FIRST CREDIBLE REPORTS OF WIDESPREAD HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUANDA 001221 SIPDIS SIPDIS DRL FOR KRILLA AND DAVIS, NSC FOR PITTMAN/LEO E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AO SUBJECT: FIRST CREDIBLE REPORTS OF WIDESPREAD HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ON DRC BORDER Classified By: AMB DAN MOZENA FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A December 5th, 2007 report from NGO Medecins San Frontieres is the first substantiated report of widespread human right abuses perpetrated by Angolan soldiers against expelled Congolese illegal immigrants in the diamond-rich region of Lunda Norte. The Embassy is actively engaging with contacts in the region and the international community in Luanda to gather information and pressure Angolan officials to openly investigate and punish human rights violators. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) On December 5th, 2007 Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) released in Geneva a well-documented account of widespread human right abuses committed by members of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) during extensive expulsion operations earlier this year against illegal Congolese immigrants in the province of Lunda Norte. The report, which documents the experiences of 100 women during expulsions ranging from April to November 2007, tells a story of collective rape, beatings, improper detention and search of body cavities, forced labor, denial of food and water, and deaths from exhaustion and mistreatment. The report comes from an MSF team that has been working in Western Kasai, a Congolese province boarding Angola, since October 2007. ¶3. (C) While scattered reports of mass expulsions and abuses have circulated since March 2007, this report marks the first public account of systematically gathered information on the issue. Travel restrictions in the remote area have impeded outside verification of events on the Angolan side of the border. In August UNHCR, the UNHRO, and IOM planned a joint fact-finding mission through the Ministry of the Interior; not long before the trip they were informed that it must instead be organized through the Ministry of External Relations. A request for such a trip was submitted but no response received to date. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The scale and severity of human rights abuses in the MSF report far exceed the perception previously held by the diplomatic community and UN organizations in Luanda. We and concerned diplomatic colleagues will meet December 7 or early next week to exchange information and consider how most effectively to engage the GRA. Meanwhile, Embassy is reaching out to various contacts in Lunda Norte to get their on-the-ground views. We hope to follow up the April 2007 visit to the Lundas by the Embassy,s Human Rights Officer. ¶5. (C) The fact MSF was able to document credibly so many cases of abuse indicates that the human rights safeguards put in place by the Angolan security forces after 2005's forced expulsions have failed to take hold. The GRA's unwillingness to let independent observers travel to the area only lends credence to the MSF accounts. These reports make clear the need for continued efforts to bring human rights training to Angolan forces. Angola, as a state newly voted onto the UN Human Rights Commission, now has a chance to demonstrate its commitment to investigate such abuses and bring those accused, if proven guilty, to justice. END COMMENT. MOZENA