A/HRC/13/64 E. Situation of journalists, human rights defenders, victims and witnesses Existing recommendations 30. State institutions should encourage public dialogue and scrutiny to sustain and advance the democratic process. The State should respect its international obligations related to freedom of expression and of the press and take all necessary measures to protect victims, witnesses, human rights defenders and members of the media who are increasingly being threatened with arrest or even death. During her visit in May 2009, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders recalled these recommendations and made some additional specific recommendations, such as the adoption of national and provincial laws on the protection of human rights defenders. The Government should also respect the regime of notification governing the right to peaceable assembly. Finally, the Government should grant legal personality to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that comply with the administrative requirements.12 Actions taken by the Government and the current situation 31. There is still no law for the protection of human rights defenders, journalists, victims and witnesses. Moreover, the degree of importance accorded to the need to protect these individuals by the Congolese authorities remains insubstantial and non-institutionalized. Part of the problem is the lack of understanding by all authorities of the crucial role of human rights defenders in a democratic system. At the end of her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2009, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders underlined that the absence of a legal framework contributes to the precarious situation of human rights defenders in the country. No measurable progress has been made since then. 32. During the reporting period, journalists and human rights defenders were singled out by national security forces, armed groups and public authorities and encountered unlawful restrictions on the exercise of their rights to freedom of opinion and expression. On 26 July 2009, the Government temporarily shut down Radio France Internationale (RFI) broadcasts, on the grounds that the radio station was destabilizing the country by broadcasting “untrue and unverified” information. At the end of July 2009, the Minister of Communication labelled three international human rights NGOs, namely Human Rights Watch, Global Witness and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) as “humanitarian terrorists”, accusing them of being driven by a desire to destabilize the country, after they released critical reports on the human rights situation. On 22 August 2009, a journalist at Star, a private local radio station owned by an opposition member of parliament, was stabbed to death in the area of Kasali, Kadutu Commune, Bukavu town, South Kivu Province. This was the third killing of a journalist in Bukavu since 2007 and it has had a chilling impact on other journalists, even if the three dead journalists appear to have been victims of common crimes. 33. An emblematic case demonstrating the limited space for democratic debate and the hostility from the Government towards free expression is the arrest of Golden Misabiko, the President of the NGO ASADHO/Katanga, on 24 July 2009 following the public release of a report on the illegal exploitation of uranium in the Shinkolobwe mine. On 21 September 2009, the tribunal de paix de Lubumbashi-Kamalondo sentenced him to 12 months of imprisonment with 8 months suspended. He was found guilty of “inciting the population” under article 199 of the Criminal Code. No evidence was presented at the hearing to support the charge, yet Mr. Misabiko was still convicted. On 1 October 2009, the President 12 12 See footnote 1. GE.10-10563