food and income, together with rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production. Terms of trade are particularly bad for livestock farmers, as food prices are increasing at the same time that market prices for livestock are low.

Farmers in the region need urgent support to recover from consecutive lost harvests and to keep their breeding livestock healthy and productive at a time that pastures are the driest in years. Production outputs in the three countries are grim.

Rapid intervention

“We’re dealing with a cyclical phenomenon in the Horn of Africa,” said Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Division. “But we also know from experience that timely support to farming families can significantly boost their ability to withstand the impacts of these droughts and soften the blow to their livelihoods,” he stressed.

For this reason, FAO has already begun disbursing emergency funds for rapid interventions in Kenya and Somalia.

The funds will support emergency feed and vaccinations for breeding and weak animals, repairs of water points, and seeds and tools to plant in the spring season. FAO is also working with local officials to bolster countries’ emergency preparedness across the region.

“Especially in those areas where we know natural hazards are recurring, working with the Government to further build-up their ability to mitigate future shocks is a smart intervention that can significantly reduce the need for humanitarian and food aid further down the line,” Burgeon said.

Kenya is highly likely to see another drought in early 2017, and with it a rise in food insecurity. Current estimates show some 1.3 million people are food insecure.

Based on the latest predictions, the impacts of the current drought in the southern part of the country will lessen by mid-2017, but counties in the North – in particular Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera – will steadily get worse.

Families in these areas are heavily dependent on livestock. Now, with their livelihoods already stressed – the last reliable rain they received was in December 2015- they will get little relief from the October-December short rains, which typically mark a recovery period but once again fell short this season.

In the affected counties, the terms of trade have become increasingly unfavourable for livestock keepers, as prices of staple foods are rising, while a flood of weakened sheep, goats and cows onto local markets has brought down livestock prices.

To ensure livestock markets remain functional throughout the dry season in 2017, FAO, is training local officials in better managing livestock markets — in addition to providing feed, water and veterinary support.

After two poor rainy seasons this year, Somalia is in a countrywide state of drought emergency, ranging from moderate to extreme. As a result, the Gu cereal harvest – from April to June – was 50 percent below average, and prospects for the October-December Deyr season are very grim.

To make matters worse, the country’s driest season – the Jilaal that begins in January- is expected to be even harsher than usual, which means Somali famers are unlikely to get a break anytime soon.

All indications are that crop farmers are already facing a second consecutive season with poor harvest. Pastoralists, meanwhile, are struggling to provide food for both their families and livestock, as pasture and water for grazing their animals are becoming poorer and scarcer by the day – in the south, pasture availability is the lowest it has been in the past five years.

Some five million Somalis are food insecure through December 2016. This includes 1.1 million people in Crisis and Emergency conditions of food insecurity (Phases 3 and 4 on the five-tier IPC scale used by humanitarian agencies). This is a 20 percent increase in just six months.

The latest analysis forecasts that the number of people in Crisis and Emergency conditions of food insecurity may further rise by more than a quarter of a million people between February and May 2017. Similar conditions in 2011 have resulted in famine and loss of lives, and therefore early action is urgently needed to avoid a repeat.

FAO calls on resource partners to urgently scale up assistance in rural areas, in the form of cash relief, emergency livestock support and agricultural inputs to plant in the April Gu season.

If farmers cannot plant during Gu – which traditionally produces 60 percent of the country’s annual cereal output — they will be left without another major harvest until 2018.

Farming families in Ethiopia, meanwhile, are extremely vulnerable as they have not been able to recover from the 2015 El Nino-induced drought. Some 5.6 million people remain food insecure, while millions more depend on livestock herds that need to be protected and treated to improve milk and meat production. Here, too, better access to feed and water is critical.

The crop situation is relatively stable after the country completed the most widespread emergency seed distribution in Ethiopia’s history. FAO and more than 25 NGOs and agencies reached 1.5 million households with drought-resistant seeds.

As a result of enabling farming families to grow their own food, the government and humanitarian community saved close to $1 billion in emergency aid, underlining that investing in farmers is not only the right thing to do but also the most cost-efficient.

FAO’s Early Warning early action work

Somalia and Kenya are among the first countries benefiting from FAO’s new Early Warning Early Action Fund (EWEA). The fund ensures quick activation of emergency plans when there is a high likelihood of a disaster that would affect agriculture and people’s food and nutrition security.

