RES/30/26 Technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

United Nations A/HRC/RES/30/26*

General Assembly

Distr.: General

9 October 2015

English

Original: French

GE.A/HRC/30/32. 5-17472(E)

*1517472*

Human Rights Council Thirtieth session

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 2 October 2015

30/26. Technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Human Rights Council,

Reaffirming that all States have an obligation to promote and protect the human rights

and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and to discharge their obligations under the international

covenants on human rights and other relevant instruments to which they are parties,

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 and S-8/1 of

1 December 2008,

Recalling further its resolutions 10/33 of 27 March 2009, 13/22 of 26 March 2010,

16/35 of 25 March 2011, 19/27 of 23 March 2012, 24/27 of 27 September 2013 and 27/27 of

26 September 2014, in which the Council called upon 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 and to respond to its requests for technical

assistance,

Taking note of the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

submitted in accordance with resolution 27/27 concerning, respectively, the human rights

situation and the activities of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo during the period from June 2014 to May 2015,1 and the

impact of technical assistance and capacity-building on the human rights situation in that

country during the period from 2008 to 2014,A/HRC/30/33.

Acknowledging the joint role played by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Human

Rights Office of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo in improving the human rights situation in the country,

__________________

* Reissued for technical reasons on 22 October 2015.

GE.15-17472 2/4

Taking note of the finding in the report of the High Commissioner that most technical

assistance interventions have concentrated on the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of

the Congo and have generally been short-term, which has not helped to produce sustainable

outcomes,2

Welcoming the significant progress made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo

with regard to institutional and legislative developments relating to human rights, including

the creation of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit, the appointment of the members

of the National Human Rights Commission and the adoption of the institutional act giving

courts of appeal jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity,

Encouraging the efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to combat impunity,

protect civilians and raise awareness among victims of sexual violence of their need for

justice and assistance, by, inter alia, the establishment by the office of the personal

representative of the Head of State tasked with combating sexual violence and the

recruitment of child soldiers of a helpline at the call centre for victims of sexual violence,

which has helped to combat impunity for crimes under international law and sexual and

gender-based violence,

Welcoming the inauguration on 30 March 2015 of the national commission tasked with

combating sexual violence within the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and the promulgation by the President of the Republic in August 2015 of the act on gender

equality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Expressing its deep concern at the scale of the violence and serious crimes that

continue to be committed against civilian populations by armed groups in the eastern part of

the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Taking note of the opening of the strategic dialogue between the Government of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Organization Stabilization

Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Welcoming the holding from 27 April to 2 May 2015 of the forum on justice and human

rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the implementation of the recommendations

of which is expected to improve the justice sector and the protection of human rights,

Welcoming also the efforts made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

implement its commitments under the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region, signed in Addis Ababa on 24 February

2013,

Considering the determination of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo to protect and promote human rights,

1. Welcomes the active participation of the Government of the Democratic Republic

of the Congo at the thirtieth session of the Human Rights Council in the interactive dialogue

on the impact of technical assistance;

2. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

continue implementing the recommendations that it accepted during the second cycle of the

universal periodic review and the reforms undertaken to improve the human rights situation,

including the reform of the army, the national police and other security forces, the

strengthening of the judiciary, the fight against impunity and the facilitation of access to

justice for victims;

3. Also encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

continue its cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights and the thematic mandate holders of the Human Rights Council;

3/4 GE.15-17472

4. Takes note of the report of the High Commissioner on the impact of technical

assistance and capacity-building on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo between 2008 and 2014,2 and urges the Government of the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, the United Nations country

team and the partner countries and organizations to put into effect the recommendations

contained in that report;

5. Welcomes the appointment, under Presidential Order No. 15/021 of 31 March

2015, of the Special Adviser to the Head of State on good governance and the fight against

corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and also welcomes the action

taken to date to gather evidence and initiate criminal proceedings;

6. Condemns unequivocally the wave of violence in the east of the country and all

the armed groups perpetrating it;

7. Commends the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the establishment of the

National Human Rights Commission, in accordance with the principles relating to the status

of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris

Principles), and calls upon the Government to continue its efforts to ensure that it is fully

operational, including through the allocation of appropriate financial and logistical capacity;

8. Urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to continue its

efforts, with the support of the international community, to put an end to impunity, primarily

for perpetrators of sexual violence, and to all human rights violations, also urges the

Government to bring the perpetrators to justice and to ensure that the victims receive

compensation, and, in that connection, welcomes the commencement of payment by the

Government of compensation to the victims of sexual violence in the Songo Mboyo case;

9. Takes note of the publication by the Independent National Electoral Commission

of the comprehensive electoral calendar and the promulgation by the President of the

Republic on 25 August 2015 of Act No. 15/016 on the distribution of seats for municipal and

local elections, and urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure

the transparency and credibility of the electoral process and to create the necessary conditions

for the electoral process to be free, fair, credible, peaceful and transparent, in accordance with

the international commitments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

10. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

continue its efforts to provide for an expansion of political space in the context of elections,

while ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms

of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly;

11. Also encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

continue its efforts to provide for punishment in confirmed cases of extrajudicial execution

and arbitrary detention;

12. Emphasizes the importance of ensuring a fair trial for persons involved in

criminal proceedings;

13. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

maintain the momentum of the efforts made to reform the army, the police and the security

services;

14. Welcomes the establishment and functioning of the Constitutional Court, and

encourages the Democratic Republic of the Congo to continue with the introduction and

establishment of other courts in the context of the reform of the judicial system;

15. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to provide

greater protection for all political actors, members of civil society, journalists and human

rights defenders during elections and to ensure respect for all human rights;

GE.15-17472 4/4

16. Welcomes the vote by the National Assembly on the draft legislation on the

implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, ratified by the

Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2002;

17. Commends the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the

arrest and conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity of senior officers of the

defence and security forces and the tracking down of armed groups and the arrest of leaders

of those groups;

18. Also commends the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the

establishment and functioning of the steering committee of the human rights liaison entity

and the appointment of new members of the Committee of Experts and the technical

secretariat, and calls upon the Government to continue its efforts to reactivate the entity and

to take appropriate measures to ensure the harmonious operation of all institutions

responsible for implementing human rights;

19. Invites the international community, in the context of full acceptance by the

Congolese State, to improve the involvement of national authorities and beneficiaries in the

design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects aimed at the promotion and

protection of human rights in the interests of ensuring that they have a greater impact at the

central, provincial and local levels, with particular reference to the priorities for the justice

and human rights sectors set out in the recommendations of the forum held in April 2015;

20. Calls upon the international community to give priority to structural, long-term

activities throughout the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to

optimize the long-term impact of technical assistance programmes;

21. Invites the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and the Government to continue their constructive discussions within

the framework of the strategic dialogue on the implementation of the United Nations human

rights due diligence policy;

22. Calls upon the international community to support the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in its efforts to increase and strengthen its

technical assistance programmes and activities aimed at improving the human rights situation

in the country, invites the High Commissioner to report to the Council at its thirty-third

session on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ensuring the

involvement of the National Human Rights Commission in the preparation of the report, and

calls for an interactive dialogue to be held on the basis of the report, including a discussion

on strengthening the role of women in the electoral process;

23. Decides to remain seized of the matter until its thirty-third session.

42nd meeting

2 October 2015

[Adopted without a vote.]