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TITLE: ZAIRE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ZAIRE
President Mobutu Sese Seko has dominated an authoritarian
governmental system since 1965, when he took power in a
military coup. Although forced by opponents to announce in
1990 an end to the one-party state, Mobutu has steadfastly
refused to permit a transition to democracy. A National
Conference was convened, composed of 2,800 delegates and
chaired by the Archbishop of Kisangani, Laurent Monsengwo
Pasinya. The Conference, which closed under pressure from
Mobutu in December 1992, investigated official wrongdoings,
drafted a new constitution (intended to be ratified by a
referendum), extended President Mobutu's term of office for 2
years, to December 1993, and selected Etienne Tshisekedi Wa
Mulumba, Mobutu's most implacable foe, as Prime Minister. In
the Transitional Act the Conference also decided to establish a
High Council of the Republic (HCR) to exercise legislative
functions and to ensure the implementation of conference
decisions. Archbishop Monsengwo was chosen as its President.
However, since the end of the Conference, President Mobutu has
contested Prime Minister Tshisekedi's authority and has also
taken actions which challenged the authority and the decisions
of the National Conference. On April 1, Mobutu announced
Tshisekedi's dismissal as Prime Minister and appointed a
defector from Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social
Progress (UDPS) party, Faustin Birindwa, to run a parallel
government. Tshisekedi refused to recognize the President's
authority to remove him from office, although Mobutu's control
of the security apparatus permitted him easily to evict the
Tshisekedi ministers from their offices and to maintain de
facto control of government operations. At year's end,
negotiations to break the political deadlock between the "dual
governments" were still in progress. The core questions, which
the Zairian political class is unable to resolve, are Mobutu's
role and who will lead the transition to democracy as Prime
Minister.
Control of the security forces continued to be of crucial
importance in the ongoing struggle over the transition
process. Mobutu has built up overlapping forces. The elite
forces of the Civil Guard, headed by President Mobutu's
brother-in-law, General Baramoto Kpama Kpata, and the Special
Presidential Division (DSP), under his ethnic kinsman General
Nzimbi Ngbale, remained generally loyal to the Chief of State.
The DSP, in particular, was implicated in many human rights
abuses during the year, yet the President took no action
against its commander. The 70,000-person regular armed forces
became both perpetrator and victim of human rights abuses.
Compensation for these forces continued to be at the center of
incidents of military indiscipline and abuse of civilians.
Looting by soldiers broke out at the end of January in Kinshasa
after President Mobutu ordered the troops paid with newly
issued 5,000,000 (then worth about $2) Zaire notes, which Prime
Minister Tshisekedi had earlier proclaimed "demonetized," and
which then were not accepted in commerce.
Subsistence agriculture has long been the base of Zaire's
economy, but its minerals and mining output--especially
copper--traditionally generated the hard currency revenue.
Throughout 1993, however, Zaire continued to suffer sharp
economic contraction. Diamond exports, mainly outside
regulated channels, became the mainstay of Zaire's hard
currency revenues, while the output of the rest of the mining
sector, hobbled by the lack of new investment, dwindled into
insignificance.
With public employees unpaid for months at a time, and with
little investment or maintenance, Zaire's infrastructure has
continued to deteriorate. At the same time, corruption,
blackmail, extortion, and embezzlement remained endemic.
Inflation slowed to an annualized rate of between 300 and 400
percent during the first 9 months of the year, but accelerated
at a hyperinflationary pace during the final 3 months of 1993
in the wake of the Birindwa Government's so-called monetary
reform in late October. Average annual inflation for the year
is estimated close to 9,000 percent, compared with just over
3,000 percent in 1992. About 70 percent of the population is
rural, mainly engaged in subsistence farming; this, along with
a deeply rooted extended family system, has permitted people to
survive the current economic crisis.
Zaire is undergoing its worst human rights crisis since the end
of the civil war in the early 1960's. There were massive human
rights violations, especially by the Mobutu Government in
blocking democratic reform. It used a variety of brutal
techniques, including assassination and unlawful detention, to
hit at opposition politicians, labor officials, journalists,
and human rights monitors. It continued to incite ethnic
violence to cause loss of life and massive internal
displacement of thousands of persons in Shaba province.
Although there was no hard evidence of direct government
involvement, there was extensive additional ethnic violence in
the province of North Kivu, with resulting heavy loss of life
and property. Throughout the year, an atmosphere of insecurity
plagued Zaire, with frequent nighttime violence by military
elements, disrupting many aspects of government, including
judicial operations. Prison conditions, already seriously
health threatening, deteriorated further during the year.
