RDC: Communiqué officiel du Conseil, sur la situation de l’interruption du signal de Rfi… une large diffusion (08.11.2016)

rdc-08-11-2016

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (09.11.2016)

Monuc

An improvised explosive device explosion in Kyeshero, in Goma, North Kivu, resulted in the death of one Congolese girl and the injury of two Congolese civilians as well as 32 peacekeepers, including five who were seriously wounded.

NEW YORK, United States of America, November 9, 2016 – The Secretary-General condemns today’s attack against peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

An improvised explosive device explosion in Kyeshero, in Goma, North Kivu, resulted in the death of one Congolese girl and the injury of two Congolese civilians as well as 32 peacekeepers, including five who were seriously wounded.

The Secretary-General extends his sincere condolences to the family of the civilian killed and the Congolese people and wishes a speedy and full recovery to the injured peacekeepers and civilians. He calls for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice.

RDC: Communique du Rassemblement (05.11.2016)

rdc-rassamble-05-11-2016-p1rdc-rassamble-05-11-2016-p2

RDC: Communique du Rassemblement (04.11.2016)

rdc-rassamble-04-11-2016

RDC: Avis Favorable relatif a la demande d’agreement de la China Taithe Bank of Congo SA en qualite de banque operant en Republique Democratique Congo (01.10.2016)

rdc-china-bank-agreement-oct-2016-p1rdc-china-bank-agreement-oct-2016-p2

RDC: “Meeting du assemblement maintenu pour ce sam. 5 novembre à 11h place Triomphale de Kinshasa” (02.11.2016)

rdc-upds-2-11-2016-p1rdc-upds-2-11-2016-p2

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): UN rights experts urge end to ‘unjustified’ ban on protests (03.11.2016)

DRC Kinshasa 26.05.2016 Peaceful Protest P1

The ban was imposed in September after a series of large demonstrations that were brutally supressed by security forces, reportedly leaving dozens of people dead and injured.

GENEVA, Switzerland, November 3, 2016 – A group of United Nations human rights experts* has called on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to lift an “unjustified” ban on protests in the capital, Kinshasa, amid social discontent over delayed presidential elections.
The ban was imposed in September after a series of large demonstrations that were brutally supressed by security forces, reportedly leaving dozens of people dead and injured.

“The rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are fundamental rights guaranteed by international law. These rights can only be restricted in very specific and narrowly defined circumstances,” the experts said.

“It is clear that the current situation in the DRC does not justify a general ban on demonstrations in several cities,” they noted. “In fact, given that the country is in a hotly disputed election period, people should be given more space, not less, to express their democratic freedoms.”

Since the ban on protests in Kinshasa took effect on 22 September, at least four demonstrations have been cancelled.

The UN experts have also raised fears over the National Dialogue agreement which took effect in October, postponing presidential elections beyond the constitutional deadline.

The agreement could be used to justify new and unacceptable restrictions on the legitimate activities of civil society organizations, violating their right to freedom of association, the experts warned.

“The protest ban and the restrictive tone of the National Dialogue agreement are both disturbing signs that democratic space is rapidly dissipating in the DRC, with human rights organizations and opposition parties bearing the brunt of the repression,” the independent experts said.

“In view of forthcoming demonstrations, in particular those planned for 5 November, we urge the Congolese authorities to revoke its decision to ban demonstrations,” they stated.

“The DRC is obligated to facilitate assembly and association rights and to protect people who exercise these rights,” the experts noted. “It is of the utmost importance that the country allows the development of an inclusive and participatory civil society sector at this critical juncture in the development of its democracy.”

The ban is the fourth of its kind in the DRC since 2015. Two remain in force, affecting Kalemie in Tanganyika province and Lubumbashi in Haut Katang.

The crackdown on protests in Kinshasa in September prompted an earlier statement from the experts, who condemned the authorities’ repeated use of “excessive force”, which included firing tear gas and live ammunition into crowds of protesters (check the September 2016 statement: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20573&LangID=E).

(*) The experts: Mr Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Mr. Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

South Africa: Time to account for crippling the state (01.11.2016)

Mandela Quote

South African citizens across the land are speaking out and taking action to express their dissatisfaction. The Nelson Mandela Foundation supports the demand to hold to account those responsible for compromising our democratic state and looting its resources.

Twenty years since Nelson Mandela signed South Africa’s Constitution into law and as the third anniversary of his passing approaches, it is painful for us at the Nelson Mandela Foundation to bear witness to the wheels coming off the vehicle of our state.

We have seen a weakening of critical institutions such as the South African Revenue Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and law enforcement bodies due to political meddling for private interests.

We are reaping the results of a political trend of personalising matters of state around a single individual leader. This in a constitutional democracy is to be deplored.

The ability and commitment of the Head of State to be a ‘constitutional being’, is one of the wheels of our state. The unanimous judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Republic in the matter of President Zuma and the use of state resources on a private residence was one such test. It is increasingly a national consensus that he has failed the test.

As this particular wheel rolls away, other critical institutions of state break off to follow it. The legislative, business, and public service sectors of the country are severely affected, compromising the ability of the state to serve the people. A battle now rages to keep SARS attached to the vehicle of state. What public discourse has described as ‘state capture’ by private and political interests is, we believe, a real threat to the Republic.

Another wheel is an accessible and well-functioning education system. Arguably this wheel has never been fully attached, but the failures of the last two decades threaten that it rolls away. Schools, in our view, particularly those in townships and rural areas, have largely been captured to political interests and have deteriorated to unimaginable levels. And now universities are being brought to their knees as they lurch from crisis to crisis while a semblance of normality is enforced under what are effectively states of emergency. This is not sustainable for any education system. The potential collapse of universities will damage our democracy to its core.

We call on the governing party to take the steps necessary to ensure that the vehicle of state be protected and placed in safe and capable hands. And we join the call for a national convention of stakeholders to begin to reimagine South Africa’s future beyond the unsustainable stresses of the moment.

Written Press Statement by the Nelson Mandela Foundation

RDC: Evariste Boshabe ne considère plus Charles Mwando Nsimba comme président de l’UNADEF (27.10.2016)

haut-katanga-27-10-2016

Communique de la Septieme Reunion de haut niveau du Mecanisme Regional de suivi de l’Accord-cadre pour la paix, la Securite et la Cooperation pour la Republique Democratique du Congo et la Region (26.10.2016)

rdc-26-10-2016-p1rdc-26-10-2016-p2rdc-26-10-2016-p3rdc-26-10-2016-p4rdc-26-10-2016-p5