French legislators appeal for justice in the Congo
National Assembly deputies respond to homophobic violence.
Thirty-six deputies (members) of the French National Assembly have taken a stand against human rights abuses targeting the LGBTQ community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
The abuses have been especially harsh in the Congo’s eastern South Kivu region, including Baraka and Bukavu.
The statement, issued April 13, came after the eastern Congolese LGBTQ support group Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko appealed for international action in response to homophobic and transphobic violence, including a machete attack, three rapes, arson, one “corrective rape” and a suicide.
The statement also protested denial of health care, housing and voting rights for LGBTQ citizens in the run-up to DR Congo’s presidential and legislative elections next December.
This is an English translation of the statement from the 36 deputies of the National Assembly:
“More than ever, LGBTQIA-phobias must stop for concrete progress in human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.
In the context of the political and humanitarian crisis that the Democratic Republic of Congo is going through, human rights are no longer respected, LGBTQIA+ people are the target of discrimination and acts of violence.
According to the National Court of Asylum (CNDA), human rights violations are observed in the health system, access to housing, education and employment with devastating consequences on the physical and mental health of Congolese. Today, the LGBTQIA+ community is facing institutional violence with the deprivation of their citizenship and thus their exclusion from the electoral process, particularly in the locality of Baraka.
With the upcoming presidential and legislative elections on December 20, 2023, the situation against LGBTQIA+ people is particularly worrying. Indeed, Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko (RSM) has documented numerous cases of activists, whistleblowers and political opponents who have been intimidated, threatened, and subjected to acts of extreme violence. Many are beaten, arrested by authorities and security forces, and in some cases murdered.
Today, the rule of law no longer applies, they are denied equality and their lives are in danger! The director of the RSM association, Jérémie Safari, is a victim of persecution because of his activities with that association. On Saturday, April 8, 2023, a young man, Eustache, was ambushed and attacked with a machete, which was extremely violent and resulted in his emergency hospitalization. On Wednesday, April 5, a transgender man was found hanged in his home, having been subjected to a corrective rape on Sunday, April 2.
In shock and solidarity, we express our full support for the Congolese LGBTQIA+ community and the activists who struggle daily against intimidation, hatred, gender-based violence, and murder at the risk of their lives.
In the context of armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies, LGBTQIA+ people are particularly at risk. Whether in peacetime or in times of conflict, we will continue to fight discrimination, LGBTQIA-phobias, violence and hatred based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Human rights must be ensured and respected, these transgressions must be strongly condemned by the French government and the international community.
(Signed)
- Carlos Martens Bilongo, deputy for Val-d’Oise, president of the France/DRC Friendship Group
- Ségolène Amiot, deputy for Loire-Atlantique and co-chair of the Study Group on Discrimination and LGBTphobia
- Aurélien Taché, deputy for Val-d’Oise and co-chair of the Study Group on Discrimination and LGBTphobia
- Mathilde Panot, deputy for Val-de-Marne, president of the parliamentary group LFI-NUPES
- Farida Amrani, deputy for Essonne
- Joël Aviragnet, deputy for Haute-Garonne
- Manuel Bodeputyard, deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône
- Soumya Bourouaha, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis
- Sophia Chikirou, deputy for Paris
- Hadrien Clouet, deputy for Haute-Garonne
- Éric Coquerel, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis
- Jean-François Coulomme, deputy for Savoie
- Catherine Couturier, deputy for Creuse
- Martine Etienne, deputy for Meurthe-et-Moselle
- Emmanuel Fernandes, deputy for Bas-Rhin
- David Guiraud, deputy for Nord
- Hubert Julien-Laferrière, deputy for Rhône
- Sébastien Jumel, deputy for Seine-Maritime
- Andy Kerbrat, deputy for Loire-Atlantique
- Maxime Laisney, deputy for Seine-et-Marne
- Karine Lebon, deputy for La Réunion
- Elise Leboucher, deputy for Sarthe
- Jean-Paul Lecoq, deputy for Seine-Maritime
- Arnaud Le Gall, deputy for Val-d’Oise
- Benjamin Lucas, deputy for Yvelines
- Frédéric Mathieu, deputy for Ille-et-Vilaine
- Elisa Martin, deputy for Isère
- Pascale Martin, deputy for Dordogne
- Francesca Pasquini, deputy for Hauts-de-Seine
- François Piquemal, deputy for Haute-Garonne
- Thomas Portes, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis
- Jean-Claude Raux, deputy for Loire-Atlantique
- Sandrine Rousseau, deputy for Paris
- Isabelle Santiago, deputy for Val-de-Marne
- Ersilia Soudais, deputy for Seine-et-Marne, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
- Léo Walter, deputy for Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
