ADDRESSING THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000455

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC
SUBJECT: ADDRESSING THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO'S
SITUATION IN GENEVA-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES

REF: A. GENEVA 360 (NOTAL)

B. GENEVA 256 (NOTAL)

C. GENEVA 30 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Mark Storella. Reasons: 1.4 (b/
d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Following the elimination in March of the
mandate of the Independent Expert on the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Geneva-based human rights bodies are seeking new
ways to address the situation in that country. There is
little prospect for significant action in the Human Rights
Council (HRC) for the foreseeable future, but some
governments are looking ahead to the DRC's Universal Periodic
Review session in 2009 as potentially significant. A
proposal previously floated at the Council to establish a
Special Advisor for Eastern DRC may be implemented. Staff of
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
are enthusiastic about plans to conduct a mapping exercise of
human rights violations committed in the DRC in 1993-2003,
and efforts also continue for a project on vetting in the DRC
military. Beyond that, OHCHR hopes to ensure a long-term
presence on the ground. Geneva-based human rights bodies are
aware of the limits of what they can achieve but also of the
possibilities, primarily through OHCHR but and the UPR
mechanism. END SUMMARY.

LOSS OF INDEPENDENT EXPERT
--------------


2. (C) The elimination, at the HRC's Seventh Regular Session
in March, of the mandate of the Independent Expert on the DRC
(ref b),was a disappointing blow to those seeking to use
Geneva-based human rights mechanisms to foster progress in
the DRC. Although the Council eliminated the mandate mainly
due to hostility, primarily among African states, toward
country-specific rapporteurs, the ineffectiveness of the
Independent Expert, Titinga Frederic Pacere, had also been a
factor (ref a). The general hostility toward
country-specific rapporteurs is likely to persist, but
ensuring that mandates are well-funded and implemented
vigorously could help avert at least some problems, several
delegations here have stressed.


3. (C) By most accounts, there is little prospect that the
Council can contribute significantly to addressing the DRC's
human rights situation in the short term. Over the longer
term, a number of our interlocutors point to the Council's
Universal Periodic Review mechanism as a potentially helpful
instrument to pressure the DRC into improving its human
rights behavior. The DRC is slated for review in late 2009.
The UPR session itself could provide a useful forum to
reiterate concerns about the DRC's behavior. Beyond that,
the DRC government, in preparing for its review, may take
steps to improve its record and/or decide to make new
commitments to treaty bodies. Additionally, many of the
states that already have been reviewed have engaged in
extensive interaction with civil society as part of the
preparatory process, an approach that the DRC might also
pursue. A Canadian participant in the roundtable urged that
governments work with the DRC to encourage a constructive
approach toward its UPR review, and most notably, to ensure
that the DRC reach out to NGOs during the preparatory stage.


4. (C) While the fate of the mandate was being debated in
March, Human Rights Watch was floating the idea of
establishing a Special Advisor on Human Rights for Eastern
DRC. While the Council did not formally consider the
proposal either in that session or in the current one, HRW is
encouraged that establishing such a mandate has become
possible, and points to the Council as a breeding ground for
such ideas. OHCHR's expert on the DRC, Paul d'Auchamp, said
his office supported the idea, but he expressed concerns that
both the DRC government and those of neighboring countries
would balk at it.

MAPPING, VETTING AND A FUTURE OHCHR PRESENCE
--------------


5. (SBU) D'Auchamp expressed enthusiasm for a mapping
exercise, to be spearheaded by the OHCHR, to catalogue human
rights violations in the DRC in the 1993-2003 timeframe, as
well as to offer Kinshasa suggestions for how to deal with
the consequences of those violations for the period ahead.
The exercise is to be led by Luc Cote, a Canadian who
conducted a similar exercise involving East Timor. Cote is
to begin work on the project, which involves a team of 18
international staffers and a similar number of Congolese
staff, following an upcoming visit to Geneva. D'Auchamp told

us that he was encouraged at the relatively quick start-up to
the project, which High Commissioner Arbour had initially
proposed to the DRC government a year ago. The fact that the
mapping exercise enjoys government support -- in contrast to
that government's decision ahead of the March Council session
to oppose the Independent Expert mandate -- is a promising
sign.


6. (SBU) Acknowledging that there may be other mapping
projects in the DRC, d'Auchamp stressed that none of them is
focused on human rights violations. He reported that a
number of countries, including the Netherlands, Germany,
Canada, Switzerland, and South Korea are providing funding
for it, as has the MacArthur Foundation. He noted that while
the project had enough funds to get underway, more funding
may be needed to complete it, and raised the possibility of
USG financial support.


7. (SBU) OHCHR also is involved in a vetting project, to
ensure that key posts in the DRC military are not filled by
human rights violators. OHCHR has played a role in
advocating for this effort, and would be prepared to provide
technical support for its implementation, d'Auchamp reported.
The armed forces Chief of Staff has indicated his openness
to the project, which now awaits parliamentary action.


8. (SBU) Last year, at the initiative of the High
Commissioner, the OHCHR office in the DRC was integrated into
MONUC, d'Auchamp reported. An agreement remains on the books
for OHCHR to reestablish its stand-alone presence there,
should MONUC be eliminated. Should that happen, the DRC
government would likely welcome reestablishing that presence,
d'Auchamp believed, particularly given that OHCHR's focus
would likely be on technical cooperation rather than more
politically sensitive activity.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) As with other human rights situations in Africa (such
as Zimbabwe, as discussed ref a),there is a sense of
frustration among Geneva human rights bodies with their
limited ability to influence the situation in the DRC.
Nonetheless, there is hope that UPR will offer a venue to
pressure the DRC to improve its behavior, and will encourage
the DRC government to engaged more widely with NGOs. At the
same time, OHCHR is plugging away and remains hopeful that
its projects, and its presence on the ground, can have a real
impact.
TICHENOR