REUTERS, Kinshasa | Tuesday
UN HUMAN rights chief Mary Robinson has blamed both the government and rebel groups for what she calls “widespread human rights violations” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Unfortunately, I have taken note that at this moment, men and women are pursued and detained for having expressed their opinions,” Robinson said at a meeting of non-political groups representing different sectors of society.
“The freedom of association and meeting remains severely compromised due to restrictive legislation. Torture and poor treatment are a common practice in the detention centres, in particular military.”
Robinson, on a three-day visit to the war-torn country, earlier met Congolese President Laurent Kabila in the southern city of Lubumbashi.
Despite praising some government initiatives such as a moratorium on executions, Robinson said the Congolese judicial system did not guarantee impartial and equitable treatment.
In particular she criticised a military tribunal set up by Kabila shortly after he took power in May 1997.
The tribunal, originally established to try violent crimes committed by members of the Congolese armed and security forces, has exercised sweeping powers and has increasingly tried civilian cases, many of them against detained opposition politicians and journalists.
Robinson said human rights violations in the areas under rebel control were equally worrying.
“Massacres in Kasika, Makobola, Kamituga and Mwenga have been taken note of. These allegations are so serious that the UN Security Council has called for the undertaking of an international enquiry to determine responsibilities,” she said.
In one of the worst atrocities denounced by human rights groups, 800 people were reportedly massacred by rebels in the Lake Tanganyka town of Makobola at the start of 1999.
Rebels took up arms against Kabila in 1998 with the backing of troops from Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Kabila has fought back with military support from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
A peace deal was signed by all the warring parties in 1999 but the ceasefire has been repeatedly violated by both sides.
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