UN REPORT CONFIRMS NEARLY 200 WOMEN AND GIRLS RAPED BY CONGOLESE TROOPS, REBELS

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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 8 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Subject: UN REPORT CONFIRMS NEARLY 200 WOMEN AND GIRLS RAPED BY
CONGOLESE TROOPS, REBELS
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UN REPORT CONFIRMS NEARLY 200 WOMEN AND GIRLS RAPED BY CONGOLESE
TROOPS, REBELSNew York, May 8 2013 1:00PMCongolese armed forces,
known by the French acronym FARDC, raped more than 102 women and 33
girls, some as young as six years old, as they fled the advance M23
rebels in country's restive eastern region in November 2012, according
to a joint UN report
<"http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13308&LangID=E">released
today.

The report, which details victim and eyewitness accounts of mass rape,
killings, arbitrary executions and other gross violations of human
rights, was authored by the UN Joint Human Rights Office comprised of
the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUSCO) and the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in
the DRC.

While the report also cites M23 rebels for committing atrocities, it
notes that the serious rights violations committed by FARDC soldiers,
in particular, were "perpetrated in a systematic manner and with
extreme violence" and may constitute international crimes under human
rights law, as well as crimes under Congolese criminal law.

"Those responsible for such crimes must know that they will be
prosecuted," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in
a statement, calling the sexual violence outlined in the report
"horrifying" in scale and systematic nature.

The joint investigation attributes poor discipline among soldiers and
officers, as well as improper training and inadequate vetting
mechanisms for what happened.

The investigation also expresses serous concern about the failure of
the Congolese army to protect civilians, which it says stems from a
lack of vetting procedures which allowed former rebels to integrate
into the national army without verification of the human rights
records.

Most of the cases documented happened on 22 and 23 November 2012 in
and around the town of Minova in South Kivu and followed a similar
modus operandi: "FARDC soldiers entered houses, usually in groups of
three to six, and, after threatening the inhabitants, looted whatever
they could find. One or two of the soldiers would leave with the
looted goods and at least one would stand guard as the remaining FARDC
soldiers raped women and girls in the house."

"Victims were threatened with death if they shouted; some were raped
at gunpoint. Most victims were raped by more than one soldier. Almost
all cases of rape documented by the UNJHRO were accompanied by death
threats and additional acts of physical violence," the report
continued.

During the period of their occupation of the towns of Goma and Sake in
North Kivu, M23 combatants also perpetrated serious violations of
international humanitarian law and gross human rights violations,
according to the report. The UN investigation documented at least 59
cases of sexual violence, 11 arbitrary executions, recruitment of
children, forced labour, cruel inhuman and degrading treatment and
looting by M23 combatants.

Noting that the DRC authorities have made efforts to investigate the
violations, Ms. Pillay urged DRC authorities do more to ensure justice
for the victims and re-establish the confidence of the civilian
population in the Congolese justice system.

Authorities suspended for further investigation the commanding
officers of two of the battalions implicated in the rapes after
MONUSCO sent a letter to FARDC's chief of staff requesting the formal
suspension of support to these units.

Since then, the Government said it had launched investigations and
recorded some 400 testimonies from victims, witnesses and suspects. It
added that several arrests had been made as an interim internal
disciplinary measure, and a number of officers allegedly involved in
these acts had been suspended and put at the disposal of the Military
Prosecutor for the purposes of the investigation.

Among these officers are the commanding officers and deputy commanding
officers of the two main battalions suspected of committing these
acts, as well as officers of eight other units.

The head of MONUSCO and the UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative in the DRC, Roger Meece welcomed the measures taken by
the authorities and affirmed UN's continued support for an
independent, credible judicial investigation and the Congolese armed
forces.

Mr. Meece added that future efforts to reform the security sector must
include a systematic verification of the human rights records of
combatants and their commanders in order for the Congolese army to
fully ensure the protection of civilians.

On 30 March, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual
Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, signed an agreement with
Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon to prevent sexual violence.

The Joint Communiqué lists commitments made by the Government,
including fighting impunity for crimes of sexual violence,
accelerating security sector reform efforts, creating vetting
mechanisms when integrating former combatants into the national army,
ensuring a better control of mineral resources, and greater support
for services to survivors.May 8 2013 1:00PM
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