"My first order of business was to introduce myself at the Ministry of Justice and pay a courtesy visit. But indeed, given the situation in terms of justice and the long-standing support that the European Union has given to the Ministry of Justice, we were able to go beyond mere courtesy. We delved into topics of mutual interest. I would like to reiterate that our support and our partnership with the justice sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a long history," declared Nicolas Berlanga Martinez.

He added,

"Currently, we are implementing a major justice support project with 35 million euros. It is a very diversified project in its actions. There are actions related to infrastructure and strengthening. There are also actions related to legislative reforms. So, our idea is to continue this support not only with current projects but also as a long-term commitment, and we welcome the progress.

We are also working together to identify where the weaknesses lie in order to continue our work. I have just noted the commitment of Mrs. the Minister of State, Minister of Justice in favor of justice and to continue the process of reforms to make a much more robust and independent justice system."

"We talked about the situation in the east of the country, and of course we talked about the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty. We have serious differences regarding the interpretation of this lifting of the moratorium and I must say that the debates and the dialogue have been very productive, very generous on both sides, and we have decided to continue this dialogue in the coming weeks. I do not think that the European Union has a preconceived idea of how justice should be done in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We have always favored support. It is the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who are leading the justice reform process. For the European Union, what is important is to see and to regularly test this commitment in favor of reform and I must say that my meeting with the Minister of State, Minister of Justice has once again confirmed this commitment.

There are fewer and fewer countries that apply the death penalty. And certainly, on European soil, no country applies the death penalty. From a moral point of view, we are against the application of the death penalty, but also from a scientific point of view, all studies show that the deterrent effect of the death penalty is almost nonexistent.

Thus, we encourage the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we show our support and our assistance to use other means than the death penalty precisely to fight against the impunity that persists in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," concluded the European diplomat.

Gisèle Tshijuka