the head of a human rights organization
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2024-045-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2024
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: -4.038333
Longitude: 21.758664
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- From Region
- Type of record
- Unnamed individual/group/organization
- Gender
- Male
- Individual's/organization's activity
the head of a human rights organization in North Kivu province who had been sharing information with UNJHRO on the human rights situation in his locality.
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
sharing information with UNJHRO on the human rights situation in his locality.
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Peace Operation / Political mission
- Type of attempted engagement
- Unclear
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- May 2022, November 2023
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- North Kivu province
- Reprisal information
In one instance, since May 2022, elements of the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) visited on several occasions the home of the head of a human rights organization in North Kivu province, looking for him. He had been sharing information with UNJHRO on the human rights situation in his locality. Over time, the pressure and threats against family members to disclose his whereabouts increased, and ultimately the UNJHRO helped him and his family to relocate within the country. However, the M23 continued to track him both in his new location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and again when he eventually fled to a neighbouring country. In November 2023, after he had returned to the DRC, a group of armed persons believed to be members of the M23 broke into his house at night. They severely beat him, pointed guns to his head, and threatened to shoot him while demanding the passwords for his computers and telephones, which they seized. They ransacked his home and took money and other valuables. Since then, he and his family have been living under the temporary protection of humanitarian actors, in constant fear of harm.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Family/friends/acquaintances targeted
- Physical attack: Physical attack - General
- Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
- Surveillance
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- Non-state actor(s)
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 27 June 2024
- Government response content
the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that armed groups operating in the North Kivu region, notably the M23, are the ones responsible for the human rights violations in this part of the country. The Government noted that it considers the cases above as samples bearing witness to violations committed by the M23.
- 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