Tomorrow the republic democratic of Congo will celebrate its 50. Anniversary of independence from Belgium but can we really call it a democracy when the rule of law, the human rights and the democratic system are so beneath the common acceptable standards?

In the moment of analyzing the last progresses in the country, the international community remains sturdily shocked about the assassination near the beginning June 2010 of Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, an outstanding Congolese human rights defender, and about the disappearance of his driver, Mr. Fidèle Bazana Edadi.

This is far from the only death that has been reported during last the years without investigation over the crime. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), are extremely “concerned with the fact that the authorities might seek to promptly close the case before the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the independence of the country scheduled for June 30, 2010, by stigmatising the responsibility of a few subordinates without shedding light on the circumstances and on the responsible for these crimes”.

The real death threats have been a systematic symptom of what is lived by human rights defenders in a country where impunity is the law and security services are dominant. Today, some say that a stability of sorts has descended upon the country with its elected dictator, Joseph Kabila, although fighting continues in a number of provinces of this vast country, particularly in the east. Despite its massive mineral wealth, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world, largely due to the unrestrained predatory of its resources.

Political fraud, coupled with fragile state institutions, has ensured that the main function of Congolese politics, like in many other African countries, is to serve the top elite’s interests. The DRC has actually more or less the dimension of Western Europe, but the country has a population minor than Germany's and although is divided into more than 250 ethnic groups speaking an equivalent number of languages. Governing such a vast and diverse territory, with a low population density, and very poor infrastructures and a state that is weaker than probably even the smallest European states, it is no easy but it sould be under the concern of other countries and continents.

Meanwhile, preparations are under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo for celebrations to mark 50 years of independence in June. The Congolese government has reportedly set aside $2 million for the festivities. Guests of honour will include a high-level Belgian delegation, headed by King Albert II, who will be on his first official visit to the former colony.