Human rights organization Amnesty International issued a note of recommendation Monday urging the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to implement human rights pledges made by President Felix Tshisekedi and highlighting five priority rights issues in the African country.

The note implored the DRC government to address the safety of civilians and unpunished war crimes in armed conflict zones, an oppressive criminal justice system, shrinking civic spaces, and the deterioration of economic and social rights:

During his first tenure as President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi made numerous human rights pledges but there has been little to no progress in their implementation…[the President], who was sworn in for a second and final five-year term in January, and his government, have the opportunity to ensure and uphold human rights and the rule of law, and to leave a lasting legacy grounded in human rights.

The note criticized the “purely military approach” to armed conflicts in the country and insisted that action must be taken to address the underlying causes of the violence. According to the UN, over seven million people have been displaced by armed violence between 2018 to 2024 while humanitarian aid has drastically dropped. Amnesty International urged the DRC to investigate alleged crimes against humanity and prosecute crimes of sexual violence perpetuated in the country throughout conflicts spanning back to the 1990s.

Other recommendations included the abolition of the death penalty which was recently reinstated, the rehabilitation of the prison system, criminal justice reform, an end to the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri, and an end to mass evictions for the expansion of the mining industry.

Congo has endured two major wars, a multitude of tribal conflicts, and other instances of armed violence since the end of the Mobutu autocracy in 1997. In recent years, the DRC has battled conflicts in the eastern Nord-Kivu province bordering Uganda and Rwanda as well as various tribal conflicts that have killed thousands of civilians. The conflicts have resulted in the systematic use of sexual and gender violence and caused severe repression of freedom of expression in the country. In May, a coup against President Tshisekedi was quashed by the military in the country’s capital of Kinshasa.

The expansion of mining activities in the country has also caused mass evictions for thousands of people and resulted in further displacement. A recent case against automaker Tesla’s use of child labor in Congolese mines was dismissed in a US appeals court.