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To the government of the
Democratic Republic of Congo:
Define a clear judicial policy on
the fight against impunity in Ituri and extend the program to include serious
crimes committed during the armed conflict in Ituri.
Remedy the shortage of judicial
personnel; in particular, increase the number of investigative judges and
investigators in the Prosecutor's Office.
Pay a regular, decent salary to
judicial personnel.
Instruct the investigative judges
at the Prosecutor’s Office and the judges to extend their work beyond the town
of Bunia through regular hearings in the various territories of the district of
Ituri outside of Bunia.
Reinforce the investigative
capability of the Prosecutor’s Office, particularly by providing it with a
judicial police force, an experienced mobile investigative team, and an
adequate budget.
Establish a witness protection program
as a matter of urgency, if necessary with international assistance.
To the European Commission
and other donors:
Renew the program of support for
the judicial system in Ituri for an additional period of at least one year.
Use that period to plan a longer-term assistance program to aid the judicial
system in Ituri, and the rest of the DRC, in order to guarantee the program’s
continuity.
Restructure the management of the
program, giving the Congolese judicial authorities a greater role, particularly
the Judicial Police of the Prosecutor’s Offices (Police Judiciaire des Parquets),
the Documentation and Studies Service, and the Judicial Services Inspectorate,
which are better suited to enhance the capabilities of judicial personnel than
a nongovernmental organization.
Increase the financial resources
of the program with a view to improving the performance of the judicial system
in Ituri, particularly through the following measures:
o
Increase funding for office
equipment.
o
Enhance the operational
capabilities of the Prosecutor’s Office by holding regular training sessions
for investigative judges on investigation methods, with the assistance of more
experienced investigative judges, and by increasing the technical personnel at
the Prosecutor’s Office.
To MONUC:
Improve security conditions in
Bunia, and in Ituri more generally, through specific measures, particularly by
accelerating the implementation of the program for disarmament and
demobilization of members of armed groups.
In collaboration with the National
Transitional Government, set up a witness protection program and increase the
security for judicial personnel.
Make the process of collaboration
with the judicial system more flexible in order to enhance efficiency. This
could result, for example, in the designation of a point person within
MONUC/Bunia responsible only for centralizing the granting of assistance to the
Prosecutor’s Office.
Participate in the fight against
impunity, particularly by providing the Prosecutor’s Office with information on
serious crimes committed in Ituri and their perpetrators.
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