The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission), meeting online during its 82nd Ordinary Session held from 25 to 11 March 2025:
CONSIDERING that one of the objectives of the African Union, as mentioned in Article 3 (f) of its Constitutive Act, is to "promote peace, security and stability on the Continent";
RECALLING its mandate to promote and protect human and peoples' rights in Africa under Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Charter);
ALSO RECALLING the obligations of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the African Charter and other ratified regional and international human rights instruments;
CONSIDERING Articles 22 and 23 of the African Charter, which guarantee the rights to security, peace and development, and other regional and international legal instruments relating to human rights;
NOTING the provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;
BEARING IN MIND its previous resolutions on the human rights situation in the DRC, in particular Resolution ACHPR/Res.139(XXXXIV)08 of 24 November 2008, Resolution ACHPR/Res.173(XLVIII)10 of 24 November 2010, Resolution ACHPR/Res.241(EXT.OS/XIV)2013 of 24 July 2013, Resolution ACHPR/Res.284(LV)2014 of 12 May 2014 and Resolution ACHPR/Res.424(EXT.OS/XXVI)2019 of 30 July 2019; and various press releases issued on recent very worrying developments;
DISMAYED by the resumption of fighting, since January 2025, between the AFC/M23/RDF grouping, backed by internal and external support, and the Forces Armées de la RDC (FARDC) in the provinces of North and South Kivu;
SERIOUSLY CONCERNED by the continuing deterioration in the human rights situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has already caused almost 10000 deaths as a result of fighting between the protagonists;
DEEPLY CONCERNED by the humanitarian consequences, including the destruction of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the massive forced displacement of thousands of civilians as a result of the continuing insecurity and the serious and massive human rights violations committed by the armed groups occupying eastern DRC;
The Commission :
FIRMLY CONDEMNS the resumption of hostilities and the continued territorial conquests by the AFC/M23/RDF group, as well as all acts of violence perpetrated against the civilian population by the various armed actors involved in the conflict in the east of the DRC, in particular the repeated mass rapes of women and girls, the enlistment of children as soldiers, the burning of prisons and assassinations; and the destruction of the economic and social fabric;
REITERATES its call on all the protagonists to cease hostilities immediately and urges them to give priority to dialogue with a view to peacefully resolving the conflict between them in the interests of peace, security and stability in the country and the sub-region;
REMINDS the Congolese Government of its responsibility to guarantee security throughout its territory and to ensure the protection of its citizens;
ALSO REMINDS the parties of the principle of the intangibility of borders inherited from decolonization (Uti possidetis juris);
FURTHERMORE REMINDS that due to its harmful effects on the human and peoples' rights, the unconstitutional change of Government is strictly prohibited by the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;
URGES the Congolese authorities to take all necessary measures to put an end to the incessant conflicts with a view to fully re-establishing the authority of the State in all areas of the country outside its control;
EXHORTS the Congolese Government to take all necessary measures to put an end to impunity by ensuring that all perpetrators of acts of violence are brought to justice and prosecuted, including through cooperation with the international criminal justice system, where appropriate;
URGES the countries of the sub-region and all the relevant stakeholders, in particular the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the African Union and the entire international community, to do their utmost to help the DRC peacefully resolve the conflicts that have gone on for far too long, with all their devastating consequences for the fundamental rights of the people;
FINALLY CALLS UPON the international community, to continue its efforts to provide the urgent humanitarian assistance needed to prevent a worsening of the ongoing humanitarian disaster caused by this armed conflict.
Done on 11 March 2025
