Case COD 031202.ESCRC
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN

The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.

Brief description of the facts

The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by
ASADHO, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest of Mr. Emile Omba
Lumbu. It is reported that this arrest is related to his detaining
information concerning the involvement of the Malta Forrest Company
Group in the plundering of natural resources in the Democratic
Republic of Congo.

According to the information received, Mr. Omba Lumbu (35), a father
of three living at 35 Mobutu Avenue, Kipushi, in the Province of
Katanga, was arrested in Kipushi on November 23rd and transferred to
Lubumbashi by the services of military information that accuse him of
threatening the interests of the State. The information received
relates that Mr. Omba Lumbu is currently being detained by the 43rd
infantry brigade of Lubumbashi, at the Lido Camp in the Lido Golf
district of Lubumbashi. Moreover, Mr. Omba Lumbu's wife, who is
living in hiding with her three children, is reportedly no not able
to see her husband.

The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned about
the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Omba Lumbu and about
the treatment to which he might be subjected.

Background of the case

It is reported that Mr. Omba Lumbu was arrested after writing a
letter in date of November 13th, 2002 and broadcasted on the air by
Voice of America on November 18th, in which he denounced the illicit
loading by the Malta Forrest Company Group of uranium-rich copper
ores coming from the Lwishuishi and Tumbwe quarries. In his letter,
Mr. Omba Lumbu reportedly gave the numbers of the thirteen wagons
involved (51254107 ; 51622483 ; 51062178 ; 51311801 ; 51324334 ;
51423243 ; 269728 ZR ; 51687167 ; 51271740 ; 170740 SR ; 51244470 ;
51600560 ; 51223473) and asked the competent authorities to take
charge of this affair urgently, because the cargo, meant to be
exported by the South, was to leave the town of Kipushi on November
16th, 2002.

Action requested

We request you kindly to write to the authorities in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo asking them to:

i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. Omba Lumbu;

ii. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges
or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and
competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;

iii. ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms all
over the country, according to international standards.

Please also write to the Malta Forrest Company Group urging it to:

i. take all necessary measures to ensure that its activities do not
lead to or make it complicit in violations of human rights, as
guaranteed by international human rights instruments.

Addresses

Note: In case you have any difficulties getting through to the
addresses of the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
please use that pertaining to the Ambassador to the United Nations in
Geneva listed first below.

· S.E. l'Ambassadeur de la République démocratique du Congo, Mission
permanente de la République démocratique du Congo auprès de l'Office
des Nations Unies à Genève, Avenue de Budé 18, 1202, Genève, Suisse,
e-mail : [email protected], fax : +41 22 7401682
· S.E Président Joseph Kabila. Présidence de la République, Kinshasa-
Ngaliema, République Démocratique du Congo, Email : [email protected]
· Ministre de la Justice, Ministère de la Justice et Garde des
Sceaux, BP 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, République Démocratique du Congo ;
Fax : (+243) 880 55 21, E-mail : [email protected]
· Ministre des droits humains, Ministère des droits humains ; Fax :
(+243) 12 20 664, E-mail : [email protected],
[email protected]
· Ministre de l'Intérieur, Ministère de l'Intérieur, Fax : 00 243 88
02 042, E-mail : [email protected]
· Ministre de la Défense, Ministère de la Défense, Fax : 00 243 12 20
981, E-mail : [email protected]
· Ministre de la Communication, Ministère de la Communication, Fax :
00 243 12 61 205
· Procureur Général de la République, B.P. : 7016 Kinshasa/Gombe, Fax
: 00 243 12 20 843

. Entreprise Générale Malta Forrest, Avenue Kigoma 22, B.P. 1531,
Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo ; Tel : 00 243 23 48 351,
Fax : 00 243 23 42 275, Email : [email protected]

Please also write to the diplomatic representation of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo in your country.

Geneva, 3rd December 2002.

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.

Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : [email protected]
http://www.omct.org