Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

9 March 2011

United Nations
General Assembly

A/HRC/16/68

Distr.: General
9 March 2011
Original: English and French

Human Rights Council
Sixteenth session
Agenda item 10
Technical assistance and capacity-building

Third joint report of seven United Nations experts on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 13/22.
In the report, the experts reiterate their deep concern at the serious human rights situation in the country, which has reportedly not improved since their initial report (A/HRC/10/59).
While acknowledging with appreciation the willingness of the Congolese authorities to improve its cooperation with the international community in the field of human rights, including with the special procedures of the Council, the experts wish to highlight that, for such cooperation to be fruitful, especially in relation to the global action plan, it needs to be sustained and based on regular and flexible exchange and dialogue. The late responses from the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to letters sent by the experts regrettably do not meet these criteria. Similarly, the Government has responded to less than 7 per cent of the urgent appeals and allegation letters sent by the experts since they were requested to report for the first time on the human rights situation in the country, in March 2008.
The experts are of the view that the current mandate given to a group of seven thematic special procedures mandate holders, who undertake this task in addition to the considerable workload entailed by their respective mandates, does not have the necessary flexibility and reactivity to ensure a regular dialogue with the Congolese authorities, and is therefore not the most suitable mechanism to respond to the specific needs of the country. By visiting the country several times and by elaborating specific recommendations related to their respective mandates, which are still relevant and applicable to the human rights situation in the country, they have made their maximum contribution to the improvement of the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The experts strongly believe that follow-up to the present recommendations (A/HRC/10/59) and assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this regard, in particular regarding the finalization of the global action plan, would be best served by a single mechanism dedicated solely to the situation in the country. Therefore, they reiterate their call on the Council to consider once again the creation of a country-specific special procedures mandate. Such a mandate would provide a reliable mechanism that would focus on the improvement of the human rights situation in the country. In addition to providing focused attention and resources to addressing a situation of grave and long-standing concern, a country-specific mandate would facilitate regular engagement with the Government and regional and international stakeholders, and allow the different actors to work in a concerted and sustainable fashion towards the implementation of both existing and future recommendations.