Hundreds of people lost their lives during the January armed
forces uprising, both as a result of the rioting and during the
suppression of the looting by loyal elements of the armed
forces. No prosecutions resulted from the January mutiny.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There was a pattern of attacks by security forces in 1993, some
of them lethal, against opposition party activists. Security
forces killed the 28-year-old son of UDPS party leader
Frederick Kibassa Maliba, and wounded two of his other
children, in an attack on Maliba's home during the January
riots.
Thirteen gendarmes were implicated in the January 3 death of
another politician, Nyamwisi Mwingi of the Federalist Christian
Democratic Party, while he was investigating reports of
disturbances in the eastern town of Butembo. There were no
reports of legal prosecution of the gendarmes arrested in this
case.
The most serious incident of extrajudicial killing stemmed from
an armed forces mutiny that broke out in Kinshasa on January
28. Elements of the SARM (Military Intelligence Unit), the
Civil Guard, and the DSP, who remained loyal to President
Mobutu, summarily executed up to several hundred soldiers from
the regular armed forces during the course of their efforts to
suppress military looting. Bodies were observed unburied at
roadsides in Kinshasa in the days following the uprising.
The Zairian Association for the Defense of Human Rights
(AZADHO) a local human rights group, estimated the number of
dead at 259; other estimates ranged as high as 1,000. The dead
were largely mutinous military personnel; however civilian
deaths included the French Ambassador, who was shot while
standing at the window of his office; a Zairian employee of the
French Embassy killed at the same time; and several foreign
businessmen killed while trying to protect their property. No
one was prosecuted for the murders committed during the
uprising. Press accounts reported, however, that a military
council convicted 34 commandos in late November for their role
in a 1992 uprising in Kisangani.
Several people were reported killed in Kinshasa July 4 when
police forces put down a rally by the opposition UDPS party;
some eyewitnesses said police shot directly into the crowd. A
priest was killed in late November when security forces looted
a Catholic center and a warehouse for relief supplies in the
provincial town of Kananga.
Poorly paid and undisciplined, the security forces are
frequently accused of robbing and intimidating civilians,
sometimes using lethal force. One example of violence and
retaliation between undisciplined troops and civilians occurred
in February in the Kinshasa neighborhood of Kingasani, when
soldiers reportedly killed a well-known sports trainer.
Civilians killed a soldier in retaliation, and troops, probably
DSP, responded by firing on the funeral procession and the
surrounding neighborhood, leaving 20 to 50 people dead.
Local human rights groups report several incidents per month in
which uniformed personnel assumed to be security forces shoot
or beat a civilian to death, often during the course of a
robbery. It was not always possible to obtain independent
verification of these incidents or of armed forces
participation in them. Given the remoteness of much of Zaire's
territory, many other incidents in the interior undoubtedly
went unreported. While it was impossible to determine with any
precision how many deaths can be attributed to armed forces
indiscipline, there is enough consistency in the reports to
indicate that such deaths are a fairly regular occurrence.
Few, if any, of these cases are ever legally prosecuted. The
critically underfunded judiciary system has nearly ground to a
halt, hampering prosecutions. Furthermore, local human rights
groups and others suspect that a degree of Government
complicity in the January pillage has caused even more than the
usual footdragging in prosecutions of soldiers involved in
pillage-related abuses.
There are occasional allegations that extremist elements of the
Holy Union Opposition Coalition, which backs Tshisekedi,
intimidate political opponents, although it was difficult to
confirm these incidents. The pro-Mobutu MPR party and a human
rights organization, Voice of the Voiceless (VSV), report that
Makoba Bidimu, the MPR's Assistant Secretary General for
Information, died following a confrontation with a group of
militants from the Holy Union's UDPS party.
b. Disappearance
Given the breakdown of administration throughout Zaire, some
reports of disappearances may be attributable to common
crimes. While security forces frequently held detainees
incommunicado or in secret jails, (see Section 1.d.), they
typically have not attempted to conceal the fact of detention.
While the number of disappearances may have declined in 1993,
there are indications the practice nonetheless persists.
Amnesty International reported that at least one person, Emile
Nkombo, disappeared in the aftermath of the UDPS demonstration
repressed by security forces on July 4. A second UDPS
supporter, Rene Kanda, was seized by men in plainclothes in
July; he has not been seen since. Occasionally, unidentified
bodies are reported floating in the Zaire River near Kinshasa.
Disappearances in 1993 and in previous years are widely
attributed to secret special intervention forces (or
"antiterrorist" units) composed of elements of the DSP or the
Civil Guard. These forces, popularly called the "hiboux," or
"owls," are believed to have been given the mission of
intimidating the political opposition.
Human rights monitors had no further information on the 62
Zairian Air Force personnel detained in 1992, allegedly for
engaging in pillaging. The Government has ignored repeated
requests to allow visits or to disclose these prisoners'
whereabouts.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although torture is forbidden by Zairian law, its use is
widespread. Security personnel routinely beat suspects during
criminal interrogations, and there are credible reports of
cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment aimed at punishing and
humiliating those suspected of supporting President Mobutu's
opponents. Claims of torture are virtually never investigated
by the authorities, including the judiciary.
