DRC crisis: escalating torture, arbitrary detentions and unchecked impunity in war zones
The resurgence of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis in a region where two provinces—North Kivu and Ituri—have been under martial law since May 2021. Despite multiple peace agreements, including the Washington Accord signed on June 27, 2025, and ratified by Rwandan and Congolese leaders on November 4, 2025, as well as the Doha Framework agreed upon by the DRC and the M23/AFC alliance on November 15, 2025, atrocities persist. The conflict has since spread to Uvira, exposing the fragility of ceasefire mechanisms.
According to verified reports, the armed conflict has claimed over 10,000 lives in less than a year, displaced millions internally and across borders, and deepened a severe humanitarian emergency. Security forces and non-state armed groups—particularly the M23/AFC, backed by Rwanda—are frequently implicated in grave human rights violations, including torture and other cruel treatments prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The escalating insecurity has severely restricted civic space. Public protests have been banned, press freedom is under siege, and civil society organizations face relentless crackdowns. Human rights defenders, journalists, political opponents, and activists have been forced into exile due to threats, arbitrary arrests, torture, and intimidation. This has crippled the country’s ability to document abuses and seek justice for victims.
This joint submission, prepared by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in collaboration with members of the SOS-Torture Network in the DRC—including the Alliance for the Universality of Fundamental Rights (AUDF), Afia Mama, SOS Multidimensional Legal Information (SOS IJM), and Voix des Sans Voix for Human Rights (VSV)—will be presented ahead of the DRC’s upcoming review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.