FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We are grateful for the Secretary-General’s efforts thus far in the pursuit of justice for the horrific murders of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan. The recently released Board of Inquiry report is just the first step in that pursuit. The murder of UN experts – especially like Michael and Zaida, who risked their own lives in order to help others – cannot end in a bureaucratic procedure. We still need a full investigation under the Secretary-General’s authority into the events surrounding their deaths and accountability for the perpetrators – there is simply no other appropriate course of action.

We expect the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to cooperate with the investigation and get its own house in order by upholding basic human rights, providing security for its citizens, and announcing a timeline for its overdue elections. The United States will continue to monitor the situation in the DRC carefully and pursue additional Security Council sanctions designations if progress is not made in establishing peace and stability for the Congolese people.

###