From: "African News Bulletin (ANB-BIA)" <paco@innet.be> (by way of Paolo
Title: 28 Apr 97: Zaire -- Transition, War and Human Rights
(28 Apr 97) The failed transition to democracy and internal government
policies that incited ethnic hatred set the stage for the bloody
conflict that has caused civilian massacres and widespread human rights
abuses in Zaire. In Transition, War and Human Rights, released today,
Human Rights Watch/Africa denounces civilian massacres in eastern Zaire
by both the government and the rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for
the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) and exposes human rights violations
that are taking place throughout the country as demonstrated by regional
case studies. Rampant abuses by the military and the police, and the
breakdown of the rule of law are undermining the government's legitimacy
and its military effort everywhere. Human Rights Watch/Africa exposes
both the government's failure to adhere to the agenda of democratization
and the dubious record of the ADFL in establishing civilian
administrations and regional governments in areas it came to control.
Human Rights Watch calls on the government of Zaire and the ADFL to
prohibit attacks on civilians and civilian targets in military
operations and strongly urges the international community to pressure
both sides of the conflict to permit full, unhampered international
investigations of the allegations of widespread civilian massacres in
eastern Zaire. "A return to the rule of law is essential for the future.
If peace is really to be established, those responsible for ethnic
slaughter and other abuses must be brought to justice," declared Peter
Takirambudde, Director of Human Rights Watch/Africa.
Human Rights Watch/Africa offers detailed recommendations to the
international community and to both sides in the conflict in Zaire.
Among them:
To the Government of Zaire:
1. Abide by the binding norms of international humanitarian law
applicable to the current situation of armed conflict, and in
particular:
-prohibit targeting civilians and civilian objects in military
operations and indiscriminate attacks, looting, raping, and destruction
of civilian property;
-ensure humane treatment for all persons detained or otherwise hors de
combat in connection with the conflict; torture and extrajudicial
execution should never be tolerated;
-permit and facilitate access by relief assistance programs so that
noncombatants in war-affected areas may receive food, medicine, and
other relief. Relief assistance programs of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) and other agencies should be allowed to proceed in
accordance with humanitarian need and their respective missions, without
hindrance. Provide safe land, river and air access for the provision of
humanitarian aid;
-permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit persons
detained in connection with the conflict;
-investigate the violation of international humanitarian law by members
of the government's military and security forces and to hold them
criminally accountable for such abuses; government forces that have
obstructed the delivery of relief supplies, attacked relief workers or
otherwise obstructed the work of humanitarian agencies should be the
object of investigation and prosecution;
2. Abide by the international human rights treaties to which Zaire is a
party, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, taking action to
this effect to:
-repeal provisions in Zairian law in violation of international
standards;
-amend Decree No. 0021 of August 2, 1996 (concerning the identification
of nationals, the census and the electoral roll), so that no Zairian
will be disenfranchised by reason of their language, ethnicity or for
other arbitrary and discriminatory reasons;
-address on an urgent basis inhumane treatment in police cells and
prisons. Ill-treatment, in the form of beatings, exposure to the
elements or threats, should be stopped. Those responsible for the
inhumane treatment of prisoners should be subject to criminal
investigation and prosecution;
-institute safeguards against torture, including by bringing all
detainees before a judicial authority without delay; ending routine
incommunicado detention; providing for prompt and regular access to
detainees by relatives, doctors and legal counsel;
-institute further safeguards against "disappearance" and extrajudicial
execution, including provisions that no one ever be held in secret
detention, prisoners only be held in places publicly acknowledged as
places of detention, relatives be promptly informed of the whereabouts
of prisoners, and prisoners be held only under the supervision of the
courts;
-respect freedom of expression, lifting arbitrary restrictions on the
print media and public broadcasting and ceasing harassment and arbitrary
detention of journalists, political commentators and others solely for
the expression of their opinions;
-recognize the rights of human rights defenders in Zaire to monitor,
investigate, and speak out on human rights concerns and freely to
associate with others nationally and internationally in the promotion
and protection of human rights;
To the ADFL:
1. Abide by the binding norms of international humanitarian law
applicable to the current situation of armed conflict, and in
particular:
-prohibit targeting civilians and civilian objects in military
operations and indiscriminate attacks;
-ensure humane treatment for all persons detained or otherwise hors de
combat in connection with the conflict; torture and extrajudicial
execution should never be tolerated;
-permit and facilitate access by relief assistance programs so that
noncombatants in war-affected areas may receive food, medicine, and
other relief. Provide safe land, river and air access for the provision
of humanitarian aid;
-permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit persons
detained in connection with the conflict;
-investigate the violation of international humanitarian law by members
of ADFL and allied forces and hold them accountable for such abuses in
procedures that meet the minimum standards of due process established in
international humanitarian law:
-cooperate with measures undertaken by the United Nations, the
Organization of African Unity and international humanitarian and human
rights organizations to monitor, investigate and provide remedies for
human rights and humanitarian emergencies in Zaire.
