Kinshasa, June 22nd, 2025 (CPA) . – The transformation of the fact-finding mission into an investigative mission for the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after its establishment by a UN human rights body, was welcomed on Saturday in Kinshasa by the president of a citizens’ institution during an interview with the CPA.
« This is the natural next step following the publication of the report of the fact-finding mission, set up by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which looked into human rights issues, crimes and other serious violations committed in the east of the country, that we move on to the actual investigations, » said Paul Nsapu, president of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH-DRC). He said that his institution will collaborate with this UN body in the context of this second mission, with the information it has on human rights violations and serious crimes committed in this part of the country. Paul Nsapu also pointed out that the fact-finding mission was set up at the time following a decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2773. He also referred to the report of the fact-finding mission, which, in its latest publication, highlighted the horrors and tragedies committed in the east of the country, specifically in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.
‘The publication of this report came during the enhanced interactive dialogue session held on 16 June in Geneva, Switzerland,’ he added, while encouraging the United Nations Human Rights Council to go beyond Resolution 2773, demanding an end to hostilities in this part of the DRC and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and elements of the M23 terrorist movement from the areas they occupy. The president of the CNDH-DRC called on the Human Rights Council to continue to exert pressure and increase sanctions against the perpetrators of this conflict, which has brought grief to millions of Congolese civilians and has lasted for at least three decades of horror and tragedy in the east of the country.
Fact-finding mission report
Furthermore, in the fact-finding mission report, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern about the situation in the DRC, which has been ongoing for years, while sharing the sentiments of all his predecessors. « Today, the situation is even more serious and alarming. All parties to the conflicts in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu have committed human rights violations or abuses, as well as violations of international humanitarian law, » he insisted. Reading the preliminary conclusion of the fact-finding mission, which the Council entrusted to my office four months ago and which focuses on the period from January 2025, he noted that analyses and investigations conducted by this mission demonstrated an apparent total disregard for the protection of civilians during and after military operations carried out by elements of the M23, supported by Rwanda, who used heavy weapons during their offensive on Goma last January, striking densely populated neighborhoods and camps for displaced persons. This report, he said, had identified several violations of international humanitarian law and crimes that could be classified as war crimes.