The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council is due to discuss the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo on March 6. Given the continuing political repression, lack of accountability for past abuses, and large-scale violence that has broken out in many parts of the country, the EU should use this meeting to impose additional targeted sanctions – including travel bans and asset freezes – against those found to be most responsible for serious human rights violations.

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 28, 2015. © 2015 Reuters

On December 12, EU foreign ministers announced targeted sanctions against seven senior security officials who played a key role in the repression over the past two years. The EU said then that “additional restrictive measures may be considered in the event of further violence or the political process being impeded” in the country.

These measures – announced the same day as the United States imposed targeted sanctions against senior Congolese officials – seem to have made a real impact, rattling the country’s political and security elite and pressing President Joseph Kabila’s ruling coalition to make real concessions and endorse a Catholic Church-mediated deal on New Year’s Eve. The agreement calls for presidential elections to be held by the end of 2017 and says there will be no referendum nor changes to the constitution to allow Kabila to run for a third term.

Yet more than two months later, progress on implementing the deal has been at a near standstill – the so-called “arrangements particuliers” setting out how the deal will be implemented have yet to be agreed upon, the new government has yet to be appointed, and there is still no electoral calendar. Commitments made in the deal on releasing political prisoners and opening arbitrarily closed media outlets have not been implemented.

Since the last round of EU sanctions, security forces killed more than 50 people during protests across the country on and around December 19, the last day of Kabila’s constitutionally mandated, two-term limit. Scores of opposition leaders and supporters, pro-democracy youth activists, and peaceful protesters were jailed.

Violence has intensified across the country in recent months, leaving several hundred dead, including in Tanganyika, North-Kivu, and the Kasai provinces, as well as in the capital, Kinshasa. Some of these situations are linked to the broader political crisis and Kabila’s attempts to remain in power.

The EU played an important role in increasing the pressure on Kabila in late 2016 and in working to curb political repression and seeking to hold those responsible for serious abuses to account.

Announcing a new round of targeted sanctions now – and going further up the chain of command – would send a strong message that the EU is still committed to protecting human rights; ensuring the organization of credible, timely elections; and working to prevent a further deterioration of an already explosive situation in Congo.