Democratic Republic of the Congo
Monthly Action Points on Women, Peace & Security for May 2010
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
In the MAP for May 2010, the NGOWG had several recommendations for the Security Council on the current situation in the DRC:
The forthcoming mandate renewal must reaffirm MONUC’s obligation to ensure that violations of international humanitarian law, including using rape as a weapon of war, are prosecuted, and that survivors are entitled to emergency medical care. Reports indicate that the level of brutality against women and girls is increasing with survivors describing being subjected to mutilation and torture, gang rape and abduction by armed groups. MONUC’s role must prioritize concerns for women’s safety, and efforts to improve humanitarian coordination and assistance. Specific Council action should include:
- MONUC’s support to FARDC is strictly conditioned of upon compliance by FARDC units and commanders with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law (SCR 1906, OP 22). This requirement must be fully complied with.
- The arms embargo should be strictly enforced and apply to all those suspected of committing violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. The Sanctions Committee should act promptly on the findings of the group of experts.
- Vetting and training of integrated forces, including, human rights and protection training should be mandatory.
- The mandate renewal should include an explicit obligation to support and protect human rights defenders.
- Those indicted for international crimes, including crimes of sexual violence, should be arrested.
Download the May MAP [PDF]
Monthly Action Points on Women, Peace & Security for April 2010
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
In the MAP for April 2010, the NGOWG had several recommendations for the Security Council on the current situation in the DRC:
There will be a Security Council mission to several African countries, including the DRC. The mission should meet with the women’s rights advocates who are trying to engage in these ongoing peace processes. In addition, the MONUC report is due in the Council on 1st April. The report should accurately portray the current humanitarian crisis and the dire situation
for women and girls. Violence against women and girls is a critical security concern and roadblock to peace in the DRC. Some NGOs report that the level of brutality against women and girls is increasing as survivors seeking services describe being subjected to mutilation and torture, gang rape and abduction by armed groups. The report should reflect consultation with women’s groups and NGOs, as prior lack of consultation has left few opportunities for women’s priorities to be presented to the Security Council. Priority attention must be given to efforts to improve humanitarian coordination and
assistance. The report should also include analysis of effective actions for enhancing women’s protection and the existence of critical response gaps.
Download the April MAP [PDF]
Weapons facilitate sexual abuse in eastern Congo
February 2010
IANSA
It is estimated that 8,000 women and girls were raped in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2009. The sexual violence has been committed mostly by armed militia and government security forces using sexual violence as a military tactic. In this context, the availability of weapons facilitates sexual abuse and kidnapping.
Refugees in Eastern DRC: A Discussion Document
January 2010
International Alert
The question of the “refugees” in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is complex. With recent allegations of the return of thousands of Congolese refugees from Rwanda,
and with the recent request of the Rwandan government to implement a cessation clause with regards to the refugee status of all Rwandan refugees, the situation has become yet more fluid.
Human Rights Defenders Under Attack In the Democratic Republic of the Congo
January 2010
Amnesty International
Instead of addressing human rights concerns, DRC officials at the national and provincial levels continue to attack the organizations that raise them, Amnesty International found.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Chapter, World Report 2010
18 January 2010
Human Rights Watch
Violence and brutal human rights abuses increased in the Democratic Republic of the Congo throughout 2009. This World Report Chapter outlines the key events in 2009.
“You Will Be Punished”: Attacks on Civilians in Eastern Congo
13 December 2009
Human Rights Watch
This 183-page report documents in detail the deliberate killing of more than 1,400 civilians between January and September 2009 during two successive Congolese army operations against a Rwandan Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Level of Brutality Against Women and Girls in Congo Increasing; UN Must Do More to Protect Them
10 December 2009
The International Rescue Committee
Women and girls in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are experiencing increasingly brutal sexual assaults and the UN peacekeeping mission, mandated to protect them, is not doing an adequate job, says the International Rescue Committee.
