On 15 June, the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo adopted a law on the protection and responsibility of human rights defenders in the DRC. This makes the DRC the fifth country in Africa and the first in Central Africa to adopt a legal instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights defenders. Following the adoption of two decrees in North and South Kivu, the DRC finally guarantees the protection of human rights defenders throughout the country. This adoption follows a consultation organised by ISHR and SOS Information Justice Multisectorielle (SOS-IJM) between civil society and senators in Kinshasa on 22 March to discuss the draft law and ensure that it complies with international standards on the protection of human rights defenders before its adoption.
“The struggle of several years has come to an end. The DRC will become the fifth African country to specifically protect defenders on its territory and we hope that this will allow defenders to feel a little safer in the country,” said Justin Bahirwe, lawyer and coordinator of SOS-IJM.
The law, which consists of 30 articles, defines the rights and duties of human rights defenders, their responsibilities and the remedies, sanctions and reparations available in the event of violations of their rights. Article 3 guarantees freedom of association, assembly and access to information. Article 5 guarantees the possibility of receiving funding from international organisations. As in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Niger, Article 6 of the new law provides specific protection for women human rights defenders. It also sets out the State’s obligations, such as the physical protection of defenders (Article 18) and their families (Article 14).
“The adoption of this law is an important step forward for the country and we can only congratulate the government. However, we are concerned to see that the provisions on the registration of defenders and their obligation to submit annual reports have been maintained, or to note the absence of a protection mechanism that would strengthen the implementation of this law,” said Adélaïde Etong Kame, Senior Africa Programme Manager at ISHR.
While guaranteeing a number of rights, Article 7 of the law requires defenders who do not belong to an organisation to register with the National Human Rights Commission, which will then draw up a list of defenders. This measure contradicts the broad definition of human rights defenders contained in Article 2 al.4 and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which recognises that a human rights defender is anyone who works for the protection of human rights, regardless of the duration of their work. This registration would not allow occasional human rights defenders to be registered and thus benefit from the protection of the aforementioned law. In addition, Articles 11 and 16 require defenders and NGOs to submit annual reports on their activities to protect and promote human rights, whereas Article 45 of the Law of 20 July 2001 on general provisions applicable to non-profit associations and public utilities already requires NGOs to submit an annual report to the Ministry of Planning. Finally, despite the inclusion of a chapter 4 entitled “The mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders”, no information is provided on this mechanism and its implementation. Such a mechanism is essential to ensure the effective implementation of the law.