Throughout 1993 security forces subjected numerous politicians,
armed forces personnel, and journalists associated with the
opposition to intimidation. Security forces ransacked their
homes, subjected them to obvious surveillance, or beat them.
Uniformed men shot and wounded the Counselor for Security to
the transitional Prime Minister during a late September attack
in his home. Press sources and human rights groups reported
that ordinary citizens were frequently subjected to random acts
of violence and intimidation as undisciplined and often unpaid
security forces resorted to robbery and extortion.
Appalling conditions in most of Zaire's 220 prisons are a
serious threat to health. Conditions in Kinshasa's Makala
Central Prison are typical: Inmates sleep on the floor and
have no access to sanitation, potable water, or adequate health
care. Meals are of poor quality, scanty, and sporadic. In
September the prisoners went for over a week without being fed
at all, except by visiting relatives or from the produce of
small-scale gardening on the prison grounds. Malnutrition is
rampant, as are tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.
The Zairian Prison Fellowship and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) report that they have regular access to
the prisons nationwide. Women and juveniles are housed in
separate quarters in Makala, but human rights monitors report
that controls are inadequate and rapes sometimes occur.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Under Zairian law for serious offenses, punishable by more than
6 months' imprisonment, a warrant is not required for the
arrest of a suspect. Any law enforcement officer having the
status of "judicial police officer" is empowered to authorize
arrest. This status is also vested in senior officers of each
of the security services. The law provides that detainees be
brought before a magistrate for a hearing within the first 48
hours of arrest. If grounds for arrest are presented, the
magistrate may order detention for an initial period of 15 days
followed by renewable 30-day periods.
In practice, the Mobutu Government continued to use arbitrary
arrest and detention as a means to intimidate political
opponents. In April Mobutu's security forces interrogated the
transition Government's Foreign Minister, Pierre Lumbi, for 2
days, then kept him under house arrest for several weeks, in
connection with the President's contested attempt to replace
the transitional Government and force its members to relinquish
government documents and seals.
According to Amnesty International, AZADHO, and other
organizations, the Mobutu forces made over two dozen
politically motivated arrests of journalists, labor activists,
and opposition party leaders. Many of these arrests occurred
in a sweep in late March. A second round of arrests, mostly
involving midlevel opposition party officials, began in late
October after the Birindwa Government introduced a new currency
and decreed imprisonment for anyone who counseled against
accepting the new notes. Typically, Mobutu security units held
these detainees incommunicado for several weeks or months on
accusations that their writings and political activities
threatened national security, then granted them a conditional
release. The SARM (military intelligence) kept a journalist,
Kalala Mbenga Kaleo, in custody from his August 25 arrest
through September 22, apparently in connection with an article
he wrote for the newspaper La Tempete Des Tropiques, in which
he listed the ethnic backgrounds and educational achievements
of Zaire's generals and admirals. He was never charged with a
crime.
In February government troops surrounded the People's Palace,
where the High Council of the Republic, the Parliament
established under the Transitional Act, was in session. The
troops detained HCR members and others in the building without
food or potable water for a period of over 48 hours.
According to AZADHO's September records, about 66 percent of
the inmates of Makala Prison were awaiting trial. This figure
represents some improvement over the previous year, when an
estimated 85 percent of Makala's inmates were awaiting trial.
However, human rights and religious groups report that
approximately 80 percent of inmates in Zaire's prisons are
still awaiting trial. Many have been imprisoned without trial
for several years, in some cases for periods of time longer
than the maximum period for which they could have been
sentenced if convicted.
The number of political detainees and political prisoners held
by Mobutu's security forces at year's end was unknown. In
December there were 21 people in detention as a result of
recent Lumumbist party political demonstrations. There were no
known detainees still in detention for opposition to the
October "monetary reform." Persons detained in Zaire for
political reasons have traditionally been held under
administrative detention or house arrest. Many of them are
held clandestinely or in military prisons. Human rights
organizations estimate there are 40 such prisons in Kinshasa
alone. The Government has never implemented the National
Security Council guidelines issued in 1990 to end unlawful
incommunicado detentions and the practice of internal exile.
The law mandates judicial oversight of detention centers, but
such oversight rarely occurs, due to official indifference and
to a lack of personnel, materiel, and transport.
There were no known cases of internal or external exile in 1993.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
While the amended 1977 Constitution and the proposed new 1992
constitution provide for an independent judiciary, in practice
the judiciary is not independent of the executive branch and
has consistently been responsive to priorities and objectives
set by the President and his Government. Zaire's Civil and
Criminal Codes are based on Belgian and customary law. Its
legal system includes lower courts, appellate courts, the
Supreme Court, and the Court of State Security. Most cases are
initiated at the local level, and many disputes are adjudicated
by local administrative officials or traditional authorities.
