A/HRC/24/33 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 12 July 2013 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-fourth 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 Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights and the activities of her Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Summary In its resolution 19/27, the Human Rights Council invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a report to the Council at its twenty-fourth session on the situation of human rights and the activities of her Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the present report, which covers the period from November 2011 to May 2013, the High Commissioner assesses the progress made by the authorities in the implementation of recommendations made by the High Commissioner and United Nations human rights mechanisms in recent years. The High Commissioner commends the efforts made by Congolese authorities to address such recommendations, which resulted in important developments in the field of human rights, including the promulgation of a law on the establishment of a national human rights commission. The High Commissioner also notes with satisfaction the improvements in holding State agents accountable for human rights violations, including sexual violence, such as elements of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and of the Congolese National Police, many of whom were convicted during the period under review. There were several other significant developments during the reporting period, including, in March 2013, the surrender to the International Criminal Court of General Bosco Ntaganda, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. GE.13-15575