Human Rights Watch (HRW) asks the government to spare...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) asks the government to spare the lives of four children sentenced to death by the country's Court of Military Order, who were between 14 and 16 years of age at the time they were sentenced to death. It named the four children facing execution as: Diyavanga Nkuyu, 14 years old at the time of his arrest; Bosey Jean-Louis, aged 15 when arrested; and Mbumba Ilunga and Mwati Kabwe, arrested when they were 16 years old.In a meeting with Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu, HRW emphasised that the execution of individuals for crimes committed when they were below 18 years of age violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Congo is a party. "International law is clear: No one should be put to death for a crime committed as a child. Congo should immediately commute these death sentences and bring its practices in line with international standards," said Michael Bochenek, a children's rights lawyer for the NGO.