KINSHASA/GENEVA, 8 December 2015: A UN report published Tuesday highlights a worrying clampdown on opposition, media and civil society in the DRC since the beginning of the year and stresses the need to guarantee political and civil rights ahead of key elections.
The report, prepared by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNJHRO)*, documents human rights violations in relation with the electoral process between 1 January and 30 September 2015, including summary executions, death threats, arbitrary arrests and detention, excessive use of force by security forces, and restrictions of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.