Update March 28, 2017: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, confirmed on March 28, 2017, that the bodies of Zaida Catalán, a Swede, and Michael Sharp, an American, were found by UN peacekeepers near Bunkonde in Kasai Central province on March 27.



The two members of the UN Group of Experts on Congo had been reported missing, along with their Congolese interpreter, Betu Tshintela, a motorbike driver, Isaac Kabuayi, and two unidentified motorbike drivers, on March 12, while investigating large-scale human rights violations in the region. The UN reported that efforts continue to find the team’s Congolese members.



The following quote can be attributed to Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch:



“We express our deepest condolences to the families, colleagues, and friends of Michael and Zaida, who lost their lives while seeking truth, justice, and an end to the violence and abuse that Congolese in the Kasai region and beyond have long suffered. We hope that the UN’s search efforts promptly locate Betu, Isaac, and their two other Congolese colleagues. Our thoughts are with their loved ones. An international, independent investigation is urgently needed into these deaths and disappearances, and the broader violence in the Kasai region, to help end the abuses there and bring those responsible to justice."

(Kinshasa, March 25, 2017) – The Democratic Republic of Congo government should fully cooperate with United Nations efforts to locate a UN Group of Experts team that has been missing since March 12, 2017, in Kasai Central province, Human Rights Watch said today.

Click to expand Image Zaida Catalán Instagram/Zaida Catalán



Those missing are Michael Sharp, an American; Zaida Catalán, a Swede; Betu Tshintela, a Congolese interpreter; Isaac Kabuayi, a driver; and two unidentified motorbike drivers. They were investigating widespread human rights abuses near the remote village of Bunkonde, south of the provincial capital, Kananga.



“We are extremely worried about the missing UN team,” said



On March 13, the Congolese government announced that Sharp and Catalán had “fallen into the hands of unidentified negative forces,” but has provided no additional information.



The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, deployed Uruguayan peacekeepers and Tanzanian special forces on a search and rescue operation for the missing people. These efforts have suffered from a lack of cooperation from the Congolese government.



On March 18, MONUSCO



This is the first time that UN experts have been reported missing in Congo, Human Rights Watch said. It is also the first recorded disappearance or abduction of international workers in the Kasai provinces, a region that until recently had been largely peaceful, unlike eastern Congo, which has long been embattled by dozens of armed groups. Those missing are Michael Sharp, an American; Zaida Catalán, a Swede; Betu Tshintela, a Congolese interpreter; Isaac Kabuayi, a driver; and two unidentified motorbike drivers. They were investigating widespread human rights abuses near the remote village of Bunkonde, south of the provincial capital, Kananga.“We are extremely worried about the missing UN team,” said Ida Sawyer , Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The Congolese government should cooperate fully with the UN and other international investigators to do all they can to bring the team back safely.”On March 13, the Congolese government announced that Sharp and Catalán had “fallen into the hands of unidentified negative forces,” but has provided no additional information.The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, deployed Uruguayan peacekeepers and Tanzanian special forces on a search and rescue operation for the missing people. These efforts have suffered from a lack of cooperation from the Congolese government.On March 18, MONUSCO expressed “serious concern over restrictions placed on its freedom of movement by security forces in Kananga,” which “restrict the ability of the Mission to exercise its mandate.”This is the first time that UN experts have been reported missing in Congo, Human Rights Watch said. It is also the first recorded disappearance or abduction of international workers in the Kasai provinces, a region that until recently had been largely peaceful, unlike eastern Congo, which has long been embattled by dozens of armed groups.