UN slaps sanctions on DRC four for rights abuse

NEW YORK: The UN Security Council has added four people to its Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions list for “engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the DRC” (asset freezes and travel bans imposed).

One of the individuals, Muhindo Akili Mundos, is listed as the “DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) general, Commander of the 31st Brigade” and “FARDC brigadier-general”. Another, Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga Wa Bafunkwa Kanonga, is listed as the “Katangan rebel leader”.

The US announced the sanctions on Monday after accusing the men of human rights abuses.

“We are targeting human rights abusers perpetuating the horrific conflict in the eastern DRC who have contributed to the tremendous suffering of the Congolese people,” said John Smith, a director at the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees economic and trade sanctions.

“They are responsible for horrendous acts, including sexual abuse and forced military recruitment of children into positions requiring them to commit acts of violence, among other atrocities,” Smith said.

Earlier the UN Security Council blacklisted the four men for “planning, directing, or committing acts in the DRC that constitute human rights violations or abuses or violations of humanitarian law”.

According to a confidential 2016 UN Security Council report, Mundos, a close ally of incumbent President Joseph Kabila, was accused of helping to recruit and finance members of the Allied Democratic Front, a Ugandan Islamist group that has carried out atrocities against Congolese civilians.

Despite elections being repeatedly delayed by Kabila, the presidential elections are now due to be held in December this year.