A/HRC/10/59
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violations. The fund would initially rely on matching government and donor contributions,
but then seek repayment of disbursed amounts from the State or private individuals cited
as responsible. In a pilot stage such a fund could cover one or two provinces and focus in
particular on awards based on sexual violence cases.
95. Transitional justice for the massive violations that took place between 1993 and 2003
is another area that should be prioritized. These violations are generally outside the
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which can only be seized of cases that
took place after 1 July 2002. The establishment of joint benches, comprising national and
international judges and sitting in national courts, might be an appropriate transitional
justice tool for the DRC that can also be combined with truth seeking initiatives.
2. Reforming the security sector
96. The police, intelligence services and in particular the FARDC all remain in need of
serious and comprehensive reform. In many ways, the operational weakness of FARDC
and also the present lack of capacity of the police constitute a human rights concern that
should rank very high on the list of priorities. Not only does the FARDC often prove
incapable of protecting the civilian population from attacks by armed groups, but it also
becomes a perpetrator of violations because it lacks the command and control structures
and accountability mechanisms to prevent abuses from within its ranks. The minimum
training provided in the brassage process has proven inadequate. There is a need for more
comprehensive training programmes. Coordinated training should target officers and
systematically include international humanitarian law and human rights in the curriculum.
This will not only require substantial resources, but also willingness among the various
countries to agree on a curriculum and coordinate their efforts generally on the basis of a
shared national security reform strategy. As an accompanying measure donors should also
continue and expand programmes to provide units, particularly in conflict areas, with
supplies and ensure that they receive their salary. The construction of barracks would
allow keeping soldiers away from civilian populations.
97. The Government should remove perpetrators of serious human rights violations that
have already been identified as such from its ranks and files without further delay. In
addition, the Government and its major partners in security reform should set up a
comprehensive and adequately resourced secondary screening mechanism, where each
officer is vetted for his past human rights record and subjected to a determination of his
ability to command in accordance with principles of international humanitarian law and
the values embodied in the Constitution of the DRC. Candidates who fail should be
excluded and blacklisted from joining the military, police and intelligence services, with
appropriate due process mechanisms and transparent processes. The international
community should technically assist this process by providing specialized international
staff as well resources.
98. Donors should insist that training and support and accountability for human rights
violations are mutually reinforcing elements and make extension of programmes
contingent on serious government efforts to clean the ranks of the security forces.
Similarly, MONUC should not cooperate with FARDC commanders and units implicated
in human rights violations.
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