The National Human Rights Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (CNDH-RDC), following the Statement CNDH/001/PRES/PNM/STAA/01/2026 issued on 6 January 2026 on the appeal trial of the double murder of UN experts Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp, wish to inform the national and international public, that it has initiated, and is currently conducting, a Fact-Finding Mission on human rights violations related to the massacres of civilians in Kasaï-Central and the double murder of UN experts Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp during the Kamwena Nsapu crisis.
Mandate of the CNDH-RDC Fact-Finding Mission :
- Investigate all human rights violations and abuses related to the massacres of civilians in Kasaï-Central between 2016 and 2017 during the Kamwena Nsapu crisis, as well as the double murder of UN expert Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp.
- Identify the perpetrators of human rights violations linked to the massacres of civilians in Kasaï-Central between 2016 and 2017 and the double murder of the UN experts Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp during the Kamwena Nsapu crisis, with particular attention to those who ordered these abuses and violations, so that they can be brought to justice.
- Make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures that could be taken to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future.
- Collect and verify relevant information and evidence, including through fieldwork, and cooperate with state bodies, the United Nations, the US and Swedish governments, the UN-mandated monitoring mechanism for the DRC and other entities, as appropriate.
The CNDH-RDC Fact-Finding Mission on human rights violations related to the massacres of civilians in Kasai-Central and the double murder of UN experts Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp during the Kamwena Nsapu crisis (hereafter the MEFKC-CNDH) invites individuals, groups and organizations to submit information and documentation relevant to the mandate of the MEFKC-CNDH.
The MEFKC-CNDH is interested in receiving information related to all alleged human rights violations and abuses and International Human Rights Law violations, committed in the context of the Kamwena Nsapu crisis in Kasaï-Central between 2016 and 2017.
The information will be used in the preparation of the MEFKC-CNDH’s public reports. With your consent, it may also be shared with accountability mechanisms including criminal investigations and other legal proceedings.
The MEFKC-CNDH welcomes information concerning those most responsible for the violations, including the identity of individuals, organizations or groups. The National Human Rights Commission also seeks information concerning the identity of victims and witnesses with whom the MEFKC-CNDH could speak.
The MEFKC-CNDH places utmost importance to the safety and security of people and the protection of sources, notably concerning the respect for confidentiality and the ‘do no harm’ principle (not to jeopardize the life, safety, freedom and well-being of victims, witnesses and other cooperating persons). Revealing the identity of persons submitting information, and the use or sharing of the information provided, will be strictly subject to the informed consent of the person or entity submitting the information based on the organic Law NO 13/011 released on 21 March 2013.
Procedure
Individuals, groups and organizations wishing to submit information relevant to the MEFKC-CNDH mandate are invitedto fill in the form here https://cndh.cd/mefkc-cndh-submissions-form and send it via encrypted email, to the specific email address created by the MEFKC-CNDH for this purpose : contact@cndh.cd. Information can be submitted in French, English, Tshiluba.
It is not required to provide all requested information in the form, if not available. However particular attention should be given to the section on informed consent.
Should you have any questions, including on how to submit information in a different way, please contact the MEFKC-CNDH at: cndhrdc2023@gmail.com. If you wish to submit large videos, digital materials, or other files, please inform the MEFKC-CNDH in advance via general email. The MEFKC-CNDH will contact you in due time to enable the submission of the big size file/s in a safe manner.
Unless indicated otherwise in the form, the MEFKC-CNDH will consider all materials received to be usable in its report, but without attribution to the source.
Please note that individual acknowledgements of receipt of information will not be sent and not all information provided will be reflected in public reports. Information alleging violations falling outside the mandate will not be considered.
Suggested additional safety measures:
- Please use end-to-end encrypted email for communicating sensitive information (e.g., TutaNota, Protonmail). Do NOT include sensitive information in the subject of the email.
- After sending a message to the MEFKC-CNDH, fully delete it from your device (including from the Trash folder), and do not save the MEFKC-CNDH submission email address in your contacts.
Kinshasa, February 2, 2026
Paul NSAPU MUKULU,
The Chairman of CNDH-RDC
