The United Nations Human Rights Council today agreed by consensus to launch an urgent fact-finding mission and commission of inquiry into atrocities being committed by all parties to the armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The council reached its decision during a special session on the crisis, held at Congo’s request with support from 48 countries from all regions.
During recent fighting in North and South Kivu provinces, the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group seized control of the city of Goma from the Congolese army and its allied militias. Human rights groups, the UN, and the media have reported summary killings, rapes including gang rapes, looting, and unlawful forced labor and conscription. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern last week that the recent fighting “risks deepening … much further” the risk of conflict-related sexual violence, which has been “an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades.”
The commission of inquiry—which was called for by 79 Congolese, regional, and international rights groups—will investigate and report on abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law by the warring parties, collect and preserve evidence of international crimes, and identify those responsible for atrocities to support efforts to hold them accountable.
The creation of a commission of inquiry demonstrates growing international recognition of the need to address impunity for past abuses in eastern Congo, which has been fueling atrocities for decades. The new mechanism will be an important tool in efforts to hold perpetrators of grave crimes to account, end the cycle of abuse and impunity, and support the right of victims and survivors to truth, justice, and reparations.
Abuses in areas under M23 control have been challenging to document due to the armed group’s record of targeting activists and restricting freedoms of expression, movement, and association. The UN’s top human rights body is sending a clear message: serious abuses will be documented and exposed.
Concerned governments should complement this important step towards justice with further, immediate measures to protect civilians, including the many people displaced, and provide urgent assistance to those affected, including survivors of sexual violence. They should press Rwandan forces and the M23 to ensure access to and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Goma’s population, and urge all parties to halt abuses against civilians.
