KINSHASA/GENEVA, 15 October 2014: A United Nations report released today details serious violations of human rights, including summary and extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, committed against civilians by Congolese security forces in the context of Operation “Likofi» in Kinshasa between 15 November 2013 and 15 February 2014.
The report, based on investigations conducted by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO)* in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), documents the killing of at least nine civilians and the enforced disappearance of at least 32 civilians by agents of the Congolese National Police (PNC) as part of Operation “Likofi». The total number of victims could be much higher since UNJHRO human rights officers faced various difficulties in their investigations into these human rights violations.
«I am appalled by the gravity of the human rights violations documented in this report and I call on the Congolese authorities to bring to justice without delay the perpetrators of these human rights violations,» said High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the DRC, Martin Kobler, added that «this shows how urgent it is to accelerate security sector reform and to establish strong accountability mechanisms within the Congolese police force.»
The full report is available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/CDReports.aspx or http://www.monusco.unmissions.org/