To all opposition forces:
The ADFL and other opposition forces should pledge that upon forming a
government they would:
-abide by the international human rights instruments to which Zaire is
party and ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Protocol II Additional to the
Geneva Conventions;
-support as an urgent priority the development of an independent
judiciary;
-ensure that anyone detained is brought promptly before a judicial
authority after arrest;
-ensure that no one will be detained without being charged with a
recognizable criminal offence and being brought promptly to trial before
an independent court;
-implement programs to train law enforcement agents and the military
about human rights standards and protection while instituting procedures
through which violations of human rights are the subject of effective
investigation and criminal prosecution.
-repudiate arbitrary measures to strip Kinyarwanda-speaking Zairians the
Banyarwanda or other minorities of their Zairian nationality.
-investigate and facilitate independent investigations of violations of
human rights or humanitarian law by forces of the current government as
well as rebel forces with a view to public disclosure of the findings
and accountability before the law of those responsible for gross abuses;
-take immediate steps to create conditions conducive to free and fair
elections, such as ensuring civilian control over the military and the
national gendarmerie, rendering the regional and local administration
non-partisan and nationally representative, and affirming the respect of
basic political freedoms including freedom of expression, association
and assembly;
To all Members of the International Community, including the United
Nations, the European Union and its member states, the United States,
and the Organization of African Unity:
-Call upon both sides of the conflict to permit full, unhampered
international investigations of the allegations of widespread civilian
massacres in eastern Zaire.
-Insist that the need for accountability of the government of Zaire and
the ADFL for human rights abuses committed in territories under their
respective control not be set aside in the name of easing a negotiated
settlement of the current conflict in Zaire.
-Hold all parties to the conflict responsible for attacks by their
combatants against civilians.
-Make any commitment of aid to the present or any future government,
including election assistance, dependent on concrete steps toward
respecting human rights and creating the conditions for free and fair
elections, including:
-reforming the army and the national gendarmerie as non-partisan and
nationally-representative forces under civilian control;
-establishing basic political freedoms, including freedom of speech,
particularly making public radio and television available to all points
of view; and
-reforming the regional and local administrations into non-partisan and
nationally-representative institutions.
-Monitor closely and make public reports regarding the actual progress
toward implementation of programs to prepare for elections.
Specific Recommendations to the United Nations:
To the Security Council:
-Immediately appoint a commission to investigate allegations of
widespread civilian massacres in eastern Zaire by all parties and make
public the commission's report.
To the U.N. Center for Human Rights:
-Ensure that the U.N. Human Rights Office in Kinshasa is able to perform
its important monitoring function. Support the office's budget with
sufficient resources for extensive internal travel and improved
communications.
Copies of Zaire: Transition, War and Human Rights are available from the
Publications Department, 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10017 for
$8.40 (domestic shipping) and $10.50 (international shipping).
Human Rights Watch/Africa
Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978
to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized
human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among
the signatories of the Helsinki accords. Kenneth Roth is the executive
director and Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board. Its Africa
division was established in 1988 to monitor and promote the observance
of internationally recognized human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Peter
Takirambudde is the executive director and William Carmichael is the
chair of the advisory committee.
Website Address: http://www.hrw.org
Gopher Address: gopher://gopher.humanrights.org:5000/11/int/hrw
Listserv instructions: To subscribe to the general HRW e-mail list (to
receive press releases and public letters concerning all regions of the
world), send an e-mail message to majordomo@igc.apc.org with "subscribe
hrw-news" in the body of the message (leave the subject line blank). To
subscribe to the sub-Saharan Africa-specific list (to receive press
releases and public letters only on sub-Saharan Africa), send a message
to majordomo@igc.apc.org with "subscribe hrw-news-africa" in the body of
the message (leave the subject line blank).
Human Rights Watch
485 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017-6104
TEL: 212/972-8400
FAX: 212/972-0905
E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org
1522 K Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20005
TEL: 202/371-6592
FAX: 202/371-0124
E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org