The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) reported on Monday that 599 people, including 107 Congolese army (FARDC) soldiers and 14 National Police officers agents were sentenced for offenses related to human rights violations and abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2023.
According to the UNJHRO report, the number of human rights violations attributed to state agents had decreased by 19% in 2023 compared to the previous year, that had a total of 1,947 violations documented overall in the country.
The UNJHRO also reiterated its support to the national authorities in improving the behavior of defense and security forces by holding training and awareness sessions for the benefit of the 2,052 men and 354 Women you belonging to the Congolese National Police (PNC), the Armed Forces and other security forces.
Furthermore, the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy Secretariat within the UNJHRO carried out 347 risk analyses, examining at least 819 profiles of FARDC officers, PNC agents and other individuals in the framework of support for the Congolese security forces by the United Nations.
Despite these efforts, the UNJHRO recorded a total of 5,273 human rights violations and abuses across the Congolese territory in 2023, reflecting an average of 439 violations and abuses per month.
This is a 12% decrease compared to the previous year confirms a trend already observed over the previous two years, although challenges remain static.
The drop in the number of violations in the five provinces in conflict in the year 2023, saw 4,473 violations and abuses, compared to 5,091 in 2022, underlines the progress made, but also the need to continue efforts to guarantee the protection of human rights in DRC.
The reduction in human rights violations in 2023 is a positive sign, but it also highlights the importance of maintaining measures to prevent such violations and hold those responsible to account, as part of ongoing efforts to promote human rights and fight impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
