A/HRC/19/48
due to lack of funding. The High Commissioner welcomes the call made by the Minister of
Justice and Human Rights to establish liaison bodies in the provinces; none has yet been
created. Parliament has still not adopted the draft law concerning the establishment of a
national commission for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with
the Paris Principles.
Activities of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office
48.
UNJHRO has developed several tools to assist the Government and judicial
authorities in strengthening the criminal justice system. Besides following up on the
parliamentary proceedings concerning the draft laws to reform the criminal justice system,
such as the draft law on the specialized court, UNJHRO is involved in advising
parliamentarians on the content of the draft laws and on possible amendments.
49.
The High Commissioner dispatched an OHCHR mission to the Democratic Republic
of the Congo from 27 to 31 March 2011 to step up discussions with the Government and
other partners to follow-up on the report on the most serious violations of human rights and
international law committed in the country between March 1993 and June 2003. The
mission discussed the transitional justice options contained in the report and stressed the
need for constitutional change in order to abolish the judicial privileges and immunities of
high-ranking military and civilian authorities suspected of having committed international
crimes. OHCHR also shared comments on the draft law establishing specialized chambers
with the Government, members of Parliament and civil society. At the time, OHCHR
expressed concerns about some of the provisions of the law, including those related to the
lack of independence of the judges, the lack of clarity with regard to the role of the
Prosecutor, the applicable legal framework, the unconstitutional nature of some of the
provisions, as well as the possibility of applying capital punishment. OHCHR stressed that
failure of the law to comply with international standards would undermine the credibility of
the specialized court and, consequently, the willingness of key donors and international
judges to support and participate in this process. The mission also pointed out that the
establishment of a specialized court should also contribute to a broader effort to strengthen
national capacity in the area of the rule of law and administration of justice.
50.
In cooperation with MONUSCO, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
and other partners, UNJHRO is providing logistical and technical support to the judiciary.
In order to enable the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and the Prosecutor’s offices to
better monitor and implement improvements in judicial activity, UNJHRO, in partnership
with the Government, is developing a database which will increase the efficiency of the
administrative processing of cases and enable analysis of the outcome of cases and the
performance of the judiciary.
Obstacles
51.
The obstacles mentioned in the High Commissioner’s previous reports persist with
regard to the administration of justice and the fight against impunity. 32 Inadequate resources
prevent cases from being treated promptly and efficiently, make magistrates potentially
susceptible to corruption and force them to request user fees from civilians seeking judicial
recourse. This renders the justice system inaccessible to the majority of the population,
undermines its neutrality and impartiality, and consequently erodes trust in the system.
Often, when a judicial decision is issued, justice remains undone due to the systematic
failure to enforce these decisions.
32
16
A/HRC/13/64, para. 42; and A/HRC/16/27, para. 58.
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