ABSTRACT
In September 2014 the European Council extended the mandate for the European Union mission for security sector reform (SSR) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to further assist in building a more accountable police force that will be able to improve the safety and security of all Congolese citizens. The extension of the mandate came as the United Nations (UN) Joint Human Rights Offi ce called to accelerate police and military reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Congolese security forces continue to carry out grave human rights abuses against civilians. Despite years of international engagement in police reform, the Congolese police force is one of the major sources of insecurity in the country, together with the Congolese military and the countless rebel groups. A UN report found that internationally trained Congolese police forces had engaged in the abduction and execution of a countless number of unarmed civilians, including children (Blair 2014).
