77% of UNHRC Reps Praise DR Congo’s Human Rights Record
GENEVA, May 8, 2019 — Nation after nation lined up at the UN yesterday to shower praise on the human rights record of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a notorious abuser of human rights, during a mandatory review that all UN member states undergo every five years at the UN Human Rights Council. DRC is itself a member. (See quotes at bottom.) While the review is meant to scrutinize governments and thereby strengthen the basic rights and freedoms of their citizens, 76 out of 99 countries that abused the opportunity by showering praise on the country, according to a count by UN Watch. Another 12 countries expressed some praise for DRC’s alleged achievements while also applying scrutiny in their statements. If one includes these statements, then 88 out of 99 countries, or 89%, expressed praise for the DR Congo government. Only a small minority of countries challenged DR Congo—an elected member of the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council—with the criticism and questioning it deserved based on its well-documented record of human rights abuses. A 2018 UN investigation suggests that abuses by DRC security forces amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. Some abuses include deliberate killings of civilians, use of child soldiers, mass rape, and widespread torture. Unfortunately, some countries praised the country’s recent elections as evidence for the government’s progress in the realm of human rights, despite the fact that several international election observers have cast doubt on the integrity of the election results. Representing DRC at the UN session was Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, the …
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