Council members “had no other choice but to submit to our position because we are a sovereign country,” said Lambert Mende, the Congolese government’s spokesman. Investigations will be led by the government, and experts provided by the United Nations will provide technical and logistical support, Congo’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Zenon Mukongo Ngay, told the council. on a daily basis,” he said any new evidence would be discussed with the government before being made public. Diplomats and human rights groups pointed out that his statement bore little relation to the language of the resolution. Previous council resolutions on Yemen and Sri Lanka calling for international expertise to reinforce human rights investigations and judicial processes have been met with delays and obstruction.

Source: New York Times June 23, 2017 21:33 UTC