Democratic Republic of Congo: Torture, arbitrary detention and impunity amid armed conflicts

The escalation of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, under a state of siege since May 2021. Despite peace agreements, including the pact signed on June 27, 2025, in Washington and ratified by Rwandan and DRC leaders on November 4, 2025, as well as the Doha framework agreement inked on November 15, 2025, between the DRC and the M23/AFC alliance to halt atrocities in North and South Kivu, the situation remains volatile. Fighting has since spread to Uvira, exposing the fragility of ceasefire mechanisms.

The armed conflict has claimed over 10,000 lives within a year, displaced millions internally and across borders, and deepened a severe humanitarian emergency. Security forces and non-state actors, notably the M23/AFC backed by Rwanda, are frequently implicated in grave human rights violations, including torture and inhumane treatment under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The deteriorating security climate has severely restricted civic space, with public protests banned, press freedom curtailed, and civil society organizations under siege. Human rights defenders, journalists, political opponents, and activists face exile, arbitrary arrests, torture, and intimidation, crippling national capacities to document abuses and seek justice for victims.

This joint submission, led by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in partnership with SOS-Torture Network members in the DRC—including the Alliance for the Universality of Fundamental Rights (AUDF), Afia Mama, SOS Multidimensional Legal Information (SOS IJM), and Voice of the Voiceless for Human Rights (VSV)—precedes the upcoming review of the DRC’s periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).