; (B) releasing all political prisoners, including those detained for peacefully exercising their rights; (C) ensuring that state security forces protect the rights of peaceful demonstrators; (D) bringing to justice security force personnel accused of serious abuses against citizens, including against protesters or opposition supporters; and (E) allowing private media outlets to operate freely; (6) the United States should continue to support efforts to hold free, fair, and democratic elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including by supporting the completion of an inclusive, transparent voter registration process and civic education, preventing or mitigating violence, and facilitating credible election observation by the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, and other appropriate civil society entities. (b) Sense of Congress on humanitarian assistance for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, should continue to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo through credible and independent nongovernmental organizations, including local partners, human rights organizations, women-led organizations, and faith-based or non-faith-based organizations. In providing such assistance, the Secretary and Administrator should prioritize— (1) promoting partnerships with organizations that have had a long-term presence in the country and have achieved measurable impact, including by building the capacity of local partners, human rights organizations, women-led organizations, or faith-based or non-faith-based organizations to address local needs; (A) placing the country on a trajectory toward ending the need for foreign assistance