Mr. Chair, thank you for inviting us.
It is truly an honour to be here today to talk about a situation that you are already very familiar with. As you know, I am an advisor to the Communauté congolaise de la grande région de Toronto, or COCOT, a non-profit organization in Toronto that works with Congolese people and helps them integrate into life in Canada.
We are appearing to talk about the wholesale violation of human rights in Congo. These violations occur every day. When I say “every day”, I truly mean each and every day.
You are aware that there have been further killings in Kasai this morning. These violations are committed by law enforcement personnel which are being exploited by Mr. Joseph Kabila. As you surely know, Mr. Kabila's term in office was supposed to end on December 19, 2016. Mr. Kabila does not want to resign, however, and he has taken the country hostage. Not only does he refuse to resign, he does not want to hold the elections that were due as of December 19, 2016.
Mr. Kabila is using law enforcement personnel, who are committing all kinds of crimes every day. These crimes involve among other things violence and rape of children, women and seniors, most of whom are among the most vulnerable members of our society.
As the Subcommittee on Human Rights, you surely know that on December 10, 1948, the 58 members of the UN Security Council adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations General Assembly. That was in Paris. I would like to recall a few of the things that were agreed upon and that all the nations signed off on.
The declaration refers to the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family”, as the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace in the world. The declaration also states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” In other words, every person has the right to life, freedom, and personal safety.
In spite of this definition, to which the Congo is a signatory as are Canada and the other UN member countries, Congo is mired in unprecedented tragedy. The year 1997 marked the arrival of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo, or AFDL, which at the time was welcomed as an alliance of democratic forces for the liberation of Congo. We see today, however, that the AFDL is an occupation force.
I say “occupation force” because, in 1997, Mr. Laurent-Désiré Kabila arrived in Congo with Rwandan and Ugandan military forces. Since there was a genocide in Rwanda, they claimed that the criminals who had committed the genocide in Rwanda were hiding in Congo. We now know that this was not the case. Since 1997, when the AFDL arrived with Rwanda and Ugandan armed forces, more than 12 million people have been killed: civilians, innocent people, children, in short, the most vulnerable members of our society, as I said earlier.
What is shocking to Congolese people in Canada and other defenders of human rights is that most organizations, including the UN, through its Security Council, Amnesty International, the UN High Commission on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, the Observatoire national des droits de l'homme, human rights networks, nations' ministries of foreign affairs, including the U.S. State Department, the Country Reports on Human Rights, Global Witness, and many others, have produced reports as usual.
There is an annual report on Congo every year. These reports not only provide information about the atrocities committed in Congo, but in fact name the people behind those crimes. In the UN Security Council report and the UN mapping report of 2003, there is a list of mining companies, including some Canadian companies, that have been accused of human rights violations in Congo.
Unfortunately, they also include the names of certain political and economic leaders from Canada and other western countries, who close their eyes to human rights violations in locations where mining companies are extracting strategic raw materials.
What we are trying to say is that, in 1994, there was of course a genocide orchestrated by Paul Kagame and his forces, who had come to liberate and restore power in Rwanda. This action resulted in the death of 800,000 people and, as soon as this horrible thing happened, the whole international community and the UN labelled it “genocide”. On the one hand, they were right, it was truly a genocide.
Congo, on the other hand, has lost 12 million people. I said 12 million people, or a third of the population of Canada. The international community is hesitating and is slow to label these crimes what they truly are. The real name of the crimes happening in Congo today is “genocide”.
In appearing before you today, we are asking you what you can do to bring justice.
We think the Congolese people have suffered and will continue to suffer because those who are behind these crimes, which are committed every day in Congo, are in power and they intend to stay there and retain power for as long as possible, using armed force, of course.
You will not be surprised to hear that more crimes will be committed tomorrow, such as those we are hearing about in Kasai, Kivu, Tshikapa, Ituri, and now in the capital of Kinshasa.
Our hope today is that Canada will bring its full weight to bear. Canada is respected around the world and at the UN. We hope Canada can make the case for the effective establishment of democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Thank you.