According to the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), the Forces Armees de la Republique Democratique du Congo (FARDC) committed 149 violations of the right to life. The government maintained joint human rights committees with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and used available international resources, such as the UN's technical and logistical support program for prosecutors military, as well as mobile hearings supported by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). UNJHRO reported that during the first half of the year, there were 84 PNC officers, 196 FARDC soldiers and 122 members of armed groups.
In March, UNJHRO reported that FARDC soldiers from Battalion 21041 arbitrarily arrested one man and two women in Mulangabalu, Kasongo Territory. UNJHRO reported that of the 208 individuals abducted by armed groups in July, 45 were released, often through FARDC intervention, while 11 were killed.
Respect for Civil Liberties
The public prosecutor of the trial court in Gombe released the journalist after he paid the fine. On February 13, Radio Liberte journalist Lisala Erick Ngunde was arrested in the station's studio, allegedly on the orders of interim governor Mongala. The National Song and Entertainment Censorship Commission banned the song, citing MPR's failure to submit the song for review in advance.
It was also reported that the commission took longer to approve songs that were perceived to be critical of the government. One of the men allegedly threatened to kill the journalist's mother when she witnessed the attack. The constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, but government authorities have restricted this right and prevented government critics from exercising their right to peaceful assembly, particularly in the eastern provinces.
The law requires organizers of public events to notify local authorities in advance of the event. Travel has been severely restricted due to regulations designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Local authorities continued to collect illegal taxes and fees for boat travel on many parts of the Congo River.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that, including individuals displaced for more than 12 months, there were 5.5 million IDPs in the country, more than half of whom were children. Due to the remote location, weak civil authority and insecurity of the Kasai region, humanitarian access was difficult, and IDPs lived in poor conditions without adequate shelter or protection. Raids by South Sudanese forces in areas in the northern parts of the country continued during the year, with at least a dozen incidents since December.
Freedom to Participate in the Political Process
The law provides for the acquisition of citizenship through birth and residence in the country, marriage, adoption and naturalization. Administrative practices for obtaining citizenship through marriage, adoption, or naturalization became increasingly political and put more individuals at risk of becoming stateless. Most citizens did not have a passport, and only citizens 18 and older are eligible for a voter registration card.
Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress political party won 32 seats in the National Assembly, while the United Front for Congo coalition won 335 seats out of a total of 500 seats. Political parties and political participation: The law recognizes opposition parties and guarantees them "sacred" rights and obligations. State media, including television and radio stations, remained the largest source of information for the public and the government (see Chapter 2.a.).
There have been reports of government intimidation of political opponents, such as denying opposition groups the right to peaceful assembly (see section 2.b.) and exercising political influence over the distribution of media content. The national electoral law prohibits certain groups of citizens from voting in elections, particularly members of the armed forces and the national police. Unelected, they are selected based on local tribal customs (generally based on family inheritance) and if approved are paid by the government.
Participation of women and members of minority groups: No law restricts the participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate, although some ethnic groups in the East claimed.
Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government
RFI also noted that the director of the agency that oversees the salary process of teachers and the inspector general of the Ministry of Basic, Secondary and Vocational Education have been arrested following the publication of a report by the IGF. In March, Radio Okapi reported that the Kinshasa-Gombe Court of Appeal sentenced the Inspector General of Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Education, Michel Djamba, and the head of the Teachers' Salary and Control Service, Delphin Kampayi, to 20 years hard labor for misappropriation of government funds. In June, the independent journal Actualite.cd quoted a public finance expert as saying that more than 80 percent of the country's government expenditures were not properly accounted for, potentially fueling embezzlement.
A former economy minister told the local press that the country's fiscal accounting system was weakened by "numerous notable shortcomings". The head of the IGF, Jules Alingete, was quoted by independent radio station Top Congo FM as saying that at least 70 percent of government funds were routinely embezzled. Alingete added that only a third of the 146 billion Congolese francs ($73 million) invested in road construction work in Kinshasa was actually used to support the construction work. It illegally funded IAGs and individual branches of the SSF, sometimes generating revenue for traditional authorities and local and provincial governments.
Artisanal mining remained largely informal, illegal and strongly associated with both armed groups and certain elements of the FARDC. In conflict areas, both IAGs and elements of the SSF regularly set up roadblocks and carried out illegal tax schemes. As in previous years, a significant portion of the country's adopted budget included off-budget and special account allocations that were not fully published.
In 2019, the EITI Board noted that the country had made significant progress in implementing the 2016 standard, but also expressed concern over continued corruption and mismanagement of funds in the extractive sector.
Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of
Special accounts” are in theory subject to the same audit procedures and oversight as other expenses;. Under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard of 2016, the government is required to disclose the allocation of revenues and expenses of extractive companies. Government human rights bodies: During the year, the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) published reports and made public statements on prison conditions, the Universal Periodic Review, and human rights violations during the COVID-19 emergency.
It also held human rights training sessions for judges, visited detention centers, conducted professional development. Both the CNDH and the Ministry of Human Rights continued to lack sufficient funding for overhead costs and full-time representation in all 26 provinces. A CNDH spokesman reported that the organization had received less funding than in previous years, preventing the implementation of programs in the provinces.
Discrimination and Societal Abuses
The NGO Association of Women in the Media said it recorded 324 accusations of witchcraft from June to September. A lawyer quoted in the Guardian noted that a 2014 provincial law banning mob justice had not been enforced. Most women worked in the informal sector, and border and market closures limited business opportunities.
According to MONUSCO, hate speech was being spread on social media among local communities in the town of Uvira and surrounding areas. The journalist further wrote that the treatment of Congolese artisanal miners by their foreign bosses in the mining areas evoked that of the colonial period. Most indigenous people did not participate in the political process and many of them lived in remote areas.
The provisions in the law do not clarify who has the right to denounce forced marriage as a crime or whether a judge has the authority to do so. Displaced children: According to the 2007 Rapid Assessment, Analysis and Action Planning Report, the most recent data available, there were an estimated 8.2 million orphans, disabled and other vulnerable children in the country. In February, UNICEF reported that there were approximately three million displaced children in the country, mostly as a result of violence in the east of the country (see section 2.e.).
Often the police and other officials who played a role in the justice system asked victims for money before investigating. Lawyers in the eastern part of the country reported arbitrary detentions, acts of physical violence, including beatings, stripping, sexual abuse in public spaces and rape. Human rights activists claimed that some in the crowd were members of the Republican Guard.
Worker Rights
Prohibition of child labor and minimum age for employment The government prohibits all worst forms of child labour. The Department of Labor is responsible for investigating child labor abuses, but did not have a dedicated child labor inspectorate. Other government agencies responsible for combating child labor include the Ministry of Gender, Family and Children; Department of Justice;.
Ministry of Social Affairs; and National Committee to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Ministry of Mines employed mine inspectors who, among other things, supervise child labor on mine sites. Child labor was most prevalent in the informal sector, including artisanal mining and subsistence farming.
In 2016, the National Labor Committee adopted an action plan to fight the worst forms of child labour; however, as of September, it had not been implemented. The law prohibits violations of child labor laws in the mining sector and imposes fines in cases of violations. The Ministry of Mines prohibits artisanal mines with child labor to export minerals; however, the ministry had limited enforcement capacity.
In addition, the Ministry of Mining issued a decree in March on the establishment of an interdepartmental commission at the Ministry of Labor for the inspection of child labor in artisanal mines.