Adherence to acceptable legal procedures varies in most
instances. Charges of misconduct against senior government
officials must be filed directly with the Supreme Court.
The Constitution provides defendants with the right to a public
trial and counsel. The right of appeal is provided in all
cases except cases involving national security, armed robbery,
and smuggling, which are adjudicated by the Court of State
Security. When a defendant is unable to afford a lawyer, the
law provides for court-appointed counsel at state expense in
capital cases, in all proceedings before the Supreme Court, and
in other cases when requested by a court. In practice, these
protections are frequently ignored. Many defendants never meet
their counsel or do so only after months of detention and
interrogation.
Tshisekedi's transitional Government had vowed to improve
Zaire's judicial system and deliver fair and impartial
justice. However, it has been powerless do so since Mobutu
dismissed it and installed the rival Birindwa Government early
in 1993. The judicial system is hobbled by a continuing
shortage of trained and motivated personnel, a scarcity of
essential supplies, continued intimidation of justices, and
other constraints. In particular, magistrates, like many other
Zairians, suffer from inflation-ravaged wages and poor working
conditions, a situation that gives rise to corruption. The
magistrates were on strike for a substantial part of 1993 as a
result of the Government's failure to pay them.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Security forces routinely ignored legal provisions that require
a warrant before searching a home and entered and searched
residences at will. The attack on UDPS party leader Kibassa
Maliba's home is only one of the more blatant examples of a
pattern of intimidation carried out against opposition
supporters in their homes. The homes of several of the
political activists who were arrested in March were searched
and ransacked, as was the home of transitional Prime Minister
Etienne Tshisekedi. Undisciplined security forces also
continued to beat, rob, rape, and kill citizens in their own
homes. Hundreds of such cases occurred during armed forces'
looting in January. It is widely assumed that the Government
monitors mail and telephone communications.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian
Law in Internal Conflicts
Zaire's continuing political crisis greatly exacerbated ethnic
tensions and regional disputes, resulting in many violations of
humanitarian law. In particular, government officials
continued to provoke ethnic clashes in Shaba province and to
expel members of certain ethnic groups from that area.
Provincial Governor Gabriel Kyungu Wa Kumwanza publicly blamed
Shaba's economic problems on the inhabitants originally from
the neighboring provinces of eastern and western Kasai
(Tshisekedi's region), many of whom have lived in Shaba for
several generations. Kyungu proclaimed any Kasaians who had
not left Shaba by the end of July would be killed or
imprisoned. Militant members of Kyungu's Party of the Union of
Independent Republicans (UFERI), which had led several violent
attacks against Kasaians in 1992, reinforced these statements
by leading several additional clashes in 1993, including in
Kolwezi in March, which left several people dead and many
houses destroyed. As a result, Kasaians continued to leave
Shaba province throughout 1993. At year's end, credible
sources estimated that about 600,000 people had been displaced
since the conflict began in 1992.
Throughout the year, tens of thousands of people waited for
transportation to the Kasais at railroad stations in the Shaba
towns of Kolwezi, Likasi, and Kamina, often for weeks at a
time. Conditions in the makeshift railway station camps and on
the trains were extremely poor, leading to cases of
malnutrition, illness, and death from exposure. Deaths were
recorded on every train taking Kasaians from Shaba. Many
people, robbed or charged extortionate fees for transportation,
arrived destitute in eastern and western Kasai.
Interethnic violence in western Shaba province resulted in the
reported burning alive of 25 people in Kalemie village on
October 11 and the burning of 15 houses in Moba village on
October 29. Human rights organizations called for an
investigation to determine the perpetrators of these abuses.
Ethnic strife broke out in March between residents native to
North Kivu province and "Banyarwandan" residents who have
immigrated to Zaire from Rwanda in several successive waves
beginning in the last century. Hostilities between the rival
groups in Kivu had resulted in up to 6,000 dead and 230,000
displaced between the outbreak of violence in March and the end
of July, when the violence mostly subsided. Opposition
leaders' allegations of central (i.e. Mobutu) Government
involvement in provoking ethnic conflict in North Kivu have not
been verified, although it is generally assumed that local
officials, including the vice governor, were implicated.
However, hostilities continued virtually unchecked for almost 4
months until the Government sent DSP troops to quell the
disturbances.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides citizens the right to express their
opinions freely. Although there is no prior censorship of the
media, there is a requirement that newspaper publishers deposit
copies of each issue prior to publication with the Minister of
Information and Broadcasting. The print media are also subject
to an ambiguous ordinance on "press freedom" promulgated on
April 20, 1981, which fails to define "freedom of the press"
and is intimidating to journalists.
