YouSaid · the spoken record

Bihamba

lines on the record
8
first
2018-07-26
most recent
2018-07-26
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “I thank you once again, Mr. President, for honouring me, as a woman human rights defender, with this opportunity to make the voices of the voiceless heard.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  2. “Finally, in my capacity as a woman human rights defender and Chair of the Board of Directors of Synergy of Women for Victims of Sexual Violence, and on behalf of all women victims of abuse, we recommend the following to the Security Council and to States Members of the United Nations: to pressure the Congolese Government to implement a policy that genuinely promotes women's participation in decision-making bodies and women's candidacies for appointments; to call on the Government to respect freedom of expression, the right to demonstrate and the civic space of the Congolese population; to demand that the Government respect the New Year's Eve agreement and the Constitution, that is, to respect the rule of law; to have MONUSCO restore bases in sensitive areas to ensure the effective protection of civilians and support the ongoing electoral process; to direct the Human Rights Office to effectively document human rights violations by going into the field; and to materially support civil society organizations for the promotion and defence of women's rights so that they can provide leadership training for women leaders with a view to their gaining access to decision-making positions.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  3. “The Congolese Women's Forum on Resolution 1325, representing women from all provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have urged the authorities of the Republic to abandon this provision. The use of the voting machine proposed by the Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission has also been challenged by political actors and the majority of the population for fear of electoral fraud. The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has a population in which over 65 per cent of the people are illiterate, most of them women and young people, who will have enormous difficulty in using the machine, which has been programmed in French.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  4. “If these reforms are adopted in their current terms, the key principles of the rule of law will be undermined. The electoral law promulgated on 24 December 2017 constitutes a serious obstacle to the rights and freedoms of Congolese. Among other constraints, it requires candidates to reach a threshold of representativeness of at least 1 per cent of votes at the national level. As a result, in some electoral districts, no candidacy papers for provincial elections had been filed by the deadline. Moreover, this law particularly discriminates against women in electoral races by not taking into account their socioeconomic situation. The law requires candidates to pay a $1,000 deposit, which is an astronomical amount for women and young people, most of whom live on less than $1 a day.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  5. “Various demonstrations have been repressed by the security forces, resulting in civilian deaths, much material damage - especially to Catholic convents and churches - and the arbitrary arrests of leaders of the citizen movement, opposition politicians and human rights defenders. With five months to go before the planned elections, an improvement in the political atmosphere is far from being a reality for the activists still in prison. In addition to this political instability and the brutal repression of dissenting voices, several legal reform projects initiated by the Congolese Government tend to further reduce freedom of expression and the Congolese civic space. Among them, one is aimed at modifying the operating regime of national and international non-governmental organizations and another is aimed at combating terrorism.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  6. “The population also fears disorder and spillover on election day and hopes that MONUSCO will train Congolese police officers with a view to maintaining order and securing polling stations. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation of women, particularly victims of sexual violence, is deteriorating day by day due to the proliferation of armed groups. These groups are at the root of recurring wars leading to mass rape and displacement, mostly of women and their children. Cases of rape and violence have increased this year by more than 60 per cent in North Kivu province. The political climate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is tense due to the failure to hold elections within the constitutional deadlines.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  7. “Today I would like to address three themes: the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); the increase in sexual violence against women and girls; and the tense political climate following the failure to hold elections within the constitutional deadlines. The decision to close some of MONUSCO's bases once again exposes the civilian population in sensitive areas. Despite rapid deployment, help often arrives too late, when the damage is already done. Due to diminished financial resources, the Joint Human Rights Office is no longer present on the ground, and as a result is no longer able to effectively document cases of serious human rights violations, which are now reported by telephone.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source

  8. “I would like to thank the Swedish delegation, which invited me here to speak on behalf of Congolese women, who are too often the victims of sexual violence and excluded from public affairs management and peace negotiations. I am a woman human rights defender and the President of the Board of Directors of the Synergy of Women for Victims of Sexual Violence, a platform of 35 organizations working to improve, promote, defend, respect and protect the rights of women, especially women victims of sexual violence. We are also involved in governance, advocacy, human rights protection and sustainable peacebuilding in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

    2018-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8318 (2018) · source