UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review – 47th Session

Universal Periodic Review of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

5 November 2024

Statement by Australia

Thank you, Vice President.

Australia welcomes the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s enactment of laws recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Australia is gravely concerned by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s decision in March 2024 to lift the moratorium on the use of the death penalty. We are also concerned by extensive gender-based violence, child labour, torture and extra-judicial killings.

Australia recommends the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

1. Reimpose as a matter of urgency the moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
2. Institute a legal framework to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence, including marital rape.
3. Implement reforms to end child labour, in compliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.