UN Human Rights Council to hold emergency session on Congo crisis

Civilians push their belongings on a wooden handcart known as Tshikudu as they flee after heavy gunfire that raised fears of M23 rebels advancing along a road from Sake near Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo February 9, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Djaffar Sabiti)

By Amina Wako
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

The DRC requested the urgent meeting, which has gained the support of 29 member states and 22 observer states.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold a special session on February 7, 2025, to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after the city fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, a U.N. statement confirmed.

The conflict has resulted in severe human rights violations, including summary executions, the bombing of displacement camps, and widespread reports of sexual violence, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

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M23 rebels, who seized Goma last week, declared a humanitarian ceasefire starting Tuesday, just days ahead of an extraordinary summit in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam that DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will attend.

The extraordinary summit, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, will bring together heads of state from the 6-member East African Community (EAC) and the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss regional security and diplomatic interventions.

SADC Chairperson and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, along with EAC Chairperson and Kenyan President William Ruto, reached an agreement that led to the meeting.

“President Samia Suluhu Hassan has graciously agreed to host the summit to deliberate on the situation in Eastern DRC,” Ruto said in a statement released by the presidency.

The DRC requested the urgent meeting, which has gained the support of 29 member states and 22 observer states. “The scale of atrocities committed in eastern Congo requires immediate international attention. The session will provide a platform to assess the situation and determine possible actions to hold perpetrators accountable,” council spokesman Pascal Sim told reporters in Geneva.

The Human Rights Council, composed of 47 member states, holds three regular sessions a year, over a minimum of 10 weeks in total.

The next regular session is scheduled for February 24 to April 4. The support of 16 member states, more than a third, is required to convene a special session.

The DRC is a member of the council, and so far, 29 member states have backed the call, plus 22 observer states, said Sim.

Tshisekedi request is thus far supported by the following States members of the Council (27): Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Morocco, the Netherlands (Kingdom of), North Macedonia, the Republic of Korea, Romania, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland.

The request is also supported by the following 21 observer States: Australia, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sim said an organisational meeting would be held on Thursday to discuss the details and format of the session, and a draft resolution was being drawn up.

Friday's meeting will be the 37th special session since the council was founded in 2006. The last time the council held a session on eastern Congo was in 2008, reflecting the persistent instability in the region.

Although the council lacks legally binding authority, its resolutions and debates carry significant political weight and have, in some cases, led to international war crimes prosecutions.