RES/13/22 Situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services

GE.10-12993

Human Rights Council Thirteenth session Agenda item 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*

13/22 Situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,

Recalling also its resolutions 5/1 of 18 June 2007, 7/20 of 27 March 2008, S-8/1 of 1 December 2008 and 10/33 of 27 March 2009,

Recalling further its resolution 10/33 of 27 March 2009, in which it requested the international community to support the establishment of a local cooperation mechanism by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Section of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, referred to as the entité de liaison des droits de l’homme,

Expressing its appreciation for the role taken by the international community, in particular by the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of Central African States and the European Union, in enhancing the rule of law and improving the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Taking into consideration the fact that the presence of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that of the Human Rights Section of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been merged with a view to their achieving more efficiency in their work on the situation of human rights in the country,

* The resolutions and decisions of the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the

Council on its thirteenth session (A/HRC/13/56), chap. I.

Expressing concern over the current human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and calling upon the Government to respect human rights law and international humanitarian law,

Considering the existence of a national programme for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the willingness of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to implement it,

Reaffirming that States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, as reaffirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in accordance with the International Covenants on Human Rights and other applicable human rights instruments,

1. Takes note of the initiatives implemented by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the entité de liaison des droits de l’homme, the national agency to combat violence against women and girls, and the organization of the Second National Conference on Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and calls on the Government to accelerate the establishment of the independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles;

2. Calls upon the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights law and international humanitarian law, including by providing access to justice and remedy to the victims of the violations of the human rights;

3. Requests the Democratic Republic of the Congo to continue to ensure protection of journalists and human rights defenders in the discharge of their duties and in conformity with the relevant provisions of national law consistent with international law, and with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to fight against sexual violence and to prosecute the perpetrators of serious human rights violations, in the army and the national police force, within the framework of the policy of zero tolerance;

4. Welcomes, being appalled by the continuing incidence of sexual and gender- based violence, the announcement by the Government of Democratic Republic of the Congo of a zero tolerance policy and calls upon the Government to take concrete steps towards its full implementation;

5. Encourages the Democratic Republic of the Congo to pursue its reforms in the framework of consolidating peace and national reconciliation as well as the general reform of justice, the army, security and the national police force, and welcomes the determination of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with respect to continuing its cooperation with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council;

6. Welcomes the cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the thematic special procedures of the Council and its invitation to a number of them, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, to make recommendations, within their respective mandates, on how best to assist technically the Democratic Republic of the Congo in addressing the situation of human rights, with a view to obtaining tangible improvements on the ground, while also taking into account the needs articulated by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

7. Calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the support of the international community to inter alia, develop effective and credible monitoring and verification of the supply chain of minerals to put an end to the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the country so as to enable the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to freely dispose of its natural wealth in accordance with the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

8. Also calls on the international community to support the national efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its institutions with a view to improving the human rights situation in the country, as well as to encourage closer collaboration with relevant regional organizations;

9. Takes note of the second joint report (A/HRC/13/63) of the thematic special procedures on technical assistance to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the examination of the situation in the east of the country, and invites them to report to the Council during its sixteenth session on the developments in respect of that situation;

10. Requests the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the thematic special procedure, to develop a plan for prioritization and implementation of recommendations received to date, particularly in the areas of protection of women and children, combating impunity, rule of law, and the administration of justice; to set targets and benchmarks for technical assistance programmes, to develop a timeline for achieving these targets, and to identify the means to determine the amount of and locate the resources necessary to carry out the plan for implementation; and invites the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to inform and update the Council on these topics at the 16th session;

11. Takes note of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the activities carried out in the country by her Office (A/HRC/13/64) and invites the High Commissioner to report to the Council, during its sixteenth session on developments in respect of that situation and the activities of her Office;

12. Calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to increase and enhance, through her presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, her technical assistance programmes and activities, in consultation with the country’s authorities;

13. Decides to continue to follow the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during its sixteenth ordinary session.

44th meeting 26 March 2010

[Adopted without a vote]