Monthly Action Points on Women, Peace & Security for December 2009
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
In the MAP for December 2009, the NGOWG had several recommendations for the Security Council on the current situation in the DRC:
As noted in the November NGOWG MAP, the situation for women and girls in the DRC remains dire. In December’s review of the MONUC mandate, the Security Council has the opportunity to address some of the difficulties and concerns regarding the implementation of MONUC’s previous mandate. Specific action by the Council should include:
- Women protection advisors (WPAs) in the role of monitoring, reporting, and devising protection strategies. WPAs would liaise with MONUC’s joint protection teams and Congolese NGOs working on issues of concern to women and girls; gather information on the risks facing women and girls; devise protection strategies to mitigate these risks; ensure communication with the work of child protection advisors; and harness a system-wide UN response to implement those strategies.
- Regarding operation Kimia II, any continuation of MONUC’s support to FARDC must be conditional upon compliance by FARDC units and commanders with human rights law and international humanitarian law. The impact of Kimia II on civilian populations must be taken into account, as per the priority the Council has given to protection of civilians in the MONUC mandate.
- The arms embargo should be strictly enforced and should apply to all those suspected of committing violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. The Sanctions Committee should act promptly on the findings of the group of experts. When selecting individuals targeted for sanctions the Security Council should follow a process that is transparent and based on clear criteria and a uniformly applied standard of evidence. Those subject to sanctions must have direct access to an effective, independent, review mechanism.
- Vetting and training of integrated forces, including, human rights and protection training should be mandatory.
- The mandate renewal should include an explicit obligation to support and protect human rights defenders.
- Those indicted at national and international levels should be arrested for international crimes, including crimes of sexual violence.
Download the December MAP [PDF]
Monthly Action Points on Women, Peace & Security for November 2009
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
In the MAP for November 2009, the NGOWG had several recommendations for the Security Council on the current situation in the DRC:
Despite the inclusion of protection in the MONUC mandate, the situation for women in the DRC remains dire. The Security Council should:
-Request the Security Council working group on children and armed conflict refer violations involving sexual violence against children in DRC to the sanctions committee for DRC;
-Strengthen the UN arms embargo and adopt other targeted measures against parties to armed conflict that fail to address acts of sexual violence against women or children committed by their members; and exclude individual commanders responsible for sexual violence from governance structures;
-Support the establishment of a special chamber with DRC and international judges and prosecutors within the DRC justice system to investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, and investigate and prosecute senior officials who are responsible for these violations.
-Establish an independent vetting mechanism to exclude suspected perpetrators of violence against women from the army, police and intelligence services, starting with the senior officer corps, pending judicial investigation (1888 OP3)
Download the November MAP [PDF]
Women’s Bodies As A Battleground: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls During the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Kivu (1996-2003)
April 2005
International Alert, Réseau des Femmes pour un Développement Associatif, Réseau des Femmes pour la Défense des Droits et la Paix
Combatants on all sides of the conflict in Eastern DRC have been using sexual violence purposefully asa weapon of war. Acts of sexual violence continue to be committed with unprecedented cruelty, the perpetrators inflicting the most humiliating and degrading treatment on their victims that they can devise. This report is based on interviews with 492 women and 50 soldiers in Eastern DRC. It documents the violation of women’s human rights during the war and examines the socio-cultural roots of this violence and the different forms it takes.
Seeking Justice: The Prosecution of Sexual Violence in the Congo War
7 March 2005
Human Rights Watch
This 52-page report documents how the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has taken insufficient steps to prosecute those responsible for wartime rape. Human Rights Watch calls on the Congolese government and international donors, including the European Union, to take urgent steps to reform Congo’s justice system.
Link to Seeking Justice: The Prosecution of Sexual Violence in the Congo War
Democratic Republic of Congo: North Kivu: No end to war on women and children
29 September 2008
Amnesty International
Months after a peace agreement to end conflict in North Kivu province, civilians are still being killed, raped, abducted and tortured by armed group and government forces. Amnesty International has found evidence that armed groups have continued to commit crimes, including unlawful killings, rape, torture, and the recruitment of child soldiers. Government security forces have also unlawfully detained and ill-treated children, and continue to sexually abuse women and girls. Amnesty International is urging the DRC government and armed groups to renew their commitment to upholding international human rights and humanitarian law.
Link to Democratic Republic of Congo-North Kivu: No End to war on women and children
Member Organizations
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