Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform

17. Welcomes continued cooperation between and the conduct of joint activities by UNOCI and the Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI) and calls for strict adherence by the FRCI to international humanitarian, human rights and refugee laws; and, in this context, recalls the importance of training in Human Rights, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence to security and law enforcement agencies;

16. Decides that MONUSCO shall support the organization and conduct of provincial and local elections, through the provision of technical and logistical support, in accordance with the paragraph 7 of resolution 1991 (2011), decides further that this support will be continually assessed and reviewed according to progress made by the Congolese authorities on consolidating the credibility of the Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI), agreeing on viable operational plans in order to ensure international support, adopting a realistic electoral calendar and continuing to ensure the full access of observers and political parties' representatives to all electoral sites and operations, recalls the need for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to promote and facilitate inclusive and transparent political dialogue among various Congolese stakeholders, including women groups, supports the establishment by the Congolese authorities of the Constitutional Court, calls upon the Election Partnership Committee to meet more regularly to closely follow and adapt international support to the electoral process, and requests the Secretary-General to report on these progress in his November report;

15. Urges the Congolese authorities to ensure that the provincial and local elections are conducted in a timely, credible, peaceful and transparent manner, which includes ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, ensuring full and effective participation of women in the electoral process, strengthened engagement and cooperation with the civil society, equitable access to media including State media, safety for all candidates, as well as for election observers and witnesses, journalists, human rights defenders and actors from the civil society including women;

Remaining greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation and the persistent high levels of violence and human rights abuses and violations against civilians, condemning in particular the targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict, in particular the mutineers of ex-Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (ex-CNDP) and the 23 March Movement (M23), the displacement of significant numbers of civilians, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests and their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reiterating the urgent need for the swift prosecution of all perpetrators of human rights abuses and international humanitarian law violations, urging the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and other relevant actors, to implement the appropriate responses to address these challenges and to provide security, medical, legal, humanitarian and other assistance to victims,

17. Requests UNMIT to fully take into account gender considerations as set out in Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate, stressing the importance of strengthening the responsiveness of the security sector to specific needs of women, and reaffirms its resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on protection of civilians and 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel;

(p) In coordination with international partners, continue to develop the capacities of the Congolese national police and related law enforcement agencies in accordance with internationally recognized standards and norms on human rights, proportionate use of force and criminal justice, including the prevention, investigation and prosecution of cases of gender-based violence, by providing technical assistance, training and mentoring support;

18. Requests MONUC, in view of the scale and severity of sexual violence committed especially by armed elements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to undertake a thorough review of its efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence, and to pursue a comprehensive mission-wide strategy, in close cooperation with the United Nations Country Team and other partners, to strengthen prevention, protection, and response to sexual violence, including through training for the Congolese security forces in accordance with its mandate, and to regularly report, including in a separate annex if necessary, on actions taken in this regard, including factual data and trend analyses of the problem;

4. Decides that MONUC will also have the mandate, in close cooperation with the Congolese authorities, the United Nations Country Team and donors, to support the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law and, to that end, to: (c) Assist in the promotion and protection of human rights, with particular attention to women, children and vulnerable persons, investigate human rights violations and publish its findings, as appropriate, with a view to putting an end to impunity, assist in the development and implementation of a transitional justice strategy, and cooperate in national and international efforts to bring to justice perpetrators of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law;

3. Decides that MONUC shall, from the adoption of this resolution, have the mandate, in this order of priority, working in close cooperation with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to: (k) Provide military training, including in the area of human rights, international humanitarian law, child protection and the prevention of gender-based violence, to various members and units of the FARDC integrated brigades deployed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of international broader efforts to support the security sector reform;

Expressing its extreme concern at the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation, condemning in particular the targeted attacks against the civilian population, sexual violence, recruitment of child soldiers and summary executions, and stressing the urgent need for the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and other relevant actors, to end those violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular those carried out by the militias and armed groups and by elements of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Congolese National Police (PNC) and other security and intelligence services, and to bring the perpetrators, as well as the senior commanders under whom they serve, to justice, and calling on Member States to assist in this regard and to continue to provide medical, humanitarian and other assistance to victims,