A/HRC/27/42 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 24/27 on technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is the fourth such report. It provides an overview of the situation of human rights, and of the activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country from June 2013 to May 2014. 2. The report highlights main developments affecting human rights during the reporting period. It then focuses on issues concerning the protection of civilians, the fight against impunity, and the situation of journalists, human rights defenders and political opponents. The report also highlights the Government’s efforts to fulfil its obligations visà-vis the United Nations human rights mechanisms. II. General trends and major developments affecting the human rights situation throughout the country 3. Between June 2013 and May 2014, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) registered human rights violations affecting nearly 6,200 victims, 80 per cent of which occurred in the conflict-stricken provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale. The most documented type of violations pertained to physical integrity, including torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and sexual violence affecting over 2,400 victims. Sexual violence remains a major concern, with around 310 incidents registered during the reporting period, involving some 730 victims, mostly in North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale. A. Violations committed by armed groups 4. During the period under review, combatants of different armed groups, taken altogether, were responsible for nearly 50 per cent of the total number of victims registered by UNJHRO. Members of M23, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Mai Mai groups were among the main perpetrators. The violations were mainly committed during attacks on villages aimed at gaining control over certain territories and/or in retaliation for the communities’ real or perceived collaboration with opposing parties. 5. For example, during an attack on 11 December 2013, at least 21 civilians, including 11 children, were killed by ADF combatants in Beni territory, North Kivu province. Most of the victims were first abducted and then brutally killed by machete, some beheaded. They were targeted for their alleged collaboration with Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers. 6. The number of abductions of civilians by armed groups remains alarming. For instance, between 25 August and 22 September 2013, at least 73 civilians, including 13 children, were abducted by armed combatants in three separate incidents in North Kivu. Of those abducted, at least 12 were executed and eight women were raped. Most of the abductions which took place during the reporting period were committed by ADF combatants while a large number of abductions were also reportedly conducted by Nyatura combatants in Rutshuru territory, North Kivu province. 7. In parts of northern Katanga province, hundreds of civilians were victims of serious human rights violations in incidents of violence linked to an insurgency by Mai Mai groups known as “Kata Katanga”. Following investigation missions conducted from March 2013 5