The fund will be part of a larger Early Warning Early Action System that tracks climate data and earth imaging to determine what areas are at risk of an imminent shock and will benefit from early intervention.

Kabila’s silent coup is happening right now!

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RDC Kikaya said: “The only pressure to which Kabila can yield is that of the people, and today the people are not exerting pressure.”

With the soldiers in the streets of the major towns in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the police abducting and detaining civil activists of LUCHA and #Telema who are planning demonstrations against the regime in Beni, Goma, Bukavu, Kisangani, Lubumbashi and Kinshasa.

The sections of major towns we’re already filled with road-blocks and soldiers put in important roundabouts before the 19th December. Therefore the Police and Army we’re preparing for the worst and we’re ready to fire if needed be. They had the mambas; this was done with the jeeps and the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) that we’re stationed in significant areas.

Together with the social media shutdown where the citizens are supposed to use VPN instead of normal internet connections to get airtime as the central government has planned to silence WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter and so on. Because of this the M7 Media house has even decided to take vacation today until 5th January 2017. That because of the silencing of the media and even fear for the opposition would react to the overstaying of President Kabila.

Today alone 11 Rassemblement opposition figures we’re arrested in Goma. Total activists arrested in Goma during the day we’re 41!  In Kinshasa the UDPS party offices we’re besieged. The University of Kinshasa #UniKin has also been besieged as the students are silenced and stopped from demonstrating.

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Eastern city of Kalemie we’re a place we’re heavy deployment of security forces from the morning. In Butembo there we’re worse incidents we’re 15 MONUSCO soldier, 20 FARDC soldiers, 10 Police Officers and 4 civilians all lost their lives today.

Even Opposition leader Franck Diongo was also arrested today. Proves what the authorities are doing now.

The media blackout has become really sure, not only on the social media but the proof of this is with the M7 Media house, but there are report of total silence and fear from the government towards the ones reporting on the siege of the country.

With all of the security operatives and the security organization in the streets, collecting and arresting the opposition, seems like President Kabila is ready for another mandate and another term where the ones who is not part of his team and his elite will be behind bars. The arrest and the detained opposition proves that the coup d’état is on the way.

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The coup is in the details, where the Police and soldiers together with massive guns are putting people into submission, to put people into fear and silencing the ones who wants another leadership and another executive of the Republic. The Third Republic we’re built around transition and President Kabila, but not for him to rule for life, the peaceful transition is in danger now as the dialogue has been there to make opposition busy.

#Telema and the decision to wanting change in the Republic seems to get civil activist behind bars, as they civil disobedience and demonstrations are not allowed, the blockade and the clear indicated security operatives proves the proof of tensions that are created with extending this mandate.

President Kabila is trying a silent coup d’état in the Third Republic, the republic who came from two elected terms, after a questionable election in 2011, now in 2016 he is trying to skip an election and continue to be in power. This is just another way of transition as he went for a few years from 2001 to 2006 without any election and now he wants the same for himself.

5 years he could walk in power without anything other than kingmakers and foreign influencers who wanted a smooth process to secure the Kinshasa government and the exported resources. This has happen without question and rapidly by all means. So, some of the government who ushered him into power might still want him there, even as the United States and European Union is now condemning the authority of Kabila. Secondly the Rwandan and Ugandan counterparts are not saying anything on the matter; they are indifferent as long as the minerals are exported through the back-channels there. Zimbabwe’s government we’re also important in the decision of Third Republic President Kabila.

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We cannot see that President Kabila wants to stepdown as he orders the army and police offers to detain, arrest opposition and civilians. Filimbi, Rassemblement, LUCHA and other activists are taken into prison because they want their just change. Justice and rule of law is now not a priority for the republic. The one thing that matters is that Kabila is ruling the nation no matter what the cost.

The cost is freedom, liberty and a torn not worth piece of paper constitution as long as President Joseph Kabila continues to rule over his mandate. The decisions to use Security Organizations to silence his people are the proof of the coup from the Central Government.

