Threatened with death for having denounced the massacres in his country, the DRC, Dr Denis Mukwege made a plea on Monday 31 August before the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights for transitional justice in his country for the most serious crimes and for the establishment of an international criminal tribunal for the DRC.
He spoke at an extraordinary meeting of this parliamentary committee. Denis Mukwege called on Parliament to adopt “a strong resolution” along these lines, recalling that “the impunity of the perpetrators is one of the main reasons for these crimes which continue to this day”.
Everyone agreed with the well-known Congolese gynaecologist that the 10-year-old UN Mapping Report on the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between 1993 and June 2003 has gone unheeded and that crimes have gone unpunished.
The report’s recommendations support the need to implement transitional justice mechanisms, namely: 1) mixed specialised chambers within the Congolese courts; 2) the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission; 3) engaging in institutional reforms such as institutional restoration.
“The means available to the judicial system are insufficient. They were 10 years ago, they are today”, Mukwege said.
While calling for these recommendations to be finally implemented, he went further by asking for an international criminal tribunal for the DRC, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) does not have jurisdiction. “The ICC only has jurisdiction over crimes committed after July 2002”, he said.
“Lack of political will and Realpolitik have for too long prevailed over the need and thirst for justice and truth. It is in this context that massacres continue with impunity. This situation, which is a disgrace to our common humanity, cannot continue. We hope for a strong resolution from the European Parliament to support the establishment and implementation of a justice strategy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”, said the doctor and winner of the 2014 Sakharov Prize.
According to him, account must be taken of the regional dimension of the conflict “where different foreign armies and rebels, supported by neighbouring countries, have intervened on Congolese territory and must be held responsible for the abuses committed”.
Mr Mukwege also called on European states to use universal jurisdiction to prosecute or extradite all alleged perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed in the DRC.
The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner thanked committee chair Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium) and Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland) for drafting a statement on 12 August to have UN police ensure his safety.
“We sincerely appreciate these expressions of solidarity and support, as well as that expressed by the High Representative, Josep Borrell”, he said. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)