UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Vice-President: Congo

Longtime president of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N'Guesso, has had his two chief opponents in the 2016 presidential election sentenced to 20 years of forced labor.
Source: Deutsche Welle, May 15, 2019. Photo: Denis Sassou N'Guesso (Wikimedia Commons)

Mission of the General Assembly:
"13. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
    a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification;
    b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." ("UN Charter")

Term of office: 2019-2020

Congo's Record on "the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion":
"Human rights issues included reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings; forced disappearance; arbitrary detention by the government; harsh and life threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of assembly and association; restrictions on the ability of citizens to change their government peacefully; corruption on the part of officials; violence against women, including rape, domestic violence, and child abuse; trafficking in persons; and child labor, including worst forms. The government seldom took steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed abuses, and official impunity was a problem... There were several reports on social media of the government or its agents committing arbitrary or unlawful killings;... there is no legal framework specifically banning torture under the criminal code. There were reports of cases of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment... The government restricted freedoms of peaceful assembly and association."
(U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2018, Congo)

Archive