Minister of State, Minister of Civil Service and State Reform Jean-Martin Mbemba of Congo, Republic of the

At the 1987 French trial of Klaus Barbie, a German war criminal of World War II, Mbemba was an assistant defense lawyer in the team headed by Jacques Verges.

Following the trial, Mbemba was Secretary-General of the Union of Lawyers of Central Africa from September 1987 to June 1991.

Mbemba has been President of the Union for Progress (UP) since its founding in October 1990.

Following the June–October 1997 civil war, in which Lissouba was ousted, Mbemba was appointed as Minister of Labour and Social Security by President Denis Sassou Nguesso on 2 November 1997.

During the debate on the law, Justice Minister Jean-Martin Mbemba said the national commission would be an "essential instrument" for the protection of human rights in the country.

Congo's Justice Minister Jean Martin Mbemba said that he was informed about cases of rape, arbitrary arrest, torture and other atrocities that were being committed in various police stations.

Mbemba said the Republic of Congo hoped for a swift solution to the war in Iraq on the basis of respect for human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties.