Human Rights Watch/Africa, in a statement issued today, called on the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) to publicly proclaim its commitment to respect the binding standards of international human rights and humanitarian law upon the announcement of its interim government of what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ADFL is now in a position to end the abuses that occurred under President Mobutu Sese Seko and must be careful to avoid mirroring the government it deposed.
- establishing the army and the national gendarmerie as non-partisan and nationally-representative forces under civilian control;
- establishing basic political freedoms, including freedom of speech, particularly making public radio and television available to all points of view; and
- reforming the regional and local administrations into non-partisan and nationally-representative institutions.
Human Rights Watch/Africa also expressed its concern at reported statements by official spokesmen of the ADFL that seemed to indicate the Alliance's intention to ban political parties and to propagate its own brand of political and civic education including through mandatory attendance at ideological seminars for selective sectors of the population. If carried out, such measures would effectively deny the role of civil opposition in challenging the abusive rule of the Mobutu era and the significant contributions of the dynamic and vibrant civil society organizations in promoting democratic culture in the country.
Of further concern are reports of abduction of Rwandan soldiers from a hospital in Kinshasa where they were under treatment and of incidents of summary executions of soldiers of the deposed government who had surrendered to the ADFL. Human Rights Watch/Africa called on the ADFL to take immediate action to halt such practices, and to investigate and punish those responsible for these and similar incidents.
Human Rights Watch/Africa welcomes as long overdue calls by members of the international community for an inclusive and accountable government in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The international community should press for scrupulous investigations of allegations of civilian massacres in the context of the armed conflict and should make any commitment of aid to the new government dependent on concrete steps toward respecting human rights and creating conditions for free and fair elections.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
To the new Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:
The ADFL and other opposition forces should pledge that upon forming a government they will:
- respect and represent the interests of a pluralistic society, and allow its citizens to freely elect their representatives;
- abide by the international human rights instruments to which Zaire was party and ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions;
- support as an urgent priority the development of an independent judiciary; ensure that anyone detained is brought promptly before a judicial authority after arrest;
- ensure that no one will be detained without being charged with a recognizable criminal offence and without being brought promptly to trial before an independent court;
- implement programs to train law enforcement agents and the military about human rights standards and protection while instituting procedures through which violations of human rights are the subject of effective investigation and criminal prosecution;
- repudiate arbitrary measures to strip Kinyarwanda-speaking nationals the Banyarwanda or other minorities of their Zairian nationality. Citizenship must not be revoked on ethnic or other discriminatory grounds;
- investigate and facilitate independent investigations of violations of human rights or humanitarian law by forces of the deposed government as well as members of the ADFL forces with a view to public disclosure of the findings and accountability before the law of those responsible for gross abuses;
take immediate steps to create conditions conducive to free and fair elections, such as ensuring civilian control over the military and the national gendarmerie, rendering the regional and local administration non-partisan and nationally representative, and affirming the respect of basic political freedoms including freedom of expression, association and assembly; - encourage the independent work of local and national civic organizations, including nongovernmental organizations dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, and remove legal or administrative obstacles to this work;
- encourage the full exercise of internationally recognized standards of free expression by Zaire's print, broadcast and other media;
take all measures conducive to the widest participation by all Zairians in the political life of their country. - abide by the binding norms of international humanitarian law applicable to situations of armed conflict, and in particular:
- ensure humane treatment for all persons detained or otherwise hors de combat in connection with the conflict; torture and extrajudicial execution should never be tolerated;
- permit and facilitate access by relief assistance programs to war-affected populations and refugees so that they may receive food, medicine, and other relief. Relief assistance programs of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other agencies should be allowed to proceed in accordance with humanitarian need and their respective missions, without hindrance. Provide safe land, river and air access for the provision of humanitarian aid;
permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit persons detained in connection with the conflict; - prohibit the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to facilitate the demobilization, rehabilitation and return to society of such children;
- cooperate with measures undertaken by the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and international humanitarian and human rights organizations to monitor, investigate and provide remedies for human rights and humanitarian emergencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
To all Members of the International Community, including the United Nations, the European Union and its member states, the United States, and the Organization of African Unity:
- call upon the new government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to permit full, unhampered international investigations of the allegations of widespread civilian massacres during the armed conflict that led to its establishment;
- pressure the government to investigate reports of such attacks, to make the findings public, and to bring to justice those responsible;
- make any commitment of aid to the new government, including election assistance, dependent on concrete steps toward respecting human rights and creating the conditions for free and fair elections, including:
- reforming the army and the national gendarmerie as non-partisan and nationally-representative forces under civilian control;
- establishing basic political freedoms, including freedom of speech, particularly making public radio and television available to all points of view; and reforming the regional and local administrations into non-partisan and nationally-representative institutions.
- Monitor closely and make public reports regarding the actual progress toward implementation of programs to prepare for elections;
- Support programs by organizations of civil society in Zaire to promote respect for human rights, propagate a democratic culture, and train independent election monitors.
