A/HRC/33/36* United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 12 August 2016 English Original: French Human Rights Council Thirty-third session Agenda items 2 and 10 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Technical assistance and capacity-building Situation of human rights and the activities of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 30/26, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reports on the human rights situation and the activities of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from June 2015 to May 2016. The report assesses the progress made by the Government in implementing the previous recommendations made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations human rights mechanisms. The High Commissioner welcomes the improvements made in the legislative framework for human rights protection, including through the incorporation of the provisions of the Rome Statute and the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The High Commissioner welcomes the fact that the members of the National Human Rights Commission have taken office and that progress has been made in combating impunity. Nevertheless, the human rights situation remains of great concern throughout the country. The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office has observed that the highest number of human rights violations and abuses continues to occur in the east, committed by members of over 30 armed groups as well as by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the * Reissued for technical reasons on 21 October 2016. GE.16-13984 (E) 211016  