A/HRC/24/33 activities for officials, such as administrative personnel, military police and judicial authorities, on the rights of victims, witnesses and human rights defenders. F. Public liberties and elections 1. Recommendations 36. Recalling with concern the cases of threats and violence reported during the presidential and legislative elections, including against members of civil society and human rights defenders, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 19/27, recommended that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo should hold free and fair elections with all due respect for the rights of all parties to freedom of expression, assembly and opinion. A number of recommendations were also made thereon in the report of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office on serious human rights violations committed by members of the Congolese defence and security forces in Kinshasa during the electoral period (November 2011), published jointly with MONUSCO.28 2. Action taken by the Government and current situation 37. The elections in 2011 were held in a context of violence, involving clashes between various political actors and during which serious human rights violations were committed by State agents across the country. Between 1 October 2011 and 31 January 2012, the Joint Human Rights Office documented 345 human rights violations linked to the electoral process, involving 769 victims: at least 41 civilians were killed, 168 injured and/or mistreated and 400 people subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. The Office also documented 26 violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, 48 violations of the right to freedom of expression and 18 violations of the right to freedom of the press. The Congolese defence and security forces were found to be responsible for more than half of the human rights violations documented by the Office. The most serious violations were reported in Kinshasa and Kasai Oriental. 38. Despite high-level advocacy by different national and international actors, including the Joint Human Rights Office, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has largely failed to address the human rights violations committed in the context of the 2011 elections. More than a year and a half after the elections, very few of the human rights violations documented by the Office have resulted in an investigation or prosecution. None of the agents of the National Intelligence Agency or of the Republican Guard reportedly involved in human rights violations committed in the context of the elections has been arrested or prosecuted.29 3. Action taken by the Joint Human Rights Office 39. During the pre-election and election periods, the Joint Human Rights Office strengthened monitoring at its headquarters in Kinshasa and through its 18 field offices. In the months leading up to the elections, it carried out awareness-raising activities, in collaboration with partners, for more than 10,000 people throughout the country. In November 2011, the Office established a free hotline, active around the clock, every day of the week, for civilians wishing to report election-related human rights violations, and 28 29 12 Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ZR/ReportDRC_26Nov_25Dec2011_en.pdf. See the report of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office on serious human rights violations committed by members of the Congolese defense and security forces (see footnote 9).