Government says rights abusers “enjoying immunity”

The root cause of human rights violations committed in the DRC remained the war and aggression against the country, government representative Francois Mukundi told the UN Human Rights Commission on Wednesday. Mukundi said that most human rights violations in the DRC were committed by Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, and the perpetrators were “enjoying immunity”, according to a UN press release on the Commission’s current session in Geneva. Mukundi cited several massacres in the east of the country, which represented a “terrible level of barbarism”, the press release stated. Most human rights violations by Congolese authorities could also be explained by the war situation in the country, Mukundi added.

Meanwhile, UN Human Rights Rapporteur Roberto Garreton said massive abuses had been carried out by all warring sides in the DRC. “The presence of nine regular armies and several armed groups, particularly the Interahamwe and Mayi-Mayi militias, has created and continues to create a climate of violence and extreme insecurity”, Garreton said in his oral presentation to the commission.