The crowd gathered around a makeshift open-air courtroom in a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) one recent morning, watching in silence as judges, prosecutors, lawyers and clerks listened to the defendants.
Craning their necks to get a better look at the trial, many in the audience seemed in awe at witnessing feared soldiers and militia men, dressed in their military outfits, finally facing justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It is a scene that has been repeated across rural areas in eastern DRC, where mobile court hearings have played a key role in bringing some accountability for human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, in particular sexual violence against women and girls.
Under its mandate to protect and promote human rights, UN Human Rights in DRC is assisting national authorities in their efforts to fight impunity, providing technical and logistical support for judicial investigations and proceedings for cases of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
One example is mobile court hearings, which are used to administer justice for cases of sexual violence, including rape, in conflict-hit eastern DRC.
Mobile court hearings have existed under DRC law for more than a decade, bringing traveling judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers to remote villages with the aim of showing local communities that crimes, many times perpetrated far from urban centres, are not beyond the reach of the law.
From January 2023 to November 2024, the UN Joint Human Rights Office in Congo (UNJHRO) supported 13 joint investigation teams and 19 mobile courts, leading to the prosecution of 1,010 alleged perpetrators of grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, resulting in 777 convictions.
Holding the hearings closer to where victims live also has an educational and deterrent effect and can help promote reconciliation within local communities and build peace in the country, said Paul-Thierry Kalonga, a human rights officer who works within UNJHRO.
“Mobile hearings are very appreciated because they strengthen the population’s confidence in national jurisdictions and show that justice was served,” Kalonga said. “The defendant is prosecuted and, if necessary, punished.”
There are also practical and psychological reasons for holding mobile courts: victims don’t have to travel far to testify, and a familiar and safe environment can make it easier to speak, rights activists said.
Landmark convictions
UN Human Rights’ support to judicial authorities in DRC has led to some landmark convictions.
On 3 June 2024, the South Kivu military court confirmed a life sentence for Munyololo Mbawo, former leader and self-proclaimed general of the Raïa Mutomboki armed group. Mbawo was also sentenced to pay compensation to 127 victims of murder, rape, pillaging, torture and forced pregnancy.
The case marked a historic precedent, as it was the first time a national criminal court recognized the crime of forced pregnancy as an international crime, according to legal groups. UN Human Rights supported the mobile court that heard the case against Mbawo.
In another case, the High Military Court in September 2022 sentenced Captain Mihonya Kolokolo to life in prison following mobile court hearings held in Bukavu. Kolokolo was convicted of enlisting children in the military and violating and destroying protected reserves, particularly the Kahuzi Biega National Park and biosphere reserves. Legal groups say the Kolokolo conviction was the first in DRC for illegal exploitation of natural resources.
Protection of victims and witnesses
Mobile courts are not without challenges, the main ones being safety and fear of stigma. During trials, victims and witnesses sometimes appear wearing a loose garment that covers the face and the entire body so they can’t be identified.
UN Human Rights works to provide protection for witnesses and victims, including medical, psychological, legal and socio-economic services, which over the past two years benefitted around 700 people. The Office also monitors such trials to ensure they are held in accordance with international standards.
“The victim is often in a state of mental distress, so we really need to ensure that victims are protected and that their voices are heard, and their suffering and perspectives are taken into account in rendering justice,” Kalonga said.
“Sometimes there are cases where the victim can refuse to appear at the trial. Our role is to raise awareness, so that the victim agrees to participate in the legal proceedings. Without the victim’s or witness’ participation in the trial or the investigation there are no results in the fight against impunity.”
As part of its mission to strengthen the rule of law and promote transitional justice, the Office also provides forensic expertise to the DRC justice system to help magistrates make decisions based on scientific evidence.
Women’s organizations that support victims and monitor human rights violations said there has been some progress in the fight against impunity in the country, but that much more is needed.
“The possibility of justice exists for victims,” said Lyliane Moseka, a lawyer and human rights defender who works with Dynamique des Femmes Juristes, a women’s legal organization.
However, Moseka said the situation for the tens of thousands of women who have been displaced by conflict and live in refugee camps remains extremely dire, as most cases of sexual violence there are never investigated or prosecuted, and very few are even reported.
Following a visit to DRC in April 2024, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that violations of human rights and international humanitarian law continue to grow in the country, with cases of sexual violence committed by armed groups spreading alarmingly.
The humanitarian community in DRC has said urgent action is needed to protect civilians from risks including gender-based violence, attacks and other unlawful killings, recruitment and use of children in armed groups, and kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arrest, and arbitrary or unlawful detention.
Türk called on all armed groups to end the fighting in the East, and said accountability was key to rebuild social cohesion.
“Adopting and implementing a holistic, victim-centred, and inclusive transitional justice policy also would help the country come to terms with its troubled past. My Office continues to support the authorities to this end,” he said.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
