Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC): National Intelligence Agency, including the date it was founded, its procedure for recruiting its investigating officers, its structure and its organizational chart; whether changes have been made within the Agency since the fall of the Mobutu regime (17 May 1997); and details on human rights violations committed by the Agency
In referring to the National Intelligence Agency (Agence nationale de renseignements, ANR), a newsletter on the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) published by Switzerland's Federal Office for Refugees (Office fédéral des réfugiés de la Suisse, ODR) noted that:
[translation]
The National Intelligence Agency was created at the beginning of 1997 as an intelligence service for the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo/Zaire (Alliance des forces démocratiques de libération du Congo/Zaïre, AFDL). In May 1997, the ANR joined the Kinshasa offices of the former National Intelligence and Protection Service (Service national d'intelligence et de protection, SNIP) - renamed the National Security Branch (Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale, DGSN) in December 1996 - the former civil intelligence service working under the direction of Maréchal Mobutu. The ANR is particularly responsible for ensuring the country's "internal and external security" (Aug. 1999).
In the 11-24 May 1999 issue of the weekly newspaper Jeune Afrique, an article placed the ANR among the [translation] "excepted structures," following the example of the GSSP, CNS, PIR, DEMIAP and DESN, which were established by President Laurent-Désiré Kabila in the wake of the [translation] "proliferation of state security agencies and which operated more often of their own accord and constituted a political police force on the government's payroll."
Country Reports 2001 described the ANR as one of the Congolese government's security forces responsible for internal and external security (Mar. 2002, Intro.).
According to a 9 March 2001 AFP article, president Joseph Kabila named Kazadi Nyembwe head of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), replacing Leta Mangasa, who has been arrested on the orders of a commission set up to investigate the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Citing a state radio report, the AFP related on 25 September 1997 that the RDC had begun a campaign to [translation] "rejuvenate" the national intelligence agency through a recruitment drive. Though it did not specify the reason for the recruitment, the same article added that the program targets 20- to 40-year-olds with a secondary school diploma or equivalent (AFP 25 Sept. 1997).
In its October 2001 assessment of the RDC, the United Kingdom Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) indicated that despite the 8 March 2001 announcement of their closures by president Joseph Kabila, unofficial detention centres, such as those of the ANR, continue to be used to detain criminal suspects and government opponents.
Country Reports 2001, in its section entitled Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, reported that Albert Angbana Mate had been tortured by the ANR in January 2000 (Mar. 2002, Sec. 1c).
Amnesty International's Annual Report 2001 noted the case of Kikuni Masudi, a former member of the security services, who died in security service custody in Lubumbashi on 13 October 2000 after a week of continuous torture by ANR agents. According to the same report, he had been burned and "his feet had been beaten by a hammer" (AI 2001).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Robert Ilunga Numbi, president of the Friends of Nelson Mandela [a Congolese human rights organization] was arrested on 15 June 2001 and detained without charge for five days (22 June 2001). He was released on 20 June 2001 after being accused of having contact with people from his home province, Province Orientale (HRW 22 June 2001).
In its 5 July 2001 issue, the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks - Central and Eastern Africa (IRIN-CEA) noted the following:
[translation]
On Wednesday, the Human Rights Centre (Centre des droits de l'homme et du droit humanitaire, CDH) issued a press release indicating that four members of the railway workers' union were abducted on Tuesday [3 July 2001] in Lubumbashi, in the RDC's southern province of Katanga. The CDH noted that the union had submitted a letter to the director of the national railway authority on 12 June 2001, recommending that it pay salaries at a level that would sustain the workers' purchasing power and thereby guarantee peaceful relations. The CDH reported that René Lokosha, Dr. Wasso, Kassongo Kadibwe and Roger Mateso from the "Solidarity" Union were taken in for questioning on Tuesday by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) and were beaten. The CDH expressed particular concern for Mr. Mateso, whose fate is still unknown, and stated that there are "reasons to fear for his life." The CDH also reported that a colleague who tried to visit the union members on Tuesday at the ANR offices was detained for 22 hours, while two other members of the same union in Likaso, in Katanga Province, were summoned by the ANR to appear on Tuesday as well.
One source, citing various human rights organizations, indicated that the Special Branch of Investigations and Research (Direction spéciale des investigations et recherches, DISR), [translation] "a special unit under the ANR, was involved in the arrest of several journalists and political opponents" (Switzerland Aug. 1999).
For more information on other arrests and detentions for which the ANR was responsible, see RDC38392.E of 1 February 2002, RDC37569.F of 23 August 2001, RDC35320.E of 19 September 2000, RDC34606.F of 19 June 2000 and RDC33894.F of 17 March 2000.
No information on the ANR's organizational chart or on its procedure for recruiting investigating officers could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France-Presse (AFP). 9 March 2001. "Kabila Reorganises DR Congo Military, Intelligence Leadership." (NEXIS)
_____. 25 September 1997. "DR Congo Intelligence Seeks Recruits Over State Radio." (NEXIS)
Amnesty International (AI). 2001. "Congo (Democratic Republic of the)." Amnesty International Annual Report 2001. <http://web.amnesty.org/80256A2900558068/0/950B72DC7657BDBF80256A53004051BE?Open&Highlight=2,anr> [Accessed 21 Mar. 2002]
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. March 2002. "Congo, Democratic Republic of the." United States Department of State. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8322.htm> [Accessed 21 Mar. 2002]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 22 June 2001. Suliman Ali Baldo. "Congo: Activist Held in Kinshasa. Human Rights Watch Letter." <http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/06/drc0622-ltr.htm> [Accessed 21 Mar. 2002]
Jeune Afrique [Paris]. 11-24 May 1999. No. 2000-2001. Jean-Dominique Geslin. "RD Congo : Kabila, deux ans après."
Switzerland. August 1999. Office fédéral des réfugiés (ODR). "Feuille d'information sur les pays : République démocratique Congo." <http://www.asyl.admin.ch/Daten/PublikationenDokumentationen/Laenderinformationen/KONG_LIB_990801_f.htm> [Accessed 20 Mar. 2002]
United Kingdom (UK). October 2001. Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Democratic Republic of Congo Assessment. <http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.asp?pageid_172> [Accessed 20 Mar. 2002]
United Nations (UN). 5 July 2001. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Integrated Regional Information Networks - Central and Eastern Africa (IRIN-CEA). "Bulletin quotidien d'information No. 1215 pour la région des Grands Lacs." <http://www.reliefweb.int> [Accessed 21 Mar. 2002]
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential 2000 - February 2002
Africa Research Bulletin 2001
Info-Congo/Kinshasa 2000 - January 2002
Jeune Afrique January - March 2002
LEXIS/NEXIS
World News Connection (WNC).
Internet sites, including:
Amnesty International Online
ASADHO
Congolese media
Congonline
FIDH
Human Rights Watch Online
International Crisis Group (ICG)
Observatoire de l'Afrique centrale
Panafrican News Agency (PANA)
ReliefWeb
La Voix des sans voix (VSV)
Search engines, including:
Google
Lokace
Lycos
Yahoo