Harmonise national laws with international treaties, NGOs urge

The government must harmonise its national laws with the various international treaties it has ratified to better protect its citizens' rights, human rights NGOs in the Republic of Congo have said. "It is important that the government makes an effort to guarantee and make directly applicable the various human rights laws and instruments," Roger Bouka-Owoko, the head of the committee that organised a conference on rights issues, said in a statement. The is one of the recommendations the NGOs made on Friday at the end of the conference that also included issues on peace and democracy held in the capital, Brazzaville. They also made recommendations on political, economic, social and judicial issues affecting the country. The conference was a follow-up to another on 8-11 February 2004, on the "Evaluation and perspectives of the Congolese civil society in the reinforcement of peace, democracy and human rights." Friday's meeting was organised and funded by the Institute of Life and Peace as well as the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights. It was attended by 150 participants, including representatives of public institutions and administration, guests from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Sweden, US-based organisations, NGOs and religious institutions. Bouka-Owoko said it was important citizens be able to draw on international law, above national ones, if they feel their rights have been violated. Participants at the conference also made recommendations for NGOs. They pledged to go beyond awareness raising, and start exercising their rights as well as "rigorously observing their mandate and to enforce respect of human rights by law enforcers". The government has, in the past, accused civil society officials of doing a poor job and has often questioned their investigations.