Friday 21st September, 2018
“What we must remember for this month of
August 2018 i
Abidjan, Sept 21 (AIP) – A few months before
the presidential elections scheduled for December 23, 2018, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen a significant increase in human rights
violations, the UN Joint Representative and Representative of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (UNJHRO) in Kinshasa, Abdoul Aziz Thioye, has
said.
“What we must remember for this month of
August 2018 is the general increase in the number of human rights violations.
The Joint Office documented 620 human rights
violations throughout the country, up from July 2018, when we recorded 515
human rights violations, “said Abdoul Aziz Thioye, in a statement in a
publication on the United Nations website.
According to the head of the UNJHRO, the
number of state agents, armed forces (FARDC) and the national police
responsible for human rights violations had almost doubled during the month of
August and exceeded that of the groups.
“The number of violations committed by
state agents in August 2018 has almost doubled compared to July and they are
responsible for nearly 66 per cent of documented violations across the
country.”
The Joint Office, said, it provided support to
the civilian and military courts in August in the fight against impunity.
Twenty-nine (29) military and 13 police
officers were convicted of acts constituting human rights violations.
As part of its protection program, the UNJHRO
handled 20 cases of threats and human rights violations against 40 people,
including 29 human rights defenders, 10 victims of violations and a journalist.
AIP/GNA