Three leading human rights defenders in the DRC have been forced to go into exile as a result of the heightened threats against their security and the safety of their families. The three defenders had been working in the troubled city of Goma and were reportedly threatened by members of the local security apparatus. The latest threats appear to be connected to reports to which a number of North Kivu human rights activists, including the above, were signatories, which denounced recent arms distributions to civilians in Goma and elsewhere in North Kivu province. One of the three defenders, the Director General of the Centre de Recherche sur l’Environnement, la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme (CREDDHO) fled Goma having received several anonymous phone calls issuing death threats against him. On 1st January, the Director General of CREDDHO returned to his house to find that in his absence he had been visited by a group of men, presumed to be security service agents. He decided to flee Goma the following day with his family. On the same day, 1st January, the Director General of the human rights organization Action Sociale pour la Paix et le Développement (ASPD) received an anonymous threatening phone-call and fled Goma on 6th January with his family. A third activist and spokesperson for a collective of human rights organisations was forced to flee after receiving repeated threats. One phone call threatened, "We will shut you up for good". His home was visited on 31 December, while he was away, by three armed men who demanded to know his whereabouts. Front Line is concerned that the actions of the security services in North Kivu in forcing these leading human rights defenders to flee the DRC will undermine the ability of human rights organisations in DRC to monitor and prevent human rights violations.