On August 7, 2024, Kinshasa hosted a crucial national strategic colloquium to discuss the revision of Law No. 23-27 of June 15, 2023, regarding the protection and responsibility of human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Organized by the Congolese Alert for the Environment and Human Rights with support from the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), the event gathered experts, civil society representatives, and political actors to develop advocacy and lobbying strategies.
The colloquium began with a presentation by Master Eric KAMBALE, who outlined the specific challenges faced by human rights defenders, particularly in environmental and land issues. Highlighting the urgency to revise Law No. 23-27, he stressed the need to adapt the legislation to better protect defenders.
Mr. Eric Kambale, Program Officer at ACEDH, shared his testimony, pointing out major gaps in the current law: “This law has deficiencies in its articles. Articles 25, 26, and 27 are areas needing improvement. When the law was proposed to the National Assembly and Senate, we noted that there were already some shortcomings in the proposal. We drafted a note and suggested corrections for some provisions. Curiously, the proposal was adopted as is by the National Assembly and Senate and promulgated by the President of the Republic on June 15, 2023. This is the law governing us today, the law regulating human rights defenders. However, gaps and various issues persist. That’s why we said it’s necessary to continue mobilizing actors, informing them of the dangers and threats related to certain provisions of this law. A year after its promulgation, we observe that violations continue and the situation of human rights defenders has not changed. Some defenders have been killed, and nothing has been done. We denounce, advocate, write notes, but there’s no change. We therefore proposed among the innovations that investigations should be mandatory for violations of the rights of human rights defenders.”
The atmosphere in the room was filled with determination and commitment, with lively and constructive exchanges. Participants, both focused and motivated, actively contributed to discussions on the shortcomings of the current law. Interventions were punctuated with relevant questions and innovative suggestions, illustrating a genuine desire for reform.
The first part of the event was marked by presentations and discussions on the current law’s shortcomings. Participants examined the impact of legislative provisions on defenders’ activities and proposed modifications to improve the legislative framework.The colloquium was then divided into two working groups to focus efforts on key aspects of the legislative revision. These groups worked on several axes:
Firstly, the groups presented and adopted a strategic document detailing a common approach for revising the law. This document proposed specific recommendations to amend problematic articles of Law No. 23-27 to ensure better protection for human rights defenders. Additionally, a petition for improving the law was introduced. This petition, reflecting the defenders’ concerns, will be used to bolster advocacy efforts. Secondly, a pre-proposal text regarding the law’s revision was presented. Participants debated this text in groups, refining proposals to address the raised concerns. These discussions clarified necessary modifications and strengthened recommendations for advocacy. After the presentations, group discussions continued with in-depth debates on the two proposed tools. The groups worked on revising the strategic document and the proposal text. The results of these discussions were then presented in a plenary session, where recommendations were reviewed and adopted.
At the end of the colloquium, several significant outcomes emerged. First, the strategic document, summarizing recommendations for revising the law, was adopted, including harmonized strategies for advocacy and lobbying. Moreover, the petition for improving the law was finalized and is now ready to be presented to decision-makers. Concurrently, the proposal text for the law’s revision was adjusted and will be submitted to the relevant authorities. Participants also signed an advocacy memorandum, establishing a roadmap for future actions. Finally, a final communiqué was prepared and distributed, announcing the start of the mobilization process for revising Law No. 23-27.
The national strategic colloquium marked a crucial turning point for revising the law on the protection of human rights defenders in the DRC. By focusing efforts on well-defined advocacy and lobbying strategies, participants laid the groundwork for essential reform. The signing of the final communiqué and the launch of the mobilization for legislative revision illustrate a strong collective commitment to ensuring true and effective protection for human rights defenders.
By Franck Zongwe Lukama.