U.N. to Investigate Reports of Government-Backed Slaughter in Congo
Haley said that If they fail to do so,
The United States would have liked a stronger resolution, Jason Meek, the head of its human rights delegation, told the council, expressing doubt
that the Congolese government had "the will and capacity to complete a transparent and credible investigation." The American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, said that the investigators must be allowed to work without interference and that Congo’s government must cooperate.
By consensus, the United Nations’ main human rights body, the Human Rights Council, on Friday approved a resolution to send a team of international experts "to establish the truth"
about events in Congo’s central Kasaï region, where an upsurge in violence in August last year has resulted in thousands of deaths and the destruction of entire villages.
European Union members had initially pushed for a tougher resolution calling for an international investigation on the scale of a commission of inquiry, but they dropped
that proposal when it became clear that it lacked African support and Congolese ministers said they would not let its members into the country.
Investigations will be led by the government, and experts provided by the United Nations will provide technical
and logistical support, Congo’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Zenon Mukongo Ngay, told the council.
Previous council resolutions on Yemen and Sri Lanka calling for international expertise to reinforce human rights investigations
and judicial processes have been met with delays and obstruction.
The resolution says Mr. Hussein will select the experts, who are to work to international standards, receive the full cooperation
and support of Congolese authorities and have unhindered access to all areas.
