Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women on her mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, submitted to the 7th Session of the Human Rights council on 11 March 2008
Madam Special Rapporteur, Mister President,
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its member organisations in the DRC [1], and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) would like to thank the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women for the report on her mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and for the important contribution that this report makes to the fight against sexual violence and impunity in this country.
As Ms. Erturk’s report shows, rape is used as a weapon of war at the height of conflict, in order to terrorise and subjugate the civilian population. This phenomenon has been growing at a worrying pace, including in relatively stable regions. Because of the complete impunity enjoyed by both military and civilian perpetrators, sexual violence against women, girls, and men has been trivialised and become generalised to a level never reached before. Fighting against impunity is one of the Government’s official priorities. However, FIDH, its member organisations, and OMCT join you, Madam Rapporteur, in deploring the almost total lack of prosecution of sexual violence acts, in particular when committed by members of security forces. These sexual crimes can be qualified as crimes against humanity due to their scale and gravity. However, they still are not properly handled by the Congolese national justice system.
Actually, the small number of convictions for sexual violence is not only due to the lack of funds allocated to the judicial system, and to general corruption. This can also be explained by a lack of political will to ensure judicial independence and to prosecute those responsible for crimes, including high-ranked officials from the security forces. As you point out in your report, perpetrators of the most serious crimes, should be prosecuted and tried by civilian judicial institutions, regardless of their official capacity. Additionally, a Conseil superieur de la magistrature should be set up as soon as possible, in order to ensure the independence of judges.
1/ Madam Rapporteur, in this context, the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and the DRC Independent Expert have urged the international community and the Congolese government to fight impunity at the domestic level, by supporting the creation of hybrid chambers with domestic and foreign judges. Concretely, what do you propose in order to strengthen these hybrid chambers’ capacity on investigations and prosecutions of gender-based violence?
2/ Madam Rapporteur, have you been able to observe local women’s NGOs and Congolese civil society in general at work on the ground? Have you noticed their being active in decision-making regarding the fight against sexual violence and in training and awareness-raising workshops organised by local authorities and by the MONUC?
3/ Madam Rapporteur, we regret that the Congolese government, as well as 15 other states, have not yet responded to any of your letters from 2007. Do you plan to put emphasis on the follow-up of these communications over the last year of your mandate?
Thank you, Mister President.