DRC : In Kinshasa, ACEDH Opens a National Workshop to Address the Blind Spots in the Law on Human Rights Defenders

Kinshasa, 19 February 2026. Two years after its adoption, Law No. 23/027 on the protection and responsibility of human rights defenders is undergoing an unprecedented critical review. Over two days, civil society actors, lawyers, journalists, and institutional representatives are meeting in Kinshasa to enrich and validate a citizen-led text proposing revisions to the law, in a context marked by a rise in violations against environmental defenders.

Organized under the coordination of the Congolese Alert for the Environment and Human Rights (ACEDH), the workshop is intended as a strategic moment of mobilization to influence the legislative process. The ambition is clear: to correct the shortcomings of a law meant to protect defenders, but whose certain provisions are now seen as restrictive—or even deterrent—to civic action.