UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al Hussein on Saturday condemned the government planned shutdown of the Internet and social media platforms in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Sunday.
The UN rights chief said that the planned blackout is ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila’s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition.
“The UN human rights office is concerned as Monday also marks three months since 54 people died in Kinshasa, when defence and security forces used excessive force against people calling for constitutional deadlines to be respected and for President Kabila to step down at the end of his second and final mandate,” he said in a statement.
Al Hussein noted that to date, no one has been held accountable for “this violent repression of demonstrations.”
He disclosed that since the beginning of December, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in DRC documented at least 45 arrests of people trying to exercise their right to peaceful assembly.
“Of these, at least 16 people were detained in Bunia, Kinshasa, the capital, and Goma in the context of the ‘Bye Bye Kabila’ campaign organized by the Filimbi and Lucha youth movements.
“A further 26 people were reportedly arrested for their political links or because they belong to citizen movements,” he stated. “Intimidating and targeting opponents and civil society is not the answer. Silencing their views and stopping them from protesting is not the solution, and in fact is more likely to push them to resort to violence.”
Al Hussein called on the DRC government, and especially its security forces, to take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly.
Photo credit: UN
