A/HRC/10/58 page 2 Summary In its resolution 7/20 the Human Rights Council invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to report to the Council at its tenth session on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on the activities the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has undertaken in the country. In its resolution S-8/1, the Human Rights Council invited the High Commissioner to report to the Council at its tenth session on the human rights situation in eastern Congo and on the activities her Office has undertaken in the region. The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains of grave concern. Acute conflicts and long-standing structural challenges have worsened the already precarious living conditions of the Congolese. This report provides an overview of the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of the activities of OHCHR in the country, including in eastern Congo. During the reporting period, in eastern Congo, Government control was often challenged or replaced by various armed groups, resulting in or perpetuating conflicts that have engendered serious violations of human rights, such as arbitrary executions, sexual violence, abductions and pillaging. While international attention has focused on the conflict in eastern Congo, the public space for protests and criticism in the rest of the country has diminished considerably, with the authorities often repressing those critical of their policies. Mainly as a result of inadequate wages, police and army officers commonly use their position to extract payment from civilians, often through the use of arbitrary arrests and physical force. The judiciary faces enormous challenges, ranging from a profound lack of resources to widespread corruption and political and military interference. The lack of an independent judiciary deprives citizens of an effective legal framework through which to lodge complaints and seek redress. During the reporting period, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNJHRO) - which is composed of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known by its French acronym as MONUC) and OHCHR in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - has stepped up its monitoring and advocacy activities. In areas of armed conflict, UNJHRO took part in joint protection teams established by MONUC to enhance its capacity to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence. In order to assist the Government on judicial and disciplinary follow-up to violations committed by State agents, committees were established with the participation of the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), the Police nationale Congolaise (PNC) and the judiciary. UNJHRO has intensified efforts to fight impunity in the area of sexual violence, amongst other things through systematic trial monitoring and implementation of various capacity-building programmes. The OHCHR-led mapping exercise, currently underway, will make an important contribution to addressing justice and accountability issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by creating an inventory of the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between 1993 and 2003, and making recommendations in the area of transitional justice.