The Mobutu Government's control of the Zairian Radio and
Television Office (OZRT), the only media organ capable of
reaching audiences nationwide, and its increasing harassment
and intimidation of journalists and other outspoken figures of
the opposition tended to repress free expression and encourage
self-censorship during the year. Twelve OZRT employees were
suspended in 1993 in what was almost certainly a clampdown on
excessive independence in reporting.
Although numerous newpapers were published in Kinshasa in 1993,
the impact of the press remained largely confined to Kinshasa
as the lack of transport and other obstacles limited
distribution of private newspapers to rural areas.
The Mobutu Government continued to harass and intimidate the
print media. It arrested journalists from the opposition-
linked Le Potentiel, Le Phare, La Tempete Des Tropiques, Umoja,
and the Kasai-based Les Petites Annonces De La Semaine in
connection with articles they had published. All were granted
conditional liberty after several weeks or months of
imprisonment. In addition, the Government announced a 3-month
suspension of the Kinshasa newspaper Les Palmares on August 4,
apparently in connection with a special edition that was
considered to have insulted President Mobutu. No law was cited
in the order mandating the suspension. The authorities
arrested at least one person for possession of the issue. They
banned completely another newspaper, L'Interprete, and declared
its possession a crime following the publication of a single,
highly scatological issue.
Subsequent to the October 24 "monetary reform," a Government
decree threatened suspension of all periodicals that advised
against acceptance of the new currency. The Birindwa
Government suspended Umoja, its sister publication La
Renaissance, Elima, and Salongo under this decree. All of
these periodicals resumed publication within days, in defiance
of the ban.
As of the end of the year, those responsible for the 1992
destruction of printing equipment belonging to an opposition
newspaper as well as the firebombing of a printing plant that
published opposition newspapers had neither been charged nor
brought to trial.
Security forces also reportedly resorted to direct action
against the distribution of opposition newspapers in Kinshasa
and in the interior, particularly during the months of March
and April, when several vendors were beaten and their
newspapers confiscated. At the same time, the Government
prevented six journalists selected to attend a seminar in
Brazzaville from departing Zaire.
The Government allowed many foreign journalists into Zaire to
report on developments throughout the year. However, the local
human rights group, Voice of the Voiceless, reported that
several foreign journalists in possession of valid visas were
either denied entry or had their visas revoked shortly after
their arrival. Furthermore, the Mobutu authorities arrested
two American free lance journalists, forced them to leave Shaba
province, and held them under house arrest in Kinshasa for
several days after they made contact with Kasaian political
figures in Shaba.
Free discussion is generally respected within the university,
although the right to publish is restricted. Public
universities were in operation from January through the end of
the academic year in September, even though professors were not
paid during that time. At year's end, it appeared unlikely
that the universities would reopen.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The right of the people to assemble peacefully has never been
firmly established in Zaire. Under previously existing law,
the Government requires all organizers of public meetings to
apply for a permit. Many opposition parties complained that
the Mobutu Government continued to deny them permission to hold
demonstrations. In July security forces forcibly repressed a
UDPS party demonstration in Kinshasa, leaving between one and
five persons dead (See Section 1.a.). Government troops rioted
outside of the Catholic Interdiocesan Center February 26; they
destroyed several vehicles parked there when several members of
the High Council of the Republic, released from captivity at
the People's Palace, had gathered to greet the Assembly's
President Archbishop Monsengwo. Twenty-one people were
arrested and several more were injured in early December when
security forces broke up a series of demonstrations by the
Lumumbist Palu Party.
A wide range of private organizations concerned with civic and
other affairs have been free to organize and conduct their
affairs peacefully, without constraints being imposed upon them
by the Government. However, leaders of political parties and
other groups, most notably human rights organizations, are
routinely subject to harassment (see Section 4).
c. Freedom of Religion
About 50 percent of the population is Catholic, 40 percent
Protestant and Kimbanguist (a Zairian Christian church), and 5
percent Muslim. The remainder profess indigenous or other
religious beliefs. There is no legally favored church or
religion in Zaire, but the Constitution limits religious
freedom by authorizing the Government to regulate religious
sects by law.
The 1971 law regulating religious organizations grants to civil
servants the power to establish or dissolve religious groups.
Under this law the process for becoming recognized is
restrictive; however, officially recognized religions are free
to establish places of worship and to train clergy. Most
recognized churches have external ties, and foreign nationals
are allowed to proselytize. In a remarkable decision in March,
the Supreme Court overturned President Mobutu's 1986 order
banning the Jehovah's Witnesses. While the Court acknowledged
that the President had authority to ban the Church under the
Constitution and laws in force, it held that he had not
sufficiently specified the dangers to national interests that
compelled him to ban the group. The Court ordered the
Government to pay damages to the Church. At year's end, the
Government had not paid the damages, but it had apparently
ceased persecuting Witnesses. The Government does not
generally interfere with foreign proselytizers.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
All citizens, refugees, and permanent residents must carry
identity cards. Police and soldiers erect checkpoints on major
roads to inspect papers.
