The resurgence of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation in a region where two provinces—North Kivu and Ituri—have been under a state of siege since May 2021. Despite peace agreements, including one signed in Washington on June 27, 2025, and ratified by the Presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo on November 4, 2025, as well as a framework agreement signed in Doha on November 15, 2025, between Democratic Republic of Congo and the AFC/M23 to halt atrocities in North Kivu and South Kivu, the situation remains dire. The conflict has since spread to Uvira, exposing the fragility of ceasefire mechanisms.
The armed conflict has claimed over 10,000 lives in less than a year, displaced millions of people, and deepened a major humanitarian crisis. In this context, defense and security forces, as well as various armed groups—particularly the M23/AFC, reportedly backed by Rwanda—are frequently implicated in serious human rights violations, including torture and ill-treatment under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The deteriorating security situation has severely restricted civic space, with public protests banned, press freedom curtailed, and civil society organizations under threat. Human rights defenders, journalists, political opponents, and civil society actors have been forced into exile due to threats, arbitrary arrests, torture, and intimidation, severely weakening national capacity to document and seek justice for victims.

This joint submission is presented by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), alongside members of the SOS-Torture Network in Democratic Republic of Congo—the Alliance for the Universality of Fundamental Rights (AUDF), Afia Mama, SOS Multidimensional Legal Information (SOS IJM), and Voice of the Voiceless for Human Rights (VSV)—in advance of the upcoming review of Democratic Republic of Congo‘s periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.