Kinshasa, May 11th, 2025 (CPA) – African human rights institutions gave their support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a victim of aggression in the east, during the ‘political dialogue’ organized recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the president of a Congolese institution told the CPA on Saturday. ‘Several national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in Africa, interested in the situation in our country, have given their support to the DRC and all wish to come and see for themselves the realities of recurring human rights violations in the eastern part of the country’, said Paul Nsapu, President of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH-RDC). Paul Nsapu maintained that this was ‘human rights diplomacy’, which had been developed during the work of the 7th edition of the ‘political forum dialogue’ held from May 7th to 9th, 2025 in Addis Ababa by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (RINADH). This took place during separate discussions with the heads of NHRIs from a number of African countries. It was also an opportunity for the country of the CNDH-RDC to call once again for the AU’s involvement in the effective return of peace to the eastern part of the DRC.
A clear commitment to historical justice
The Addis Ababa political dialogue, held on the theme of ‘Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations: the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and other human rights actors’, was an opportunity for the DRC to demonstrate its commitment to justice for the victims of the genocide. The dialogue, entitled ‘Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations: the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and other human rights actors’, enabled participants to examine the issues surrounding the legacy of slavery, colonialism and systemic racism.
For Professor Mouangue Kobila, who coordinated the work and chairs Cameroon’s human rights commission, these legacies are perpetuated in sometimes insidious forms of injustice, fuelling structural inequalities that require a firm, collective response rooted in the law. Hence the need for this meeting to challenge the various players. For this reason, he called for the contribution and manifest commitment of everyone, right up to the last minute, in favor of historical, moral and reparative justice for Africans and people of African descent. ‘This year’s theme is not about nostalgia, but about justice, fairness and recognition. It’s about restoring dignity, re-establishing the truth, and guaranteeing non-repetition’, he insisted. Prof. Mouangue Kobila also noted that NHRIs have a central role to play in this respect. Not only in documenting past and present violations, but also in mobilizing societies, raising awareness and influencing public policy. ‘They are sentinels, mediators, but also catalysts for restorative justice. Added to this is the need to strengthen our alliances with civil society, victimized communities, researchers and African and universal organizations’, he added. CPA/