08/06/2025
INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE, CIDDH-DRC
Urgent Plea: Protect Our Children, Strengthen Justice
To the Honorable Members of Parliament and the Judicial Authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
The Democratic Republic of Congo, our nation rich in potential and youth, faces a grim and unacceptable reality: the persistence and worsening of child trafficking and exploitation. These heinous crimes undermine the foundations of our society and shatter the future of thousands of our young citizens.
As the International Consortium for the Defense of Human Rights and Peace in the DRC (CIDDH-DRC), we witness the unspeakable suffering of these children every day. Whether they are forced to work in cobalt mines, exploited in agriculture, reduced to domestic slavery, recruited by armed groups, or victims of sexual exploitation, their dignity and rights are violated.
We recognize the legislative efforts already made by our country, notably the adoption of Law No. 22-2019 of June 17, 2019, to combat human trafficking, as well as the existence of institutions such as the APLTP. However, the gap between the law and its effective implementation remains immense. Perpetrators too often escape justice, and victims, still too numerous, struggle to find protection and rehabilitation.
This is why we are launching today an urgent and solemn appeal for the rigorous implementation and immediate strengthening of our legal and political frameworks.
Honorable Members of Parliament, your role is crucial.
· Continue and strengthen legislative action: Ensure the adoption of clear and precise implementing legislation for the law on trafficking, and ensure that existing laws are fully aligned with the highest international standards for child protection.
· Monitor government action: Fully exercise your oversight powers to ensure that the relevant ministries and institutions (Justice, Social Affairs, Gender, Children, Labor, and the Interior) have the necessary human and financial resources to effectively combat these scourges.
· Allocate adequate budgets: Prioritize, within the national budget, the lines allocated to prevention, victim protection, and the prosecution of traffickers.
Dear Judicial Authorities, your responsibility is immense.
· Enforce the law firmly and swiftly: Ensure that every case of child trafficking and exploitation is investigated with the utmost diligence, and that perpetrators are identified, prosecuted, and sentenced in an exemplary manner, without any complacency.
· Train and specialize your teams: Strengthen the capacities of judges, prosecutors, and judicial police officers in investigating crimes of child trafficking and exploitation, with an emphasis on the protection of victims and witnesses.
· Collaborate effectively: Intensify cooperation between the various departments (police, justice, immigration, labor inspectorate) and with civil society organizations to dismantle criminal networks.
Now is the time for concerted and determined action. Protecting our children is not only a legal obligation, it is a moral imperative and a guarantee of our nation's future stability and prosperity.
CIDDH-RDC, through its CyberPaixRDC program, is ready to collaborate closely with you, bringing its expertise and field experience to make the DRC a country where childhood is sacred and where justice triumphs over exploitation.
We count on your commitment and leadership to make the protection of our children a tangible reality.
With our most respectful greetings,
Jean Christophe Mashali
President
CIDDH-RDC
Join us on WhatsApp: +243813945952
[email protected]