A/HRC/10/59
page 18
provided with the budget and freedom from political interference to carry out its functions.
Moreover, the judicial architecture demanded by the Constitution has to be completed. The
adoption of legislation to establish the Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation and the Council
State was still pending when this report was finalized.
65. While several constitutional rights have been incorporated in the pertinent domestic laws,
important constitutional provisions still lack implementation at the legislative level. For instance,
the Constitution limits the jurisdiction of military courts to offences committed by members of
the armed forces and the national police. However, this important constitutional provision has
not yet been incorporated into the Military Judicial Code, which provides the military justice
system with jurisdiction over civilians in a number of constellations.
66. Positively, a draft law to implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
has been placed on the agenda of the National Assembly, which would (among other things)
transfer jurisdiction over all acts amounting to international crimes to civilian courts, even if the
perpetrators are members of the military or police.
67. Issues of justice and accountability in relation to the massive human rights violations
committed during the armed conflicts between 1993 and 2003 have hardly been addressed in the
Global and Inclusive Agreement on the Transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of
2002 and subsequent peace initiatives such as the Conference on peace, stability and
development in North and South Kivu held in Goma in January 2008. The United Nations is
currently mapping the major human rights violations committed between 1993 and 2003; this
will provide a basis of knowledge on which appropriate transitional justice mechanisms can be
built.
2. Role of non-state armed groups and condition of the state security sector
68. In paragraph 9 (a) of its resolution S-8/1, the Council identified the establishment of militia
as a root cause of the conflict and the basis of human rights violations and the humanitarian crisis
in the region. As indicated above, non-state armed groups are responsible for many of the worst
atrocities committed in the eastern part of the country. To some extent, these groups manipulate
local grievances over land to recruit fighters from the destitute population, while using the illegal
exploitation of natural resources to sustain themselves (see paragraphs 73 to 77 below).
Insufficient reintegration support from earlier disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
processes also make it easy for armed groups to re-recruit former fighters, including former child
combatants.
69. However, armed non-state groups also receive governmental support, which sustains their
existence and is a cause of particular concern. In its final report of December 2008, the Group of
Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo appointed by the Sanctions Committee of the
Security Council put forward evidence that FARDC collaborated with FDLR, including through
the provision of military equipment and in joint operations against CNDP.29 The Group of
Experts also found evidence linking FARDC commanders to PARECO and Mayi-Mayi non-state
29
S/2008/773, paras. 102-113.
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