DATE=3/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGO-KINSHASA / RIGHTS (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260771
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A U-N report on the human rights situation in
Congo-Kinshasa says the presence of foreign armed
forces and other armed groups in the country is
creating a climate of violence and extreme insecurity.
Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.
TEXT: The report to the U-N Human Rights Commission
says Congo-Kinshasa is struggling with several
conflicts at the same time. It says some are internal
and others have been internationalized -- leading to
what it calls unimaginable humanitarian consequences.
The U-N special investigator, Roberto Garreton, says
more than one million people in Congo-Kinshasa have
been made homeless and nearly 300-thousand have sought
refuge in other countries. And he says human rights
violations are massive and widespread.
/// GARRETON ACT ONE - IN FRENCH - FADE UNDER ///
Mr. Garreton charges the Congo-Kinshasa government
with a long list of violations, including the improper
use of military courts, abductions and disappearances,
torture, and the suppression of freedom of expression.
Mr. Garreton also charges widespread abuse in the
eastern part of the country, which is controlled by
Congolese rebel groups. The rebel groups are
supported militarily by Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
He says a climate of terror exists in rebel-held
areas.
Mr. Garreton says use of the death penalty is the most
flagrant violation of human rights in the territory
under government control.
/// GARRETON ACT TWO - IN FRENCH - FADE ///
Mr. Garreton says President Laurent Kabila told him
that he is against capital punishment. He reports the
president said he would like to abolish the death
penalty but has to use it for what he called security
reasons.
The U-N investigator says 19 people have been executed
in Congo-Kinshasa since the beginning of the year --
despite an announcement by the country's human rights
minister in December that the government would observe
a moratorium.
Mr. Garreton says his two main recommendations are for
an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in Congo-
Kinshasa and for strict adherence to the Lusaka
accords, which call for a cease-fire by all the
warring parties. (Signed)
NEB/LS/JWH
30-Mar-2000 11:34 AM EDT (30-Mar-2000 1634 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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