A/HRC/41/31 1. Analysis of the prosecution process 25. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the prosecution of international crimes is largely dealt with by the military justice authorities. Although Congolese law provides for the concurrent jurisdiction of the civil and military justice authorities over such cases, 9 in practice, the latter handle almost all prosecutions, whether they concern members of the armed forces or civilians. The team of international experts found that the military justice authorities in Kasai are theoretically capable of investigating and prosecuting the serious crimes that have been committed there. The commitment, professionalism and competence of the members of the military prosecutors’ offices in Kasai were demonstrated during the workshop in Tshikapa and the heads of those offices have gained experience in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nevertheless, representatives of the civil justice system and the bar association of Kananga recommended building the capacity of the civil justice authorities to deal with such cases as well. The team shares this view, for the prosecution process would be strengthened by the parallel involvement of the civil justice authorities. 26. Since the investigations into the serious crimes committed in Kasai are still at the initial stage, the team of international experts interacted with the military prosecution services mainly for the purposes of monitoring, evaluating and supporting: (a) the implementation of investigation and prosecution strategies; and (b) the allocation of human and logistical resources to this end. It will be necessary to carry out follow-up work with the military courts when the investigations lead to trials and possible convictions. 10 27. The team of international experts points out that the map of military judicial districts in Kasai is based on the old provincial divisions, which changed as a result of the territorial reform in 2015. Thus, two senior military prosecutors’ offices are responsible for the five current provinces of Kasai, one for the former Province of Kasai Occidental (covering the Provinces of Kasai and Kasai Central) and the other for the former Province of Kasai Oriental (covering the Provinces of Kasai Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru). (a) Existence of an inclusive and comprehensive strategy of investigation and prosecution, with a particular focus on crimes of sexual violence 28. The previous team of international experts called on the competent authorities to apply a prosecution strategy that covered all perpetrators who had been involved in the violence in Kasai.11 29. With the support of MONUSCO and guided by international principles relating to the selection and prioritization of cases, the senior military prosecutor’s office of the former Province of Kasai Occidental has drawn up a list of 16 incidents that are to be investigated as a priority. The cases concern the following regions and localities: Tshisuku, Nganza, Katoka, Diboko, Malenga, Tshikapa, Mutshima, Maswika, Nkoto, Tshinyembe, Tshimbulu, Kabeya-Madi, Luebo and Kamonia (bearing in mind that some of these places feature in more than one case). 30. At the workshop in Tshikapa on 28 February 2019, the senior military prosecutor of the former Province of Kasai Occidental explained that he had selected and prioritized 9 10 11 GE.19-07485 See article 91 of Organic Act No. 13/011-B of 11 April 2013 on the Organization, Functioning and Jurisdiction of the Ordinary Courts. See also article 2 of Act No. 15/023 of 31 December 2015 amending Act No. 024-2002 of 18 November 2002 establishing the Military Criminal Code (repealing article 207 of the Military Criminal Code, which granted the military courts exclusive jurisdiction over offences under the Code, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes). Given that there have been no convictions to date for the serious crimes committed since 2016, it will be the responsibility of a follow-up mechanism to review the implementation of the previous team’s recommendation that the authorities should ensure that persons convicted of crimes of sexual violence are given appropriate sentences and are prohibited from joining or remaining in the defence and security forces (A/HRC/38/31, para. 111 (f)). The same goes for the recommendation concerning alleged child offenders (A/HRC/38/31, para. 111 (g)). A/HRC/38/31, para. 111 (c) (iii). 7