- The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member and partner organizations (see signatories below) are alerting about the terrible wave of sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the massive prison escapes in the eastern part of the country. The mass rapes and deaths of hundreds of women at the Goma prison in February 2025 must prompt a strong response.
- The organizations are also raising concerns about the threats and reprisals being carried out by recently escaped war criminals against victims and witnesses involved in legal proceedings against them, as well as against human rights defenders who have supported them.
- While the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the DRC is in the process of adoption by the Human Rights Council, the signatory organizations urge the Congolese authorities to take urgent measures to drastically improve detention conditions in the country, particularly for women detainees.
Kinshasa, Kisangani, Paris, 25 March 2025. In the midst of the March 23 Movement’s (M23) push into North and South Kivu in eastern DRC, by the end of January 2025, thousands of prisoners escaped from prisons due to the disintegration of local authorities. Reports indicate mass escapes at the Muzenze prison in Goma, North Kivu, as well as in Bukavu, Uvira, and Kalehe in South Kivu, and in Kalemie in the Tanganyika province.
However horrific these events are not isolated incidents of violence, but rather are part of a deeply entrenched pattern of sexual violence against women in prison settings. As a reminder, in September 2024, in Kinshasa, during a massive prison break, hundreds of detained women were raped by prisoners. In January 2020, in Lubumbashi, 50 detained women were raped for two days during riots at the Kasapa prison.
In the majority of recent mass escapes in the eastern part of the country, the detainees had been held in prolonged pre-trial detention. These individuals included civilians, military personnel, and members of armed groups. In most cases, it was the Congolese penitentiary authorities who opened the cell doors before fleeing. In the DRC, as in almost all conflicts, rape is used as a weapon of war, to assert dominance, sow fear, and break communities. The assault on these already vulnerable women is an illustration of the risks faced by female detainees.
The failure to protect detainees reflects a broader systemic neglect that must be addressed immediately. Prisons, which should provide a controlled and secure environment, must not become places of additional crime. Ensuring the safety and dignity of female detainees is not just a legal obligation; it is a fundamental human right that must be enforced.
Retaliation Against Victims and Witnesses
These escapes pose significant risks to the safety of victims and witnesses, who are at risk of retaliation with impunity, in a context of a security vacuum in areas newly under M23 control or where state authority is weak. For example, militia leader Donat Kwengwa Omari, convicted of crimes against humanity in November 2024 by the military court of South Kivu, escaped from the central prison in Bukavu and returned to his former area of influence in the Shabunda territory. He resumed command of his group, now aligned with the Wazalendo movement in the fight against the M23. He is currently mobilizing his military resources to hunt down and intimidate those who testified against him. Violent reprisals have already targeted certain human rights defenders, while threatened victims are forced to move to escape violence. Furthermore, with the withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from the South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces, civilian protection and the security of human rights defenders are no longer ensured by the Mission and remain in the hands of Congolese authorities, whose resources are limited or threatened by the advance of the M23.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders recently raised concerns about threats faced by defenders in retaliation for their activities in support of victims and witnesses of convicted individuals for serious crimes. Prison and judicial staff are also targeted by the risk of reprisals from detainees and members of armed groups against whom legal proceedings had been initiated. Furthermore, most legal files were destroyed during the ransacking of the facilities by escaping detainees. In rare cases, files were placed in safes that could not be broken into.
While the context of an open armed conflict has facilitated these recent escapes, these events are part of a broader, more structural issue within the prisons of the DRC. Overcrowding, poor detention conditions (hygiene, access to food, medical care), and the violence that prevails within prisons in the DRC pose a risk to the mental and physical health of detainees. Violence and mass escapes frequently occur in the DRC, where, too often, female detainees are the primary targets of male co-detainees, while guards indiscriminately use lethal force.
Recommendations:
On the occasion of the adoption of the UPR report on the DRC by the Human Rights Council during its 58th session, the signatory organizations raise concerns about sexual and gender-based violence in the context of mass prison escapes in the DRC, as well as about general detention conditions in the country.
The signatory organizations urge the Congolese government to promptly implement the recommendations made in the context of the UPR regarding the improvement of detention conditions.
Furthermore, our organizations request the Congolese state to:
– Improve detention conditions, particularly by reducing prolonged pre-trial detention and speeding up case processing times;
– Ensure the safety of female detainees whose cells are near those of men and provide psychosocial and medical support to women who have been raped;
– Conduct investigations into the prison escapes;
– Allow the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (BCNUDH) access to prisons at all times as part of its human rights monitoring mandate;
– Accelerate the establishment of a torture prevention mechanism;
– Ensure the protection of human rights defenders, victims, and witnesses of crimes committed by escaped detainees, including in areas under the control of the FARDC and their allies, by taking concrete measures to prevent reprisals and ensure their safety;
– Ensure prison security and protect the rights of detainees in areas under its control.
To the United Nations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Fact-Finding Mission:
– Investigate cases of sexual and gender-based violence committed in the context of prison escapes during the conflict;
– Strengthen the monitoring and documentation of threats, reprisals, and violence committed by former detainees on the run, and advocate for appropriate protection measures for victims, witnesses, and human rights defenders.
To the international community:
– Support the establishment of an emergency assistance mechanism for human rights defenders capable of meeting their vital needs in the short term and facilitating their temporary relocation;
– Support the establishment of victim and witness protection mechanisms;
– Support efforts to provide urgent assistance to women victims of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of prison escapes.
To DRC partners:
– Support the digitization of judicial files;
– In the context of technical assistance provided, intensify support for human rights capacity-building for detainees and penitentiary authorities;
– Strengthen the role and intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in monitoring detention conditions in prisons and reporting on prisons.