Now we are here, the Kabila government will now coup d’état itself into power, with the cost of its own people, because of the lucrative agreements and businesses kept by the state and sanctioned by the state. Kabila has no plans to stepdown and let anybody else rule. Even if it would be his official third term, we all know it would be his fourth as the transitional period should count as one!

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The Kabila Government is now stealing the nation, thieving the republic and taking the citizens for granted. Certainly the Republic and citizens deserves better, but a coup happens because somebody wants to take power, not get or give power. The power is now in hands of people, but the army and police can only be designated for a while, not for too long because that will create fatigue. The initial outcome is that the citizens become prisoners.

With the soldiers and police in the streets are part of the coup, they are keeping the citizens as prisoners in their homes and in the valleys, the streets are not safe because if you demonstrate then you could get hurt or in prison. The Kabila government makes all citizens criminals, because one man to stay in power. That is not healthy, that is not right and the people should react. The world shouldn’t only sanction the men with frozen bank accounts and not allowed to travel to the U.S. and the European Union countries.

The republic should have arms embargo and should lose donor aid, Kabila should feel the pinch of international community, his closest businessmen and the ones in his elite be hurt by the multi-national organizations and bilateral agreements that the republic has. Republic of Congo is not owned by Kabila, still he acts they deserve him on the throne.

Kabila is staring his coup d’état with the Police and Army, the world should care because right now President Kabila is on the way on the world’s biggest heist. The heist is stealing the Congolese government and all the possibilities that come with it. Peace.

RDC: Monusco strongly condemns the Mayi Mayi milita attack in Butembo (19.12.2016)

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RDC: M7 Media – “Du Lundi 19 Desembre 2016 au jeudi 5 Janvier 2017” (16.12.2016)

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Democratic Republic of the Congo: Zeid calls for rights to be upheld as president’s mandate nears end (19.12.2016)

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A planned shutdown of social media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Sunday evening ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila’s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition, is deeply alarming.

GENEVA, Switzerland, December 19, 2016 – A planned shutdown of social media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Sunday evening ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila’s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition, is deeply alarming, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Saturday.

“We are especially concerned as Monday also marks three months since 54 people died in Kinshasa, when defence and security forces used excessive force against people calling for constitutional deadlines to be respected and for President Kabila to step down at the end of his second and final mandate. No one has to date been held accountable for this violent repression of demonstrations,” Zeid said.

Since the beginning of December, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC has documented at least 45 arrests of people trying to exercise their right to peaceful assembly. Of these, at least 16 people were detained in Bunia, Kinshasa and Goma in the context of the “Bye Bye Kabila” campaign organized by the Filimbi and Lucha  youth movements.  A further 26 people were reportedly arrested for their political links or because they belong to citizen movements.

“Intimidating and targeting opponents and civil society is not the answer. Silencing their views and stopping them from protesting is not the solution, and in fact is more likely to push them to resort to violence,” said Zeid.

“We call on the Government, and especially its security forces, to take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly.  We call on them to exercise restraint in line with their obligations under international human rights law related to the use of force during demonstrations. All responsible, at any level, for human rights violations must also be held accountable,” Zeid stressed.

“I am also concerned that DRC Government has asked internet providers and phone operators to block social media networks from Sunday evening. Such disruption is generally disproportionate and risks heightening tensions and fears, as it follows recent increased restrictions on independent media and on political debate,” he added. “I urge the authorities to reverse this order and to guarantee the right to freedom of expression and to access information, in line with the Congolese constitution.”

Under an agreement reached with some members of the opposition, elections are not expected before April 2018, with Mr. Kabila planning to stay on in office beyond 19 December.

Talks mediated by the Catholic Church have been taking place in Kinshasa to try to find a negotiated way forward beyond this date and to avoid violence. Respect for the Constitution and human rights principles and standards must be a cornerstone of any agreement achieved at these talks, the High Commissioner said.

“Let me stress how important the implementation of confidence-building measures is to reassure the Congolese population. I call on the Government to release all political prisoners, guarantee the independence of state institutions, including the judiciary, and open up the political space. At the same time, the opposition and civil society must strictly adhere to the peaceful exercise of their rights and freedoms,” the High Commissioner said.

“I urge all the Congolese to continue their efforts to achieve an agreement on the upcoming transitional period that respects the constitution and the human rights of all,” Zeid added.