The human rights situation in the DRC deteriorated further during the second half of 2016. Armed groups in Eastern DRC remain responsible for the majority of human rights abuses. However, there was also a continued shrinkage of democratic space, particularly in relation to the electoral process as President Kabila’s constitutional mandate drew to a close in December. The majority of incidents reported during this period for which the state was responsible related to arbitrary arrests and detentions; attacks on freedom of speech; and extra-judicial killings by state agents. The trend of state involvement in human rights violations continued, including the disproportionate use of force by the security services of the DRC against supporters of the political opposition. The period saw some limited positive developments with some signs of a reduction in sexual violence against women.

Crackdowns on the freedom to protest intensified during the reporting period as the end of the President Kabila’s mandate drew near. Although the violence was less severe than expected, UN and human rights groups believe that during politically-related violence in September and December over 40 civilian protesters were killed by security forces using live ammunition in street clashes across DRC. Human rights observer organisations, including the UN, were subjected to obstruction by the state when trying to verify casualty reports.

According to UN estimates there were over 600 arrests of opposition and youth activists in December, alongside reported abductions of activists. Most have been released but there were increasing concerns that the judicial system was being used by the regime for political purposes. For example, on 29 December 15 youths who had been arrested during political protests were sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment for “sedition” in Lubumbashi.

During the reporting period there was a continued proliferation of armed groups in eastern DRC. These groups attacked civilians in North Kivu province, resulting in numerous deaths and human rights violations. The most serious of these occurred in August in the city of Beni, where over 60 people were massacred by militias. Local tensions also increased in a number of districts at the end of December, indirectly related to the wider political crisis. 9 fatalities were confirmed from a militia attack in Beni on 25 December, although the total number of deaths is likely to be higher. This unrest continued to generate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across eastern DRC, adding to the existing 1.7 million IDPs in DRC and more than 400,000 refugees, primarily from Burundi, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The government of the DRC holds primary responsibility for providing security for its citizens, and we take seriously the significant body of evidence demonstrating that elements of the Congolese armed forces (Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo, or FARDC) are involved in the persecution and violence against civilians.

The DRC has borne witness to some of the worst examples of rape and sexual violence in conflict zones, and is a priority country in the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI).

In October 2016 both the DRC government and the UN referred to a 50% reduction in the number of rapes, based on data collected and verified by the UN/MONUSCO. This highlighted the fact that, although FARDC soldiers continue to be responsible for the largest number of rapes in conflict affected areas, acts of sexual violence perpetrated by FARDC or PNC (Police nationale congolaise) personnel reduced from about 50% of cases verified in 2012 to 26% of cases verified during 2015. But a number of observers felt that the reported 50% reduction overestimated the progress made.

Given the absence of robust, nationally representative estimates of rape and sexual violence in the DRC it is likely that the magnitude of sexual violence is much higher than the estimates offered, and it can reasonably be concluded that levels of sexual violence across the country remain high. However, an overall trend is difficult to assess: an increase in the number of recorded crimes could indicate an improvement in the overall situation due to greater willingness to report incidents.

The United Kingdom’s human rights work in the DRC during this period focused on protecting political space and preventing sexual and gender-based violence. We worked to build long-term stability in eastern DRC, through:

• support to the MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission
• the work of the Department for International Development (DFID)
• projects and programmes supported by the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)

The UK’s Minister for Africa, Tobias Ellwood MP, visited the DRC in August and raised concerns about the lack of inclusiveness in the Congolese political system. Mr Ellwood urged the government and opposition to make progress towards elections, including an agreed election timetable. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, James Wharton MP, visited DRC in November when he raised similar concerns with the government and discussed the situation in the East with MONUSCO’s leadership.