COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION

 

Brussels, 14 May 2008

9333/08 (Presse 126)

P 62

(OR. fr)

 

Declaration by the Presidency, on behalf of the EU, on impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo – the Maheshe and Kabungulu cases

 

The European Union is deeply concerned by the serious irregularities observed during the

appeal hearings of the alleged killers of the journalist Serge Maheshe, currently taking

place in a Bukavu military court. It urges the Congolese courts to guarantee those accused

in the Maheshe case a fair trial.

Alerted by the anonymous threats which observers and defence lawyers have received, the

European Union would request the Congolese authorities to investigate the facts reported

by the victims of these threats and to guarantee the protection both of the human rights

defenders observing the hearings and of the lawyers.

9333/08 (Presse 126) 2

EN

The European Union once again urges the Congolese courts to restart the trial of the

alleged killers of the human rights defender Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi, murdered in July

2005, which has been interrupted by the Bukavu garrison military court.

Combating impunity is essential for the democratic process in progress in the Democratic

Republic of Congo. Under their international obligations, the Congolese authorities are

obliged to guarantee truth, justice and redress to the families of Serge Maheshe, Pascal

Kabungulu Kibembi and other human rights defenders murdered in the country. The EU

calls on the Congolese authorities to show Congolese citizens that impunity is no longer

tolerated.

The EU stresses its commitment to restoring the capacity of the judicial system, in

particular through the REJUSCO programme in the east of the country.

The European Union also wishes to recall the importance of protecting human rights

defenders and journalists.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential

candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland,

Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine,

Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the

Stabilisation and Association Process.”