N/A; 1966-09-09

Rubavu/Mudende, RWA

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32017R0396&from=EN

A July 9, 2012 document signed by M23 leader Sultani Makenga named Runiga as the coordinator of the political wing of M23. According to the document, Runiga's appointment was prompted by the need to ensure the visibility of the M23 cause. Runiga was also named as the President of the M23 in postings on the group's website. His leadership role was corroborated by the November 2012 Group of Experts report, which refers to Runiga as the leader of the M23. According to the 15 November 2012 Final Report of the Group of Experts, Runiga led a delegation that travelled to Kampala, Uganda on July 29, 2012 and finalized the M23 movement's 21-point agenda ahead of anticipated negotiations at the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. According to a November 23, 2012 BBC article, M23 was formed when former members of the CNDP who had been integrated into the FARDC began to protest against bad conditions and pay, and lack of full implementation of the March 23, 2009 peace deal between the CNDP and the DRC that led to the CNDP's integration into the FARDC. M23 was engaged in active military operations in order to take control of territory in eastern DRC, according to the November 2012 IPIS report. M23 and FARDC fought over control of several towns and villages in eastern DRC on July 24 and July 25, 2012; M23 attacked the FARDC in Rumangabo on July 26, 2012; M23 drove FARDC from Kibumba on November 17, 2012; and M23 took control of Goma on November 20, 2012. According to the November 2012 Group of Experts report, several ex-M23 combatants claim that M23 leaders summarily executed dozens of children who attempted to escape after being recruited as M23 child soldiers. According to a September 11, 2012 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), a Rwandan man, 18, who escaped after being forcibly recruited in Rwanda told HRW that he witnessed the execution of a 16-year old boy from his M23 unit who had tried to flee in June. The boy was captured and beaten to death by M23 fighters in front of the other recruits. An M23 commander who ordered his killing then allegedly told the other recruits ‘[h]e wanted to abandon us,’ as an explanation for why the boy had been killed. The report also states that witnesses claimed that at least 33 new recruits and other M23 fighters were summarily executed when they attempted to flee. Some were tied up and shot in front of other recruits as an example of the punishment they could receive. One young recruits told HRW, ‘[w]hen we were with M23, they said [we had a choice] and could stay with them or we could die. Lots of people tried to escape. Some were found and then that was immediately their death.’ Runiga entered the Republic of Rwanda on 16 March 2013, at Gasizi / Rubavu. As of mid-2016, Runiga resided in Rwanda. In June 2016, he participated in the creation of the new Congolese political party, the Alliance pour le Salut du Peuple (ASP).

(Date of UN designation: 2012-12-31)

2017-03-08

EU

Restrictive measures in view of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

UN, EU country specific

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Asset freeze and prohibition to make funds available, Prohibition to satisfy claims, Restrictions on admission

- All assets of the listed persons and entities should be frozen. It is also prohibited to make any funds or assets directly or indirectly available to them. - It is prohibited to satisfy claims made by the persons listed in Council Regulation (EC) No 1183/2005 in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of which has been affected by the measures imposed by the same regulation. - Member States shall enforce travel restrictions on persons listed in Annex I and II of Council Decision 2010/788/CFSP.

On 7 April 1993 the EU decided to impose an arms embargo on Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC). On 28 July 2003, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1493 (2003) imposing an arms embargo against the DRC. On 18 April 2005, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1596 (2005) imposing also targeted restrictive measures. On 21 December 2005, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1649 (2005) extending restrictive measures to political and military leaders of foreign armed groups operating in the DRC who impede the disarmament and the voluntary repatriation or resettlement of combatants belonging to those groups, and to political and military leaders of Congolese militias receiving support from outside the DRC and in particular those operating in Ituri, who impede the participation of their combatants in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration processes. On 31 July 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1698 (2006) extending restrictive measures to political and military leaders recruiting or using children in armed conflict in violation of applicable international law and to individuals committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced displacement. On 17 October 2016, the EU expressed its deep concern at the political situation in the DRC. It strongly condemned the acts of extreme violence that took place on 19 and 20 September 2016 in Kinshasa, noting that those acts further exacerbated the deadlock in the country due to the failure to call the presidential elections by the constitutional deadline of 20 December 2016. The EU stressed that, in order to create a climate conducive to dialogue and the holding of elections, the Government of the DRC must clearly commit to ensuring that human rights and the rule of law are respected and must cease all use of the justice system as a political tool. It also called on all stakeholders to reject the use of violence. The EU adopted targeted measures against those responsible for serious human rights violations, those who promote violence and those who try to obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis which respects the aspiration of the people of the DRC to elect their representatives. Derogations to the restrictive measures are possible, including the delivery of humanitarian aid.