Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and Others v. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Key Judgment

Legal Relevance

Keywords: Economic/Social/Cultural Rights | Right to Know the Truth | Duty to Investigate | Duty to Prosecute | Reparations | Guarantees of Non-Repetition

Themes: Memory and Reparations | Persons and Groups Affected | Justice and Truth

The Commission found that an enforced disappearance gives rise to a violation of the right to life where a long time has elapsed since the incident and the whereabouts of the victim remain unknown. The Commission also found that the burial of the remains of disappeared victims in mass graves amount to a violation of the right to cultural development because the practice undermines African values and traditions requiring the construction of graves to allow relatives to mourn and perform cultural practices understood as essential to put to rest the souls of the deceased.