Persberichtenoverzicht van Democratische Republiek Congo

Pascal Kabungulu, a prominent human rights activist, was killed on 31 July 2005 by a group of armed men who broke into his house in Bukavu in eastern DRC, dragged him out of his bedroom and shot him dead in front of his family. The trial of the men accused of killing him, who include a Colonel in DRC’s armed forces, has been deadlocked since December 2005. “President Joseph Kabila made a public and personal commitment in 2006 that justice would be done in the case of Pascal Kabungulu,” said Claire Morclette, DRC campaigner at Amnesty International.

Floribert Chebeya Bahizire was found dead early on Wednesday after being summoned by the police in Kinshasa on Tuesday. He was the executive director of one of Congo’s largest human rights organisations Voix des Sans Voix (VSV) and of the national network of human rights groups. “We are stunned and appalled by the suspicious death of such a prominent and respected human rights defender,” said Veronique Aubert, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Africa Program. “Floribert has been arrested and harassed by the authorities in the past.

In its briefing "Human Rights Defenders under attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo", Amnesty International documents the persecution faced by eight prominent human rights defenders in the DRC, harassment the organization fears will intensify in the build-up to 2011 presidential and national elections. “The government of the DRC must uphold the right to freedom of expression and ensure that Congolese human rights defenders are protected from threats, arbitrary arrests and assault, said Andrew Philip, Amnesty International’s researcher on the DRC.

In Congo woedt al jarenlang een conflict waarbij verkrachting ingezet wordt als oorlogswapen. Duizenden vrouwen en meisjes zijn inmiddels slachtoffer, daders gaan vaak vrijuit. Na de verkrachting voelt het slachtoffer zich vies, ze wast zich grondig alsof ze hiermee de gruwelijke daad van zich af wil spoelen. Uit angst voor verstoting door de gemeenschap en/of haar man zwijgt ze over de verkrachting. Sommige vrouwen durven aangifte te doen, helaas worden beschuldigingen aan het adres van de daders vaak niet serieus onderzocht door de politie.