Comment by the Information and Press Department on the upcoming visit by Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba to Russia

A small cluster of undiagnosed illness and deaths with haemorrhagic signs was reported in the Province of Bas-Uele in early May. Congolese scientists quickly gathered samples, shipped them to Kinshasa and tested them at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB). The results, subsequently confirmed by the Centre International de Recherche Médicale de Franceville (CIRMF), a WHO collaborating centre in Gabon, showed this is an outbreak due to Ebola virus disease (Ebolazaire).

As soon as the outbreak was detected, the Ministry of Health, together with WHO and other partners, mobilized laboratory resources to ensure investigations could be conducted as quickly as possible to guide the response. In addition to the testing facilities available at the INRB in Kinshasa, an INRB mobile field lab was quickly dispatched to the affected health zone of Likati.

To control the outbreak, multi-disciplinary field teams in Likati have been actively searching for suspect cases. Anyone presenting with certain pre-defined symptoms, such as sudden onset of fever and/or unexplained bleeding, is considered a suspect Ebola case until laboratory results prove otherwise. Discarding suspect cases that test negative for Ebola allows response teams to focus on tracing only the contacts of those who have either tested positive or whose status is unknown.

The MOH, WHO and partners have rapidly set up an intensified field alert and response system in Likati. This is resulting in early identification of suspect cases detected in the affected zone. The field laboratory provides the capability to rapidly test samples on site and focus support and follow-up on any new laboratory confirmed cases and contacts. In this extremely remote and challenging area, this mobile lab is providing a core element of robust surveillance, which is essential to bringing this outbreak to an end as quickly as possible.

One of the technologies being used to detect Ebola in DRC is GeneXpert, which was primarily developed to detect cases of tuberculosis, but has been adapted to enable rapid testing of many pathogens – HIV, malaria, STIs, and Ebola. At the INRB laboratory in Kinshasa – with support from USAID, WHO, Canada, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and the Emerging and Dangerous Pathogens Laboratory Network (EDPLN) – technicians can use GeneXpert to test for the Zaire strain of Ebola in just one hour. For samples that are negative, further testing is then undertaken to check for other strains of Ebola, other viral haemorrhagic fevers, or other diseases.

Other tests developed during the West African outbreak are also being deployed, such as OraQuick — a rapid diagnostic test, which has been developed with the support of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and GOARN. In the field, OraQuick can test blood or saliva samples for Ebola in just half an hour.

Even if many or all suspect cases now being tested are negative, it remains vital to actively follow contacts of all confirmed, probable, and suspect cases for 21 days, and then to continue enhanced surveillance for an additional 21-day period. Any period of calm is an opportunity to continue building and reinforcing local and country preparedness and response capacities and ensuring rapid investigation teams are ready in case the virus should resurface.

This is the eighth outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the disease was discovered in the 1970s in DRC. Health authorities in this country are recognized throughout the African region and the world as experts in responding to outbreaks of this disease.

The Council has adopted restrictive measures against 9 individuals who hold positions of responsibility in the State administration and in the chain of command of the security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with immediate effect. They join the 7 people on whom the EU imposed sanctions as of 12 December 2016 in response to the obstruction of the electoral process and related human rights violations.

EU declaration on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo  

The European Union remains seriously concerned by the deterioration of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The crisis in Kasai Province has reached an exceptional level in security and humanitarian terms and as regards human rights. While strongly condemning all acts of violence irrespective of their origin, the EU is concerned about reports of disproportionate use of force by State bodies, especially the security forces, in managing the crisis. It urges the DRC authorities to act in compliance with human rights and fundamental freedoms and to initiate, without delay, credible and transparent investigations, flanked by high-level international expertise to enhance their credibility and independence, to identify those responsible for acts of violence and massacres. It stresses the need for MONUSCO to be able to exercise its mandate in full and for humanitarian access to the areas affected by the crisis to be guaranteed.

The EU also remains concerned by the continuing restrictions on the democratic space and fundamental rights, including restrictions on the media and the prohibition of demonstrations.

 On the political front, the EU expresses its concern about the lack of a consensus to take forward the transition. It reiterates that in order to exit the crisis on a sustainable footing, the transition must lead to democratic and transparent elections, held as soon as possible and in compliance with the Constitution and the Political Agreement of 31 December 2016.  It is particularly necessary to act in good faith to set up genuinely inclusive transitional institutions and to swiftly implement measures to ease tension, both of which are key to an open and calm electoral environment. A space for unimpeded expression and debate is vital to allow citizens to speak freely as they prepare for the elections.

The electoral process remains the main challenge of the coming months, starting with the defining of an consensual electoral calendar and budget in accordance with the Political Agreement.  Compliance with UNSC resolution 2348 and the commitments made under the Political Agreement will enable the European Union to support this process. The setting of a timetable will guide the process and enable support from regional and international partners to be mobilised in good time. The EU encourages and supports the efforts made along these lines by the United Nations, the African Union, the International Organisation for the French-Speaking World  and the other international partners.  

The critical socio-economic situation, aggravated by poor governance and the misappropriation of national resources, leaves a large proportion of the population, and especially young people, with few future prospects and constitutes a risk of destabilisation. In view of the significant deterioration of the situation, and as indicated in its conclusions of 6 March 2017, the EU took the decision today to impose new restrictive measures against 9 individuals responsible for serious human rights violations.

The European Union will follow closely the political developments and human rights developments over the next few months and, depending on how they turn out, it may consider additional restrictive measures or, conversely, withdraw some of them. In this connection it reiterates its willingness to engage in a political dialogue at the highest level in accordance with Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement.

Today's decision concerns the former and current ministers for the Interior, the governor of Central Kasaï, the former governor of Haut-Katanga, two senior officers, a militia leader, and the director of the National Intelligence Service, listed for having contributed to acts constituting serious human rights violations in the DRC, by planning, directing or committing them. The Minister for Communications and Media and government spokesman is also listed as responsible for the repressive media policy applied in the DRC, which breaches the right to freedom of expression and information and undermines a consensual and peaceful solution towards the holding of elections.

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