Skip to main content

Letter to Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders

Assassination of Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi, Executive Secretary Héritiers de la Justice

As representatives of international human rights and development organizations, we write to ask you to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as soon as possible, with the aim of improving the protection and security of human rights defenders in the aftermath of the brutal assassination of Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi.

Dear Ms. Jilani:
As representatives of international human rights and development organizations, we write to ask you to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as soon as possible, with the aim of improving the protection and security of human rights defenders in the aftermath of the brutal assassination of Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi.

Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi, the Executive Secretary of Héritiers de la Justice, a Congolese human rights organization, was murdered by three armed men in the early hours of 31 July 2005 in his house in Bukavu, eastern DRC. He was widely known for his courageous defense of human rights and his death shocked the Congolese human rights community, civil society more broadly, and the civilian population in the Kivus.

We are concerned that Mr. Kabungulu’s assassination is indicative of a more general trend by government authorities, armed groups and members of former armed groups to target and intimidate civil society actors who speak out on human rights abuses in the DRC. We fear that in the run-up to next year’s elections, attacks on human rights defenders might intensify.

We are aware that the Congolese judicial authorities have started a criminal investigation into the case, and that the provincial authorities of South Kivu have established a Commission of Enquiry, chaired by the military prosecutor of South Kivu. There have been reports that the Commission’s investigations were obstructed by Congolese army soldiers. On 4 August 2005, three senior army commanders – led by former Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) commander Thierry Ilunga – forced the director of Bukavu Central Prison to release to them two suspects then detained in the prison. Between August 4 and 18th, the suspects were held at the army barracks of the 10th Military Region during daytime, and were allowed to return home at night. The suspects have now been returned to the Central Prison and are held there. In addition, several members of the Commission of Enquiry have received threats in different forms, which may be linked to their membership in the Commission. Our organizations believe that Commission’s investigations should be carried out by civilian authorities and not directed or interfered with by military personnel.

In light of these developments, we believe that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders has a vital role to play. We ask that your office request an invitation from the DRC government – or if possible to negotiate an extension of last year’s invitation to the country – to visit the DRC at the earliest moment possible. Such a visit would underline the importance given by the United Nations to assuring protection for human rights defenders.

We believe it is vital that you persuade the DRC government that a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into Pascal Kabungulu’s assassination must take place without delay. The government’s Commission of Enquiry should an independent, impartial body, with clear terms of reference and authority, and should have the authority to provide redress, including any compensation, as well as enforcement of the eventual decision and award. The government has a duty to ensure that judicial authorities and the Commission of Enquiry do their work properly and, to this end, must provide the Commission with all the necessary means to do its work.

A visit by you would offer an opportunity to meet with judicial authorities to assess the state of their investigation into the crime and to push them to investigate acts aimed at obstructing the investigation. We are also calling upon the DRC authorities to investigate other crimes committed against human rights defenders in 2004-2005, including:

• The attack by armed men on Golden Misabiko and Amigo Ngonde, leading members of Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l’Homme (ASADHO) on May 16, 2005, in Lubumbashi
• The arbitrary arrest of Golden Misabiko on June 2, 2005, in Lubumbashi, and seven other human rights defenders protesting his detention
• The attack by armed men on Dismas Kitenge, head of Groupe Lotus, during the night of June 2, 2005, in Kisangani
• Threats, including death threats, against Richard Bayunda Muhindo, Sheldon Hangi and Charles Mukandirwa, human rights defenders from Goma, during December 2004.

Many people in the DRC, including government officials and NGO activists, hope that the assassination of Pascal Kabungulu can galvanize different actors around the issue of protection of human rights defenders. Therefore, we believe that this is an appropriate time to develop an effective plan for action for the protection of human rights defenders in the DRC. We would welcome your contribution in this process. In particular, you could provide advice and technical support to the Congolese government in drafting an Action Plan for full implementation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. It would also be important that you give guidance to MONUC in its efforts to strengthen protections for human rights defenders, and that you make suggestions to European embassies on how best to implement the European Union Guidelines for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. In addition, you could request the European Union to monitor the investigation into Mr. Kabungulu’s assassination and ask it to attend and observe sessions of the Commission of Enquiry, as recommended in the Guidelines.

We would be pleased to discuss these matters further on the phone or in person and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Georgette Gagnon
Deputy Director, Africa Division
Human Rights Watch

Mary Lawlor
Director
Front Line

David Pain
Head of Africa Division
Christian Aid

Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.