The Congolese parliament established a commission of inquiry to investigate political repression, as urged by Human Rights Watch. The commission of inquiry expands the national public debates on the issue and begins a process of accountability for serious abuses. Human Rights Watch reported in depth on the Kabila government’s use of violence and intimidation to eliminate political opponents. Since the 2006 elections, Congolese state security forces have killed an estimated 500 people and detained about 1,000 more, many of whom have been tortured. Our findings were featured in dozens of international and national media outlets, and the report was widely distributed to the members of Congo’s Senate and National Assembly. Both bodies held debates on the repression we documented, and the National Assembly agreed by a vote of 380 to 4 to establish the commission of inquiry. Human Rights Watch has been invited to present its findings to the commission once it begins operations. Most recently, the Congolese Senate called in for questioning the minister of justice, the minister of the interior, and the minister for human rights to respond to the abuses we documented.
Read more: https://www.hrw.org/en/africa/democratic-republic-congo
