Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The security services of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), including its Civilian Security and Protection Branch (Branche de sécurité et de protection civile) (1997 - September 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 19 September 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RDC39475.FE |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The security services of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), including its Civilian Security and Protection Branch (Branche de sécurité et de protection civile) (1997 - September 2002), 19 September 2002, RDC39475.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4dff15.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Referring to the changes that had taken place two years after Laurent-Désiré Kabila, head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (Alliance des forces démocratiques pour la libération du Congo/Zaïre, AFDL), came to power in May 1997, the weekly
In its 1998 annual report, the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights (Association africaine de défense des droits de l'Homme, ASADHO) stated that [translation] "no known law limits the exorbitant powers" of the ANR, the DEMIAP, the CNS or the DESN (ASADHO 1998, 14). The report added that the [translation] "agents of these services thus hold broad powers of arrest, detention and investigation which are not limited by any law or controlled by any judicial authority" (ibid.).
Assessing the situation of journalists detained in the RDC since the AFDL came to power, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) noted in its report of May 2000 that [translation] "the biggest threat hanging over the media comes from the nine security services, which act ruthlessly, throwing journalists in jail with impunity and in a completely arbitrary fashion." According to this source, these security services are the ANR, the DEMIAP, the GSSP, the PIR, the State Security Committee (Comité de sécurité d'État, CSE) (the new name of the CNS), the Police Special Services (Services spéciaux de la police, SSP), the Prosecutor's Office Police (Inspection de la police des parquets, IPP), the Airport Security Agency (Agence de sécurité des aéroports, ASA), and the Kinshasa Provincial Inspectorate (Inspection provinciale de Kinshasa, IPK) (RSF May 2000). The same source reports the existence of a "special court for journalists," called the Military Order Court (Cour d'ordre militaire, COM) (ibid.).
Amnesty International, for its part, indicates that the Special Intervention Force for the Defence of the Capital (Force d'intervention spéciale pour la défense de la capitale, FIS) was one of the various security services that took part, at the end of October 2000, in the arrest of persons suspected of having plotted against the government (28 Mar. 2001).
No mention of the Branche de sécurité et de protection civile could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Other Responses to Information Requests mention a number of these security services put in place after the AFDL assumed power in Kinshasa, namely RDC38748.F of 25 March 2002, RDC34732.F and RDC34731.F of 6 July 2000, and RDC32072.F of 11 June 1999.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International (AI). 28 March 2001. "Democratic Republic of Congo: Deadly Conspiracies?" Association africaine de défense des droits de l'Homme (ASADHO) [Kinshasa]. 1998. Rapport annuel 1998. République démocratique du Congo : le pouvoir à tout prix. Répression systématique et impunité.
Jeune Afrique [Paris]. 11-24 May 1999. No. 2000‑2001. Jean-Dominique Geslin. "RD Congo : Kabila, deux ans après."
Reporters sans frontières (RSF). May 2000. "Les cachots du 'Mzee' : Plus de cent dix journalistes emprisonnés depuis la prise du pouvoir par Laurent-Désiré Kabila." Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential May 1997-July 2002.
Africa Research Bulletin May 1997-January 2001.
Info-Congo/Kinshasa May 1997-2001.
IRB Databases.
LEXIS/NEXIS.
Resource Centre country file. RDC. 1997-1999.
Internet sites including:
Africatime.
AllAfrica.
Amnesty International.
BBC Africa.
Digital congo.net.
Human Rights Watch.
MISNA.
REFWORLD.
Reliefweb.
Le Soir [Brussels].
UN Human Rights Commission.
