chairperson of an NGO based in North Kivu province

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2023-034-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2023
Country Geolocation

Latitude: -4.038333

Longitude: 21.758664

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
  • UN Peace Operation / Political mission
Dates of prior UN action
10 August 2022
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Type of rights defended
  • Accountability & impunity
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

shared information with the Mission on the police officer’s alleged collusion with an armed group that was committing abuses against civilians.

Engagement with UN body
  • OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
  • UN Peace Operation / Political mission
Dates of engagement
June 2022
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
Dates of mentioned reprisals
June 2022
Location of mentioned reprisals
North Kivu Province, DRC
Reprisal information
  1. Specifically, in June 2022, the chairperson of an NGO based in North Kivu province was reportedly alerted that a police officer had instructed members of the 23 March Movement (M23) to kill him for having shared information with the Mission on the police officer’s alleged collusion with an armed group that was committing abuses against civilians. The officer had reportedly started sending death threats to the chairperson’s phone, which intensified over time despite UNJHRO’s intervention with the relevant authorities. The police officer reportedly sent a group of armed men to the chairperson’s house three times, also threatening to kill the family members.
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Both state and non-state actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Further case development

The individual and their family were relocated by UNJHRO for fear of further reprisals against them.

Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
1
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2024
Follow up information provided in SG report 0

  1. The case of the chairperson of an NGO based in North Kivu Province threatened with death by a police officer for allegedly having shared information with the United Nations, was included in the 2023 report of the Secretary General.80 According to information received by OHCHR, in September 2023 the threats against the chairperson resumed from the same officer. The officer indicated via text messages that he would “Take his [the chairperson’s] head off any time”. In December 2023, two unidentified persons assaulted the chairperson on a road and took away his computer and telephones, while threatening to kill him.

  2. On 17 July 2024, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report.

Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 0
Yes