Delivered by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
Location Geneva
Delivered in French
Mr. Vice-President, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
I have been concerned about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for many years, and most of my predecessors too, before me. The situation is now even more serious and alarming. All parties to the conflict in North and South Kivu have committed violations or abuses of human rights, and violations of international humanitarian law.
That is the preliminary finding of my Office’s Fact-Finding Mission, set up at your request four months ago and focusing on the period since January 2025. The mission will present a report to this Council and to the General Assembly in September.
So far, the investigation and analysis undertaken by the mission reveal an apparent total disregard for the protection of civilians during and after military operations.
The Rwandan-backed M23 used heavy weaponry during their offensive on Goma in January, hitting densely populated neighbourhoods and camps for displaced people.
As the DRC armed forces retreated, there was an apparent total breakdown in command, control and military policing as DRC soldiers and members of the DRC-backed Wazalendo militias killed, raped and pillaged.
My Office is investigating other alleged violations of international humanitarian law, many of which may amount to war crimes.
After capturing cities and villages, the M23 arbitrarily arrested police officers and large numbers of other civilians, including children. M23 fighters also captured DRC soldiers and forced some to join the M23.
Witnesses told my team that those captured were – and still are – held in inhumane conditions at military camps, including Rumangabo, and in informal places of detention. Many were forcibly recruited into the ranks of the M23.
Members of the M23 carried out summary and extrajudicial executions, in clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, and likely amounting to war crimes. The mission is also investigating alleged summary executions by members of the DRC armed forces and Wazalendo militias.
The M23 used torture and other ill-treatment to impose order, to force people to work, and to suppress dissent and extract information.
The Mission also received reports that Wazalendo militias arbitrarily arrested and abducted people to extort money, and carried out summary punishments in areas under their control.
And the Mission is investigating alleged arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of suspected M23 supporters by the military intelligence arm of the DRC armed forces.
Distinguished delegates,
The Fact-Finding Mission received reports of horrific use of sexual violence by all parties to the conflict in North Kivu and South Kivu, as a means of reprisal against communities, the relatives of perceived opponents, and people from other ethnic groups.
Nearly 40 percent of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence are children. UNICEF estimates that during the most intense phase of the conflict, a child was raped every 30 minutes.
Victims and survivors often lack access to treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis kits, because of the widespread destruction of medical facilities by parties to the conflict, and cuts by international donors to humanitarian funding.
My office is investigating reports of M23 and various Wazalendo militias recruiting teenage children to use them in armed conflict.
Distinguished delegates,
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are suffering the worst impact of the fighting in North Kivu and South Kivu. The violence has forced an estimated one million people from their homes, or from one temporary location to another.
Many displaced people reported that M23 fighters forced them to dismantle their shelters and move. In Goma, in early February, they were given just three days to return to their villages, where many found their houses had been destroyed or occupied.
As of March 2025, my team found that many displaced people, including those who had been forced to return to their villages across North Kivu and South Kivu, were struggling to feed themselves, and to access basic healthcare. Schools, hospitals and water systems in Masisi and Rutshuru, for example, suffered extensive damage during the fighting.
Distinguished delegates,
The violence in North Kivu and South Kivu has shrunk the space for human rights defenders, civil society, and the media.
My Office is investigating reports of death threats, detention and other reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists and members of civil society perceived as critical of the M23. This includes the alleged killings of at least two activists and threats against human rights defenders working to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
The DRC authorities have suspended press accreditation and threatened legal consequences against journalists and others whose reporting is considered favourable to the M23 and Rwandan forces.
Health and humanitarian workers have also faced threats, intimidation, and violence. This, along with deep cuts in international humanitarian funding, risks the spread of preventable diseases, including polio and measles, well beyond the DRC’s borders.
In one harrowing example, during the night of 28 February, M23 fighters raided Ndosho Hospital and the Heal Africa Hospital in Goma, reportedly firing weapons inside the buildings and abducting 121patients, accusing them of being DRC soldiers or members of the Wazalendo militias. The location of many of those abducted remains unknown.
Distinguished delegates,
The scale and range of violations and abuses the Fact-Finding mission is documenting are horrendous. It is deeply disturbing that clashes are continuing unabated in North Kivu and South Kivu.
I call on all parties to the conflict to commit immediately to a ceasefire and resume negotiations, and to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
I reiterate my call to Rwanda to withdraw its troops from DRC territory and end its support to the M23.
And I urge all countries with influence on parties to the conflict to encourage respect for international law.
I call on them to do everything in their power to address the serious human rights and humanitarian crisis in this region, and to support mediation efforts, with a view to finding a lasting solution, including by addressing the root causes of instability.
Finally, our Fact-Finding Mission has collected and analysed a wealth of evidence to support accountability processes, from victims and witnesses in DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, other States, United Nations partners, and members of civil society.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Due to the current financial situation of my Office, the Fact-Finding Mission could only operate by using our reserve funds.
It is unlikely that there will be any Regular Budget funding this year for the Commission of Inquiry mandated by this Council to continue this work.
We will do everything possible to access Regular Budget funds as early as possible in 2026 to establish the Commission.
I urge your continued political and financial support for my Office’s work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Thank you.