Passports and exit permits are available, in principle, to all
citizens (often at exorbitant cost from corrupt officials), but
the Government has regularly prevented individual travel by
withholding such documents or by arbitrarily preventing
departures. In 1993 human rights groups also reported several
incidents in which the Government blocked journalists,
opposition politicians, and human rights monitors from leaving
Zaire.
Government treatment of refugees has been generally benign and
asylum has been liberally granted. (However, disputes over the
citizenship rights of Rwandan immigrants or their descendants
appear to be at the root of ethnic disputes in Kivu.) Most
refugees in Zaire do not live in camps. Many have settled in
already existing Zairian villages and towns, and Angolan
refugees, especially in Bas Zaire, live in villages they have
settled. Two indigenous nongovernmental organizations, the
Church of Christ of Zaire and the Committee for Intervention
and Assistance to Refugees, provide assistance in conjunction
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
which maintains an office in Kinshasa. Doctors Without Borders
of Belgium serves Angolan refugees in western Shaba province.
Doctors Without Borders of Holland is assisting Burundian and
Rwandan refugees in the Kivu region. As of November, the UNHCR
estimated there were about 465,000 refugees in Zaire, including
about 200,000 Angolans, 125,000 Sudanese, and 50,000 Rwandans.
In October and November, Zaire received an influx of 40,000
Burundian refugees following an attempted coup and ethnic
conflict in Burundi. They are receiving UNHCR assistance.
There were no known instances of forced repatriation in 1993.
Some 60,000 Zairians have sought asylum in neighboring
countries. Prospective returnees are dealt with individually,
and there is no evidence of discrimination against them. The
continual and worsening economic, political, and social crises
stimulated increasing numbers of asylum requests at Western
embassies in Kinshasa and abroad. Most of these Zairians
seeking asylum have been interviewed by UNHCR and have been
found to be economic rather than political refugees.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
The Mobutu regime has never permitted Zairian citizens to
exercise their right to change their government. In 1993
President Mobutu maintained de facto authority over government
operations through his control of key units of the military and
the administration, including the central bank, and by
co-opting as Prime Minister one of the well-known opposition
members.
He effectively blocked the 2-year program of transition to
democracy adopted by the Sovereign National Conference in 1992
in a series of moves: In January he barred Tskisekedi's
cabinet members from their offices and named senior civil
servants as an interim government; in February he prevented the
functioning of the High Council of the Republic (HCR), the
highest authority established by the National Conference, by
having his security forces surround the Peoples' Palace (the
High Council's seat), and virtually holding hostage the HCR
members for over 48 hours; in March he announced the formation
of a new government, headed by Prime Minister Faustin Birindwa,
a member of UDPS, and reconvened the old National Assembly,
which was elected under the previous one-party system and whose
electoral mandate had expired.
Nevertheless, in the face of the President's moves, the
Tshisekedi Government refused to step down, protesting that
only the HCR had the authority to dismiss the transitional
Government, and throughout the year continued to have backing
from most of the democratic opposition (known as the Holy
Union) and diplomatic support from the international donor
community.
Several attempts to negotiate a compromise failed to end the
impasse. In March HCR President Monsengwo called for a
"conclave" to discuss potential resolutions, but he and the
opposition leaders subsequently decided to boycott the
conclave, objecting to the lack of security guarantees. The
conclave, dominated by Mobutu supporters, then selected Faustin
Birindwa as Prime Minister. Negotiations between
representatives of the conclave and the Holy Union began again
on September 10, resulting in a draft agreement on the
institutional framework of the transition. The accord remains
unsigned, and on December 3, the Holy Union announced a
unilateral rupture of its participation in the talks.
