Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
UN mission speaks out after human rights defender is kidnapped

UN News - August 31, 2010
Roger Meece

The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has expressed deep concern after the apparent abduction of a human rights defender who had spoken out against alleged rights violations by members of the country’s military.
Sylvestre Bwira Kyahi, the president of the Civil Society of Masisi, a non-governmental organization (NGO), was last seen on 24 August in the town of Goma, the capital of the troubled North Kivu province in the DRC’s east.

Two men in military uniform reportedly forced Mr. Bwira Kyahi to board a military vehicle, the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, said in a press release issued yesterday.

The mission called on Congolese authorities to do everything possible to find Mr. Bwira Kyahi as soon as possible and to “stop the threats, intimidation and other acts of harassment of human rights defenders throughout the entire DRC.”

Mr. Bwira Kyahi has been the subject of threats and acts of harassment in the past, especially after he released an open letter late last month in which he accused Government soldiers in the Masisi area of human rights violations and called for their relocation.


Related articles


  1. 'Deadly environment' plus 'political and social' obstacles hinder Ebola fight, Security Council hears (July 24, 2019)
  2. Ebola outbreak declared an international Public Health Emergency (July 17, 2019)
  3. Constitutional Court Declares Tshisekedi Winner of Presidential Election (January 19, 2019)
  4. DR Congo Delays Results of December Election (January 6, 2019)
  5. Peacekeepers, Congo Army to Resume Joint Fight Against Rwandan Rebels (January 28, 2016)
  6. Political tensions 'running high' in DR Congo ahead of 2016 elections (October 7, 2015)
  7. UN Report Blames Ugandan Islamists for 237 Killings in DR Congo (May 14, 2015)
  8. Rights Groups: DR Congo Must Free Pro-democracy Activists (April 13, 2015)
  9. DRC Army Putting Pressure on FDLR (April 1, 2015)
  10. Denis Mukwege Wins Sakharov Prize 2014 (October 21, 2014)
  11. Violence in North Kivu Kills 21, Mostly Women, Children (October 18, 2014)
  12. Southern African Leaders to Meet in Zimbabwe (August 15, 2014)
  13. Senior UN officials urge Brazzaville to halt expulsion of DR Congo nationals (May 26, 2014)
  14. Security Council extends UN mission, intervention force in DR Congo for one year (March 28, 2014)
  15. Death toll in Lake Albert boat accident rises to 251 (March 27, 2014)
  16. Death toll in Lake Albert boat accident rises to 108 people (March 24, 2014)
  17. New DR Congo amnesty law welcomed by UN envoys (February 5, 2014)
  18. Colonel Mamadou Ndala Is Killed in Ambush (January 2, 2014)
  19. DR Congo, M23 Rebels Sign Declarations Marking End of Kampala Peace Talks (December 12, 2013)
  20. No 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, DR Congo Says (November 11, 2013)
  21. Congo Will Not Sign a 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, Government Says (November 6, 2013)
  22. Congo Army Takes Control of Mbuzi Hill From M23 Rebels (November 4, 2013)
  23. Kabila Congratulates Congo Army for Defeating M23 Rebels (October 30, 2013)
  24. Advancing Congo Troops Take Control of Rumangabo From M23 Rebels (October 28, 2013)
  25. Congo Army Liberates Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Kibumba From M23 Rebels (October 27, 2013)
  26. Congo Army Dislodges M23 Rebels From Strategic Town of Kibumba (October 26, 2013)
  27. Congo Army Takes Control of Kibumba After Fighting With M23 Rebels Resumes (October 25, 2013)
  28. U.S. Sanctions Rwanda Over Use of Child Soldiers by M23 Rebels (October 4, 2013)
  29. Ban Ki-moon Confirms M23 Rebels Shelled Rwanda (August 31, 2013)
  30. M23 Rebels Fired Shells Into Rwanda, Not Congo Army, UN Says (August 30, 2013)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.