As this newsletter was going to press, we heard the tragic newsassassination of Pascal Kabungulu, Executive Secretary oJustice, a human rights activist who was unflagging in his courage and his dedicated work for the rights of the poorest and most marginalized people in one of the world’s most violent and dangerous countires. He was killed at his home in Bukavu, Democratic Republic in the early hours of the morning of July 31st. Armed men in uniform broke into the house and dragged Pascal from his room. Apparently they announced “We were looking for you and today is the day of your death”, before killing him there and then in front of his family.
Pascal’s murder is a terrible loss: to his family; to his colleagues and friends and to human rights. He worked with Heritiers de la Justice since the mid-nineties and was executive director since 1999. Heritiers is a well respected human rights organization in Eastern DRC that has courageously exposed terrible human rights violations by both government and rebel groups ever since 1991, when they were first established. They have documented appalling abuses and have continued to speak out, even in the face of increasingly menacing threats.
Pascal was also a driving force in taking Heritiers into new areas of work beyond the critical work of documenting of rights violations to supporting communities in asserting their rights to their lands and natural resources. Under his leadership, and support of the Rainforest Foundation, the organisation had started to work with indigenous peoples and local communities in their struggle for environmental rights. (Roger Muchuba of Heritiers explains how they are doing this in the latest edition of Rainforest News Summer/Autum 2005). Adolphine Muley, the co-ordinator of the Union of Indin Eastern DRC, spoke for many of Pascal’s friends and colleagues in the indigenous rights world as she said, “I cannot believe it. I am devastated. I almost feel as though I don’t have the strength to go on with this terrible loss”.
For us here in the Rainforest Foundation, this terrible news highlights the real and present dangers that the groups that we work with face on a day to day basis. The struggle for human rights and the rights to land, resources and culture is something that is not abscract or incidental. It is fundamental and, as a result, those who are fearless in advocating those rights face real risks as groups with powerful interests do their best to silence them. Sadly, Pascal is not the first activist with Heritiers to have been murdered and the Democratic Republic of Congo is not the only country in which such atrocities take place. Nevertheless, the staff of Heritiers remain determined in their work. Roger Muchuba, the organizations training officer, said: “We are all moved by this death. It’s a warning sign for us when they target our leader. But we are determined to continue to struggle: we don’t have a choice but to carry on”.
We join wholeheartedly with the human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Front Line in calling for an immediate investigation into Pascal Kabungulu’s murder by the Congolese authorities, supported by the United Nations Peacekeeping forces in DRC.
The Rainforest Foundation, 2nd August 2005