There is no official discrimination against the participation
of women or minorities in politics. However, the rival
Tshisekedi and Birindwa Governments each include only 1 woman
in their 32-member Cabinets, and the indigenous Pygmies living
in remote areas take little part in the political process. The
Pygmies did not participate in the National Conference, but
their interests were represented and their plight was debated
in plenary sessions. The Conference voted that all Pygmies
should be considered Zairian citizens with full citizenship.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Several nongovernmental Zairian human rights organizations have
been active in the country since 1990. These include the
Zairian League of Human Rights (LIZADHO), the Voice of the
Voiceless (VSV), the Zairian Association for the Defense of
Human Rights (AZADHO), the Zairian Elector's League, the Amos
Group, and the Zairian Prison Fellowship. All have reported
and documented human rights abuses and issued reports on the
Government's attitude regarding its responsibility to protect
these rights and to meet the basic human needs of the
population. Justice Ministry officials threatened AZADHO with
closure in September on the grounds that some of its branch
offices were not formally registered; for its part AZADHO notes
that the organization's applications for legal standing have
met with unexplained delays. Representatives of LIZADHO and
the Voice of the Voiceless, among others deemed politically
sensitive, were prevented from leaving Zaire in the first half
of the year. After several rebuffs, U.N. envoy Darko Silovic
finally received permission August 22 to lead a 2-week mission
to assess the need for humanitarian assistance.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Both the Constitution of the Second Republic and that drafted
by the National Conference forbid discrimination based on
ethnicity, sex, or religious affiliation. Despite these
constitutional provisions, women are in practice relegated to a
secondary role in Zaire's traditional society. They are the
primary farm laborers and small traders and are exclusively
responsible for childrearing. In the nontraditional sector,
women commonly receive less pay for equal work. Women in Zaire
tend to receive less education than men; a recent U.N. study
indicates that females in Zaire receive only one-third of the
schooling given males. Although women are represented in the
professions and the civil service, only rarely do women occupy
positions that permit them to exercise authority over male
professionals. Few have attained positions of high
responsibilty.
Women are required by law to obtain their spouse's permission
before engaging in routine legal transactions, such as selling
or renting real estate, opening a bank account, accepting
employment, or applying for a passport. A 1987 revision of the
Family Code permits a widow to inherit her husband's property,
to control her own property, and to receive a property
settlement in the event of divorce.
The Government did not address the issues of discrimination and
domestic violence against women in 1993. The question of
domestic violence has generally been ignored by the press and
human rights groups despite acknowledgment that it occurs and
may indeed be common.
Children
The sharp decline in public spending--the Government has not
even published a budget for several years--has had a
significant impact on programs addressing children's welfare.
Most schools, for example, only function in areas where parents
have formed cooperatives to pay teacher salaries. There are no
documented cases in which security forces or others target
children for specific abuse, although children suffer from the
same conditions of generalized social disorder and widespread
disregard for human rights that affect society as a whole.
Female genital mutilation (circumcision) is not widespread in
Zaire, but it is practiced on young females among isolated
groups in northern Zaire.
Indigenous People
Discrimination against Zaire's Pygmy population, estimated at
between 6,000 and 10,000, continues. There were conflicts over
land between the nomadic Pygmies and the agrarian populations
in the Kivu provinces, and such clashes may have resulted in
some deaths in 1993. The 1992 National Conference proposed a
census of the diminishing Pygmy population, with a view toward
the eventual establishment of territorial reserves. No further
action was taken on this measure in 1993, as the political
impasse blocked most National Conference initiatives.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Zaire's population of about 40 million includes over 200
separate ethnic groups. Four indigenous languages have
national status. French is the language of government,
commerce, and education. Political offices have generally been
proportionally allocated among the various ethnic groups, but
members of President Mobutu's Ngbandi ethnic group are
disproportionately represented at the highest levels of the
security and intelligence services. Ngbandi predominate at all
levels within the Special Presidential Division, the best
equipped and trained unit of the armed forces.
People with Disabilities
The Government has not mandated any law or expenditures to
improve access for the disabled and has not passed legislation
specifically forbidding discrimination against disabled
persons. A network of privately and publicly funded specialty
schools provide education and vocational training to blind and
physically disabled students. These schools, however, suffer
from the same critical funding shortfalls that have devastated
the educational system as a whole. Continued economic decline
and a consequent dearth of investment in roads, sidewalks,
public buildings, and transportation has rendered public
facilities increasingly inaccessible to everyone, regardless of
disability.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The right of workers to form and join trade unions is provided
for in the Constitution and in legislation, but there are two
exceptions. Magistrates and other employees of the judicial
system are governed by a statute which stipulates that they may
not create their own union. In addition, all military
personnel (including gendarmes or the national police) are
subject to a statute which states that they, too, cannot
establish a union.
Before April 1990, all trade unions were required by statute to
affiliate with the National Union of Zairian Workers (UNTZA),
the single legally recognized labor confederation which was an
integral part of the only political party then allowed,
President Mobutu's the Popular Movement for the Revolution
(MPR). After April 24, 1990, when political pluralism was
permitted, the UNTZA disaffiliated itself from the MPR and
reorganized under new leadership chosen through elections
deemed fair by outside observers. Other independent labor
unions and nascent confederations emerged in the ensuing
months, most of which organized along occupational or party
lines. Some of these have antecedents which existed in the
early years of Zaire's independence. Between 80 to 85 such
organizations are now officially registered with the Labor
Ministry, although many exist only on paper.
