It is morally indefensible in the 21st century that people like General Laurent Nkunda, General Bosco Ntaganda and other military officers of the FARDC (Congolese army forces), and militia leaders accused of committing horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity walk freely and that national as well international communities accommodate this cruel reality that drags on justice in the name of making peace. Why believe that one can make peace without justice? Peace without justice is a joke as stated the former Prime Minister of Guinea-Konacry, Francois Lousény.
Without hypocrisy or complacency, it is time that the truth be told, everyone be challenged, even those who believe that the Congolese government is doing a very good job. Impunity as a sign of the absence of the judicial system or the ineffectiveness of existing judiciaries institutions in the country today, is obvious everywhere in the Congo and constitutes the source of the resurgence of armed conflicts, rape of women and girls, multiple murders of journalists and of human rights activists, such as the most recent horrific murder of Floribert Chibaya, the executive director of the ONG "Voix de sans Voix” (“voice of the Voiceless”), the typical example, the illustration of a country still in political turmoil. Hugo Grotius, the founding father of international law has clearly written that when the judicial system fails that the war starts.1
The inquiry is Claire to all people of good faith, Congolese and non Congolese, who would like to help the Congo or the Congolese, to take a stand against impunity in the Congo. The decision to take a stand against impunity is moral, humane and noble. It is the defense of justice, a social pact that shows intolerance toward perpetrated atrocities against the innocent; the commitment to uphold justice in all its forms and ultimately defend humanity. Outside of this act reign of complacency or indifference to the atrocities that is also morally guilty to the same level as committing these crimes.
Humanity is challenging all that criminals of horrific acts that claimed millions of lives and forced the displacement of thousands from their homes, then became refugees in their own country, do not go unpunished. As they say in international justice, the interest of transitional justice transcends regional divides. This is not an exclusive concern to Congolese, but should be getting the attention of all people, in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Fight against impunity is at the heart of transitional justice. From the perspective of human rights, it is essential that the crimes do not always go unpunished.1 Impunity sends the false message that criminal acts are still welcomed and encourage others people to perpetrate these kinds of acts. It is really sad when international intervention falls short or does not exist vis-à-vis the woes of the Congolese people.
The challenge should involve every citizen of the world who cares to see justice throughout the world, to get involved in this noble fight against impunity, which beats the record in the Congo. Martin Luther King once said it well: "Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"; Injustice anywhere (in Congo) is a threat to justice everywhere (the world). It is really a good time for citizens of the world to get mobilized behind this fight against injustice, impunity in countries with boiling political situation such as the Congo, Guinea-Conakry or Côte d'Ivoire.
Take a stand against impunity is also defending the young democracy in the Congo if it will continue to exist and develop. It is arguable that there is no democracy without justice or no democracy in the presence of impunity. Rending justice is the essence of any democracy. The lack of justice is the synonymous of anarchy. The role of justice in society is essential for the social pact, if citizens do not believe that justice will be rendered to them by the courts, then they may be tempted to take justice themselves in their hands. That's the beginning of ethnic or armed conflicts.
Being frank requires that the Congolese government (executive, legislative and judicial) recovers its senses and realizes that the progress will remain negligible as long as justice route continues to be slow. It is the judiciary and the state police that guarantee rights to citizens, including the inalienable right to life. If the two institutions can not accomplish this critical task, then we must admit that the state remains a "failed state", a state without democracy.
Any citizen who loves his/her country would not want his/her country to be assigned this label of a “failed state and should insist to remind the Congolese government to assure the rights of its citizens. In this context it is appropriate to invite Congolese government also take a stand against impunity by acts and not by the spoken promises that rarely achieve their expected objectives. Recognizing the slightest effort in this area by the government, of only twenty trails initiated in 2009 on 6,433 cases of sexual violence committed against women and girls, reported in 2009 in North and South Kivu, including the condemnation of the famous Colonel Ndayambaje Niangara Kipanga former CNDP officer, who despite that managed to escape his prison.2 The fate of the killers of six journalists and three human rights activists without including Floribert Chibeya Bahizire who just got killed it is not a month, remain unknown to the Congolese public. The international arrest warrant issued against General Bosco Ndaganda and the extradition of General Laurent Nkunda to the Hague International Criminal Court (ICC) are only few of the multiple items on the menu that ask the Congolese government to come clean and prove that it is serious against impunity and demonstrates its willingness to persecute the perpetrators.
In conclusion, both the national and international public should examine the price of keeping silence while impunity plays a part in the rape epidemic, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Congo. From anarchy to democracy, the Congo needs a rigorous national justice system to be able to work to ensure that all those who commit horrific crimes are brought to justice and that their victims have access to reparations.
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