An important step towards justice in DR Congo?
The Congolese Minister of Human Rights has just launched national consultations on a new transitional justice initiative which, if implemented, would help the Democratic Republic of the Congo to emerge from the conflict, to respond to the serious violations of human rights and to undertake the necessary reforms.
Representatives of the Congolese presidency and government, as well as United Nations officials, international experts and members of the National Human Rights Commission took part in a ceremony last week in Kalemie, Tanganyika, in the east of DR Congo. The government reaffirmed on this occasion its commitment to justice and reconciliation and its desire to hold accountable those responsible for the serious crimes perpetrated in the country.
Throughout the decades of conflict in the DR Congo, armed groups and national security forces have violated the laws of war, attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure, and bringing in their wake killings, displacement of populations and misery. Much of this violence was ethnically motivated, and both rebels and national forces engaged in sexual slavery and rape .
One constant has been the almost total absence of accountability. Impunity has fueled further violence and addressing it will be essential to achieving lasting peace, particularly in the east of the country.
National consultations conducted in all the provinces of the country will make it possible to determine the transitional justice policy desired by the Congolese government. The Congolese Minister of Human Rights said that these consultations should lead to the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission. But the DR Congo does not only need the non-judicial aspects of transitional justice. The failure to prosecute those responsible for serious crimes perpetuates a cycle of impunity and fuels violence.
Last year, a coalition of more than 50 Congolese and international non-governmental organizations recommended that the Congolese government make justice for serious crimes a top priority by adopting a clear strategy for individuals suspected of serious human rights violations are accountable. They made it clear that transitional justice efforts will only be credible if they include and prioritize criminal accountability for serious crimes, in accordance with international law.
Fine speeches about ending impunity for atrocities have already been delivered in DR Congo. However, most of the time they were worth less than the paper they were printed on. The Congolese government now has an opportunity to restore justice for some of the world’s most brutal crimes. The big question is whether he will.
Source: Human Rights Watch