Elias Bizimungu Rwaramba
Elias Bizimungu Rwaramba is human rights defender and member of the Collectif d’Actions de la Société Civile (Collective of Civil Society Actions – CASC), a platform of civil society organisations actively campaigning against human rights violations caused by deficiencies in constitutional order in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also the vice-president of the youth movement in the chieftaincy of Bwisha.
Human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk of killings, threats, intimidation and judicial harassment. In May 2017, a bill on the protection of human rights defenders was passed by the Senate which, if enacted, would severely limit the work of human rights defenders in the country. The bill is rather harmful for their protection and does not promote the creation of a non-restrictive legal environment for human rights defenders. It contains provisions that pose a real threat to their recognition and legitimate work. Articles 3 and 7 set out excessive and discriminatory criteria and conditions for human rights defenders, particularly with regard to the age which, is fixed to 18 years of age, academic or training qualifications.