Among some of the more prominent union centrals are UNTZA,
considered relatively independent of the MPR since its latest
internal elections; Organization of United Zairian Workers
(OTUZ), which is directed by the former pro-MPR leaders of
UNTZA; the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), which
includes the two major public employees unions and is
associated with the opposition UDPS party; and the pro-PDSC
(Social Democrat) Union Central of Zaire (CZA).
The rapid contraction of the Zairian economy in the last 3
years has decimated the formal (wage earning) sector of the
economy. According to one estimate, only 1 million of Zaire's
40 million population held wage-paying jobs at the end of 1992;
the figure was probably lower at the end of 1993. Although
there are no reliable statistics, it is probably safe to assume
that most of the rest of the population, with the exception of
the very young or the very old, is engaged in productive but
nonwage earning activity. Most of these nonwage workers are
employed in subsistence agriculture; in urban areas, many are
employed in small-scale retailing, services, or workshops.
UNTZA, still the largest labor confederation in terms of
membership, claims about 300,000 members. Traditionally, the
bulk of unionized jobs have been clustered in urban or
mineral-producing areas and are concentrated in key economic
sectors such as ports and transportation, mining, large-scale
manufacturing, and the public sector. These sectors, and their
corresponding unions, have been among the hardest hit in the
ongoing economic contraction.
The right to strike is recognized in Zairian law; however,
"legal" strikes rarely occur since the law requires prior
resort to lengthy mandatory arbitration and appeal procedures.
Labor unions have not effectively defended the rights of
workers in the deteriorating economic environment. The wildcat
strikes against the Matadi Port and the quasi-legal strike
against the Onatra Transportation Company ended with negotiated
wage increases; a legal strike against the Zaire SEP Petroleum
Products Distribution Company, however, ended with the firing
of several workers. Public employees, most of whom were unpaid
for a period ranging from 9 to 12 months, were on strike
legally for most of the year. The Vice President of the
Dinafet Public Employees Union was arrested and held for 2
months on charges of "inciting revolt" after he called on
public employees to demonstrate to protest the nonpayment of
their salaries.
UNTZA participates actively in the Organization of African
Trade Union Unity, and the Confederation of Zairian Syndicates
(CSZ) is affiliated with the World Confederation of Labor
(WLC). Several other confederations have expressed an interest
in an affiliation with the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU). The Konrad Adenaur and Fredrich Ebert
Foundations administer trade union programs.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Legislation provides for the right to bargain collectively, and
an agreement between the UNTZA and the Employers Association
(ANEZA) provided for wages and prices to be negotiated jointly
each year under minimal government supervision. This system,
which functioned until 1991, broke down as a result of the
rapid depreciation of Zaire's national currency and has not
been replaced by an alternative system. Continuing
hyperinflation has encouraged a return to pay rates
individually arranged between employers and employees;
collective bargaining still exists, at most, on the level of
the individual enterprise. Economic deterioration has also
resulted in a decline in the influence of unions, a tendency to
ignore existing labor regulations, and a buyer's market for
labor. The Labor Code prohibits antiunion discrimination,
although this regulation is not strongly enforced. The
Government has not yet promulgated modifications to the Labor
Code that would strengthen provisions safeguarding the right to
form unions and to bargain collectively. In the public sector,
wages are established by decree, with public sector unions
acting only in an informal advisory capacity.
There are no export processing zones in Zaire.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor is prohibited by law in Zaire and is not
practiced. However, the International Labor Organization's
(ILO) Committee of Experts (COE) in 1993 continued to express
concern about Zairian laws dating to 1971 and 1976 requiring
able-bodied citizens not otherwise employed to perform
agricultural and development work as determined by the
Government and providing for imprisonment with compulsory labor
for persons determined to be delinquent on tax payments. These
laws have not been enforced in recent years.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum age for employment is 18 years. Minors 14
years and older may be employed legally with the consent of a
parent or guardian. Employment of children of all ages is
common in the informal economic sector and in subsistence
agriculture. Neither the Ministry of Labor, which is
responsible for enforcement, nor the labor unions make an
effort to enforce child labor laws. Larger enterprises do not
commonly exploit child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Most Zairians are engaged in subsistence agriculture or
commerce outside the formal wage sector. The minimum wage,
last adjusted by government decree in 1990, became totally
irrelevant as high inflation continued throughout 1993. Most
workers relied on the extended family and informal economic
activity to survive.
The maximum legal workweek (excluding voluntary overtime) is 48
hours. One 24-hour rest period is required every 7 days. The
Labor Code specifies health and safety standards.
The Ministry of Labor is officially charged with enforcement of
these standards. However, in 1993 the COE expressed concern
about the inadequacy of reporting during the previous 3 years,
blaming this unsatisfactory performance on the dearth of human
and material resources provided to the Ministry. There are no
provisions in the Labor Code permitting workers to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations without penalty.
[end of document]
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