UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official website] warned [press release] Thursday that conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will deteriorate unless there is accountability for the atrocities against civilians. Earlier this week there was an attack in Kinshasa that resulted in the deaths of civilians and police officers. Additionally, the commissioner found that in response to these events, the police were conducting raids that violated the autonomy and human rights of civilians by preventing their free movement. The commissioner warned that these were clear violations of fundamental rights and democratic principles. He cautioned that unless there is unity among the country to prosecute those responsible these atrocities, they may continue.

I am deeply saddened by the recent explosion of violence in the capital Kinshasa. The high number of civilian casualties, the burning of the headquarters of several political parties and the continuing high tension together provide a stark warning that a large-scale crisis could be just around the corner. The writing is on the wall, and the authorities need to pull back from their extremely confrontational position and build bridges with the opposition.

Zeid pledged his office’s support in aiding the Congolese government in their investigations.

The DRC and surrounding regions have seen a high level of conflict in the past several decades contributing to increased concerns about human rights abuses and displacement of civilians. Zeid and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] in April over reports coming out of the DRC regarding an apparent government security operation in an area of southern Brazzaville known as the Pool. In January Ban urged African leaders to avoid using loopholes and undemocratic constitutional changes to “cling to power” [JURIST report]. Last year protests and demonstrations [JURIST report] took place across the DRC to oppose the proposed changes in the law that would allow DRC President Joseph Kabila to extend his presidential term past the allotted two-year limit, and the government was accused of using excessive force against these protesters.