A general takes up the pen against torture

(Patrick Byrne)

The 2024 publication of a book on the prohibition of torture in international and Congolese law, authored by a general in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is both a rare event and a sign of hope.For every defender of human rights — for anyone who refuses to accept torture, wherever it occurs — this voice, emerging from the very heart of the military establishment, resonates as a powerful and courageous call to dignity and accountability.Below are selected excerpts from the excellent foreword to the book, written by Guy Aurenche, Honorary President of the International Federation of ACAT (FIACAT), and former Chairperson of ACAT-France and CCFD–Terre Solidaire.“To work for the enforcement of the absolute and universal prohibition of torture is to help safeguard humanity itself.We know how seriously humanity is threatened today by so many forces, and discouragement can easily take hold. My gratitude to General Étienne Mbunsu Bindu is therefore immense for the book he has had the courage to offer us. The subject he tackles is difficult; the challenge seems almost impossible. As a serving military officer and doctoral researcher at the University of Kinshasa, the author invites us to stand with him in his refusal of torture. More than that, he confronts our conscience us and calls us to action.(…)As I write these lines, I think with emotion of the hundreds of victims of torture — and their families — who have told me that even a simple gesture of solidarity, though it may not work miracles, helps them to stay alive. Such gestures defeat the deadly loneliness — and with it, the torturer's intent.We must not remain silent – ​​not in protest, but to affirm that across the entire planet, 'No one shall be subjected to torture.' Drawing on his expertise and commitment, General Étienne Mbunsu Bindu makes an essential contribution in his book to reclaiming our humanity, diseased by violence, and to building that world without torture that we all long for.”

Foreword by Guy Aurenche in:

Major General Étienne Mbunsu Bindu , Torture in the light of international criminal law and Congolese national law , Je Pense Publishing, 2024.