The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
“We are extremely alarmed that at least 43 people were killed, including a policeman, and 56 injured during demonstrations on Wednesday in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We have received information indicating that the death toll may be higher,” Shamdasani said.
“The demonstrations were organised against the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), the Regional Force of the East African Community, other UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations”, she said.
She noted the Government’s announcement that an investigation has been opened into this incident and call for it to be thorough, effective, and impartial. Stating that such an investigation must also comprehensively examine the use force by the security forces. Those responsible for violations must be held to account, regardless of their affiliation.
At least 222 people were reportedly arrested, including women and children.
“We are concerned that the risk of human rights violations in such a charged context is high. It is crucial that the rights of those arrested are fully respected, including their due process rights; and for relevant authorities to ensure continued access to detained individuals by the UN Joint Human Rights Office,” the spokesperson said.
“People have a right to express themselves freely and to assemble peacefully, even if in protest at the United Nations and other actors. Authorities must facilitate the right to peaceful assembly,” she said.
“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calls on the authorities to ensure that future law enforcement actions in the context of the policing of public assemblies fully adhere to international human rights norms and standards. We stand ready to continue our work with national authorities in this regard,” Shamdasani said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
In Nairobi
Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
- Exterior shots: Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) –Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are extremely alarmed that at least 43 people were killed, including a policeman, and 56 injured during demonstrations on Wednesday in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We have received information indicating that the death toll may be higher.”
- Cut aways: Briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) –Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “The demonstrations were organised against the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), the Regional Force of the East African Community, other UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations”
- Cut aways: Briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) –Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are concerned that the risk of human rights violations in such a charged context is high. It is crucial that the rights of those arrested are fully respected, including their due process rights; and for relevant authorities to ensure continued access to detained individuals by the UN Joint Human Rights Office.”
- Cut aways: Briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) –Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “People have a right to express themselves freely and to assemble peacefully, even if in protest at the United Nations and other actors. Authorities must facilitate the right to peaceful assembly.”
- Cut aways: Briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) –Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calls on the authorities to ensure that future law enforcement actions in the context of the policing of public assemblies fully adhere to international human rights norms and standards. We stand ready to continue our work with national authorities in this regard.”
- Cut aways: Briefing room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief concerned by upheld convictions of Cambodian activists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , OHCHR
Middle East crisis puts aid, food, fuel further out of reach for millions already struggling – UN agencies
As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and rights of the most vulnerable, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNMAS
Demining experts from around the world have been sharing their collective shock at the widespread and growing threat from unexploded ordnance, the new head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office in Syria conducted a 5-day visit to the northeast of the country where they received accounts of human rights violations and abuses.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Sudan: ‘History repeating itself’ for Darfur’s children - UNICEF
Mass atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur 20 years ago reverberated as far as Hollywood, but today, a new generation of children faces attacks, hunger and displacement in an emergency largely ignored by the outside world, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.