After examining the report from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (final observations, dated 30 July 2013) denounced the widespread impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of sexual violence that occurred during the conflict in the east of DRC and the delay in setting up the special tribunal to judge international crimes.
As a result of advocacy work by FIDH, the Committee also condemned the failure to implement the Court’s decisions and pay the compensation awarded in sexual abuse cases, and denounced the threats against human right defenders who support the victims of such crimes.
FIDH and its DRC member organisations informed the Committee, at a briefing held before the DRC report was examined, of the conclusions of their report on obstacles in the fight against impunity for perpetrators of sexual crimes in DRC. The comments and recommendations made by FIDH and its DRC members were largely reflected in the final observations of the Committee.
