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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived document may not work.


Zaire: HRW Report

Zaire: HRW Report
Date distributed (ymd): 970503
Document reposted by APIC

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Zaire -- Transition, War and Human Rights

(28 Apr 97) The failed transition to democracy and internal government policies that incited ethnic hatred set the stage for the bloody conflict that has caused civilian massacres and widespread human rights abuses in Zaire. In Transition, War and Human Rights, released today, Human Rights Watch/Africa denounces civilian massacres in eastern Zaire by both the government and the rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) and exposes human rights violations that are taking place throughout the country as demonstrated by regional case studies. Rampant abuses by the military and the police, and the breakdown of the rule of law are undermining the government's legitimacy and its military effort everywhere. Human Rights Watch/Africa exposes both the government's failure to adhere to the agenda of democratization and the dubious record of the ADFL in establishing civilian administrations and regional governments in areas it came to control.

Human Rights Watch calls on the government of Zaire and the ADFL to prohibit attacks on civilians and civilian targets in military operations and strongly urges the international community to pressure both sides of the conflict to permit full, unhampered international investigations of the allegations of widespread civilian massacres in eastern Zaire. "A return to the rule of law is essential for the future. If peace is really to be established, those responsible for ethnic slaughter and other abuses must be brought to justice," declared Peter Takirambudde, Director of Human Rights Watch/Africa.

Human Rights Watch/Africa offers detailed recommendations to the international community and to both sides in the conflict in Zaire.

Among them:

To the Government of Zaire:

1. Abide by the binding norms of international humanitarian law applicable to the current situation of armed conflict, and in particular:

-prohibit targeting civilians and civilian objects in military operations and indiscriminate attacks, looting, raping, and destruction of civilian property;

-ensure humane treatment for all persons detained or otherwise hors de combat in connection with the conflict; torture and extrajudicial execution should never be tolerated;

-permit and facilitate access by relief assistance programs so that noncombatants in war-affected areas may receive food, medicine, and other relief. Relief assistance programs of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other agencies should be allowed to proceed in accordance with humanitarian need and their respective missions, without hindrance. Provide safe land, river and air access for the provision of humanitarian aid;

-permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit persons detained in connection with the conflict;

-investigate the violation of international humanitarian law by members of the government's military and security forces and to hold them criminally accountable for such abuses; government forces that have obstructed the delivery of relief supplies, attacked relief workers or otherwise obstructed the work of humanitarian agencies should be the object of investigation and prosecution;

2. Abide by the international human rights treaties to which Zaire is a party, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, taking action to this effect to:

-repeal provisions in Zairian law in violation of international standards;

-amend Decree No. 0021 of August 2, 1996 (concerning the identification of nationals, the census and the electoral roll), so that no Zairian will be disenfranchised by reason of their language, ethnicity or for other arbitrary and discriminatory reasons;

-address on an urgent basis inhumane treatment in police cells and prisons. Ill-treatment, in the form of beatings, exposure to the elements or threats, should be stopped. Those responsible for the inhumane treatment of prisoners should be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution;

-institute safeguards against torture, including by bringing all detainees before a judicial authority without delay; ending routine incommunicado detention; providing for prompt and regular access to detainees by relatives, doctors and legal counsel;

-institute further safeguards against "disappearance" and extrajudicial execution, including provisions that no one ever be held in secret detention, prisoners only be held in places publicly acknowledged as places of detention, relatives be promptly informed of the whereabouts of prisoners, and prisoners be held only under the supervision of the courts;

-respect freedom of expression, lifting arbitrary restrictions on the print media and public broadcasting and ceasing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists, political commentators and others solely for the expression of their opinions;

-recognize the rights of human rights defenders in Zaire to monitor, investigate, and speak out on human rights concerns and freely to associate with others nationally and internationally in the promotion and protection of human rights;

To the ADFL:

Abide by the binding norms of international humanitarian law applicable to the current situation of armed conflict, and in particular:

-prohibit targeting civilians and civilian objects in military operations and indiscriminate attacks;

-ensure humane treatment for all persons detained or otherwise hors de combat in connection with the conflict; torture and extrajudicial execution should never be tolerated;

-permit and facilitate access by relief assistance programs so that noncombatants in war-affected areas may receive food, medicine, and other relief. Provide safe land, river and air access for the provision of humanitarian aid;

-permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit persons detained in connection with the conflict;

-investigate the violation of international humanitarian law by members of ADFL and allied forces and hold them accountable for such abuses in procedures that meet the minimum standards of due process established in international humanitarian law:

-cooperate with measures undertaken by the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and international humanitarian and human rights organizations to monitor, investigate and provide remedies for human rights and humanitarian emergencies in Zaire.

To all opposition forces:

The ADFL and other opposition forces should pledge that upon forming a government they would:

-abide by the international human rights instruments to which Zaire is party and ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions;

-support as an urgent priority the development of an independent judiciary;

-ensure that anyone detained is brought promptly before a judicial authority after arrest;

-ensure that no one will be detained without being charged with a recognizable criminal offence and being brought promptly to trial before an independent court;

-implement programs to train law enforcement agents and the military about human rights standards and protection while instituting procedures through which violations of human rights are the subject of effective investigation and criminal prosecution.

-repudiate arbitrary measures to strip Kinyarwanda-speaking Zairians the Banyarwanda or other minorities of their Zairian nationality.

-investigate and facilitate independent investigations of violations of human rights or humanitarian law by forces of the current government as well as rebel forces with a view to public disclosure of the findings and accountability before the law of those responsible for gross abuses;

-take immediate steps to create conditions conducive to free and fair elections, such as ensuring civilian control over the military and the national gendarmerie, rendering the regional and local administration non-partisan and nationally representative, and affirming the respect of basic political freedoms including freedom of expression, association and assembly;

To all Members of the International Community, including the United Nations, the European Union and its member states, the United States, and the Organization of African Unity:

-Call upon both sides of the conflict to permit full, unhampered international investigations of the allegations of widespread civilian massacres in eastern Zaire.

-Insist that the need for accountability of the government of Zaire and the ADFL for human rights abuses committed in territories under their respective control not be set aside in the name of easing a negotiated settlement of the current conflict in Zaire.

-Hold all parties to the conflict responsible for attacks by their combatants against civilians.

-Make any commitment of aid to the present or any future government, including election assistance, dependent on concrete steps toward respecting human rights and creating the conditions for free and fair elections, including:

-reforming the army and the national gendarmerie as non-partisan and nationally-representative forces under civilian control;

-establishing basic political freedoms, including freedom of speech, particularly making public radio and television available to all points of view; and

-reforming the regional and local administrations into non-partisan and nationally-representative institutions.

-Monitor closely and make public reports regarding the actual progress toward implementation of programs to prepare for elections. Specific Recommendations to the United Nations:

To the Security Council:

-Immediately appoint a commission to investigate allegations of widespread civilian massacres in eastern Zaire by all parties and make public the commission's report.

To the U.N. Center for Human Rights:

-Ensure that the U.N. Human Rights Office in Kinshasa is able to perform its important monitoring function. Support the office's budget with sufficient resources for extensive internal travel and improved communications.


Copies of Zaire: Transition, War and Human Rights are available from the Publications Department, 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10017 for $8.40 (domestic shipping) and $10.50 (international shipping).

Human Rights Watch/Africa Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords. Kenneth Roth is the executive director and Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board. Its Africa division was established in 1988 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Peter Takirambudde is the executive director and William Carmichael is the chair of the advisory committee.


This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), the educational affiliate of the Washington Office on Africa. APIC's primary objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.


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