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International Attention to the Elections

The United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, as well as various donor nations have invested great efforts and important financial resources in trying to ensure that elections take place in the DRC within a reasonable time and under conditions that allow voters a free choice.  Such efforts will be undermined if freedoms of speech and association are limited in the period before polling day. The international community must use all its influence to ensure that Congolese authorities cease intimidation of journalists, human rights activists and others who speak out.

As of this writing, plans call for only about 200 international election monitors at the elections. Human Rights Watch believes that this number is insufficient to cover a country the size of Congo, particularly given the difficulties of transportation and communication resulting from its decayed infrastructure. It will also be important that monitors be specifically tasked with following issues related to free speech and the media.