By Tiamiyu Arobani
New York – The UN envoy for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Maman Sidikou, has expressed grave concern over the wave of arrests and arbitrary detention “of those who seek to express their political views” in the country over the past three days.
Sidikou, on Tuesday, reiterated the necessity for all Congolese authorities to respect the rules of the country and ensure protection of free speech, a statement from the office of the UN Secretary-General said.
“I urge the national authorities to strictly adhere to their international human rights obligations, to create a climate of political tolerance and respect at this important juncture in the DRC’s history, and to grant full access to United Nations personnel to all detention centres,” Sidikou said.
Sidikou, who is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission (MONUSCO), said the UN had documented 113 arrests in the country.
Accordingto him, thosebarrested include opposition leaders and sympathisers, civil society activists and human rights defenders, media professionals and other individuals, since Dec. 16.
In addition, the UN has not always been granted the required access to verify the conditions of those arrested, he explained.
The UN envoy said most of the arrests took place in Goma, Kinshasa and Bukavu, undertaken by the Congolese National Police (PNC), Agence National de Renseignement (ANR) and the Republican Guard.
“I call on the relevant authorities to apply due process for all those who have been detained and to bring an end to politically-motivated detentions,” Sidikou said.
He added that he had previously highlighted the necessity for all Congolese to respect the laws of the Republic.
The Special Representative also underlined the importance of promoting and protecting human rights, including the freedoms of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly enshrined in the Constitution, in an open political space.
“This is essential to create a conductive environment for the conduct of meaningful dialogue on the way forward in the DRC,” he said.
On Sunday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Al Hussein Zeid, said he was “deeply alarmed” at a planned Government shutdown of social media networks in the country from the evening of Dec. 18., ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila’s mandate on Dec. 19.
Zeid said the social media shut down was in addition to a continuous ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition.