Summary: 3 August 2007, Brussels - On the second anniversary of the murder, in Bukavu on 31 July 2005, of Pascal Kabungulu, the Secretary-General of Héritiers de la Justice, the European Union wishes to reiterate the importance of the fight against impunity for the democratic process in progress in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The recent murder of Radio Okapi journalist Serge Maheshe in Bukavu on 13 June 2007 and the deteriorating human rights situation prevailing particularly in the east of the country illustrate the dangers to which defenders of human rights, including journalists, are always exposed.
The EU calls on the Congolese authorities to bring fully to light the truth about both these murders, in accordance with its international obligations, especially regarding human rights, thereby demonstrating to Congolese citizens that impunity is no longer tolerated.
At the same time, the EU has taken good note of the judgments handed down on Saturday 28 July 2007 by the military court of Kisangani, in session at Bunia, and welcomes the verdicts delivered in the trial against the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in Bavi (Ituri) in 2006. The EU considers that judgment a positive move in the fight against impunity in the DRC and believes that it could serve as an example for the Kabungulu case - which began more than a year ago and has been
interrupted for many months - and for other judicial proceedings in progress concerning serious human rights violations. The EU stresses its commitment to the restoration of the justice system, in particular through the REJUSCO programme in the east of the country.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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