Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Current situation of children's rights activists in DRC
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 28 October 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RDC42062.FE |
| Reference | 1 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Current situation of children's rights activists in DRC, 28 October 2003, RDC42062.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/403dd21510.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. |
In addition to the information in RDC28673.F of 28 January 1998 and RDC27537.F of 4 September 1997, several sources referred to the fact that human rights activists are harassed and arbitrarily arrested by the Congolese authorities (Le Phare 12 Sept. 2003; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003; Amnesty International 2003, 336; Human Rights Watch 2003), as well as by the authorities of the rebel movement known as the Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie, RCD‑Goma) (ibid.).
Quoting La Voix des sans voix, Le Phare reported that
[translation]
a wave of arrests of human rights activists from various groups based in Katanga took place in the morning of Monday, 8 September 2003 at the central post office building in downtown Lubumbashi during a peaceful protest march against the maintenance by the state's political and administrative authorities of selective administration fees (frais d'intervention ponctuelle, FIP) for the 2003-2004 school year (12 Sept. 2003).
According to Amnesty International, human rights defenders investigating human rights violations by armed political groups and their foreign allies were attacked in 2002 (2003, 336). Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicated that [HRW English version] "[h]uman rights activists faced harassment, abduction, beatings, and arbitrary arrest in the course of their efforts to work in an extremely hostile environment in both government‑held and rebel-controlled areas of Congo" (2003).
Among the human rights activists detained in 2001 and 2002 were N'sii Luanda Shandwe, President of the Committee of Human Rights Observers (Comité pour l'observation des droits de l'homme, CODHO) (VSV 20 Apr. 2002; AI 2003, 335; HRW 2003), Willy Wenga Ilombe, a lawyer and member of the non‑governmental organization Center for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (ibid.), and Golden Misabiko, President for Katanga province of the leading national organization, the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights (Association africaine pour la défense des droits de l'homme, ASADHO) (ibid.; AI 2003, 335). Amnesty International added that N'sii Luanda Shandwe was arrested in June 2002 and detained by members of the military security service (Détection militaire des activités anti-patrie, DEMIAP) (ibid.). He was incarcerated at the Kinshasa penitentiary and reeducation centre before being released without being charged in September 2002 (ibid.).
Human rights activists were also harassed and arrested by RCD‑Goma authorities, who are supported by the Rwandan government (ibid.; HRW 2003). Country Reports 2002 stated that "[h]arassment of journalists, human rights activists, and opposition politicians continued in government-held territory [in 2002]. Security forces continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain journalists and human rights activists; however, a large number of private newspapers operated freely and published criticism of the Government without interference" (31 Mar. 2003).
No specific information on the situation of children's rights activists in RDC could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints for this Response.
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), London. 2003. "République démocratique du Congo." Amnesty International Rapport 2003. London: Amnesty International.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. United States Department of State. Washington, DC.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. 2003. "République démocratique du Congo." Rapport mondial 2003.
Le Phare [Kinshasa]. 12 September 2003. "La VSV demande la libération des activistes détenus au Katanga."
La Voix des sans voix (VSV), Kinshasa. 20 April 2002. "Communiqué de presse no 080/rdc/VSV/CD/2002 : M. N'sii Luanda repris par la COM."
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Cultural and Social Series
Afrique/Asie
L'Autre Afrique
Human Rights Watch
Keesing's Record of World Events
New African
Internet sites:
Africa News
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