GENEVA, Dec 8 – The Democratic Republic of Congo has rejected calls by members of the UN Human Rights Council to suspend or prosecute soldiers found to have committed serious abuse, according to UN report.
The report, which was adopted Monday by the 47-state member council, 11 recommendations "did not enjoy the support of the Democratic Republic of Congo."
They include a call by the United States for Kinshasa to "significantly increase its commitment to fight impunity," by suspending and prosecuting soldiers found to have comitted serious human rights abuses.
DR Congo also refused to "arrest and transfer to The Hague Bosco Ntaganda," a former rebel chief wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Ntaganda, the former chief of staff of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) is accused of war crimes, notably for enlisting child soldiers in 2002-2003 in the northeastern Ituri region.
International bodies have called for his arrest since he defected to join the government in January and was brought along with other rebels into the general ranks of the Congolese army, bringing some stability to the restive eastern Congo.
In October, the DR Congo government said it was not in favour of arresting Ntaganda as it could weaken the fragile state of peace in the country.
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