Report on human rights and fundamental freedoms during the pre-electoral period in the DRC

5 Dec 2011

Report on human rights and fundamental freedoms during the pre-electoral period in the DRC

This report reveals a worrying number of human rights violations during the pre-electoral period in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and warns that such incidents could endanger the democratic process and lead to post-electoral violence as well. Between 1 November 2010 and 30 September 2011, the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) documented 188 human rights violations apparently linked to the electoral process. The violations most frequently infringed individuals' freedom of expression, the right to physical integrity and the right to liberty and security of the person, as well as the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. There have also been instances of violence and disturbance of public order committed by supporters of political parties. While this report is not an exhaustive account of human rights violations and acts of violence perpetrated, violations documented include incidents such as death threats against human rights defenders for holding a press conference in which they denounced reforms; beating or arrests of civilians for merely wearing the T-shirts of opposition parties; repeated summons to the National Intelligence Agency; the reported beating of a civilian for asking an "unpatriotic" question and the arrest and ill-treatment of four individuals for discussing politics in a barbershop.

Date of publication: 9 November 2011

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