A Rebel Soldier Speaks About Rape in Congo

Published June 19, 2009 @ 09:29AM PT

As part of a semi-regular series tracking rape as a weapon of war - Francois Grignon of International Crisis Group recently published an OpEd about rape in Congo. According to Grignon:

"A census by UNICEF and related medical centres reported treatment of 18,505 persons for sexual violence in the first 10 months of 2008, 30 percent of whom were children. This year, the situation deteriorated further still, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting a huge surge in sexual violence and rape in eastern Congo.

Reported cases represent only a fraction of the total - a vast number of cases go unreported...Most of the warring parties of the conflict in eastern Congo, including the Congolese Army, Rwandan Hutu rebels, and Congolese Tutsi rebels, have used rape as a weapon of war."

An article in The Guardian, interviewing a former Rwandan Hutu rebel, provides information from the perpetrator's perspective:

"We were never paid in the FDLR, we got nothing, only money from car-jacking. To get money and food we would approach civilians, take their crops, rob their villages. We would attack the civilians too, it’s true. But the rape, that was not policy, that was not organised like the stealing was. The rape and killing was down to individuals."

It's one thing to gather testimony from rape survivors - it's somewhat more difficult to gather such testimony from perpetrators. Difficult, yet critically important. Understanding more about why and how such atrocities occur is essential from both a programmatic and a legal perspective.

How do you prevent soldiers - or rebels, or militias - from committing rape? And, can you hold senior commanders legally responsible for the rapes committed by their troops? For instance, according to a recent post by UN Dispatch:

"The International Criminal Court yesterday formally ordered that Jean Pierre Bemba, a former Congolese vice president and militia leader, stand trial on charges that he commanded his militia in a campaign of rape, murder and pillage in the Central African Republic. Bemba was arrested last year in Belgium where he was living in exile.

The case against Bemba is unprecedented in international war crimes tribunals for the fact that it will center on the crime of rape."

For more information, see the blog posted by Jocelyn Kelly a few months back, about interviewing soldiers in Congo who've committed rape.

[Photo from The Guardian / Susan Schulman]

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MJPC Joined HRW in Calling to Hold the Congolese Army Accountable for War Crimes

'Failing to hold accountable soldiers who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity will result in continued sexual violence against girls and women in the DR Congo", says MJPC.

The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the DR Congo (MJPC) called for a full inquiry into new allegations of continuing rape and sexual violence committed by the Congolese Army after a recent report by Human Rights Watch revealed shocking new evidence. The report documents how the Congolese Army (FARDC) has been committing serious human rights abuses that amount to war crimes in East Congo and calls on the UN Security Council to demand the Congolese Government to immediatly investigate and hold accountable soldiers responsible for war crimes.

The MJPC is gravely concerned at continuing reports of sexual violence in eastern Congo. Makuba Sekombo, MJPC's Community Affairs Director, stresses "paramount importance of sending a clear message to all armed groups in the region - and to the victims of sexual violence in the DR Congo - that rape and other forms of sexual violence are unacceptable and will not be tolerated regardless of the circumstances". "Congolese army officers are not above international criminal law", and "Congo has clear international law obligations to do something effective to protect girls and women from sexual violence" added Sekombo.

Congo has clear international law obligations to do something effective to protect girls and women from sexual violence
Rather than receiving appropriate medical and psychosocial care, women and child survivors of rape and sexual violence in eastern Congo continue to face rejection and stigma while the perpetrators of the crime go unpunished. The MJPC has launched an online petition calling on the Congolese Government to put urgently in place a comprehensive program of compensation for the victims of sexual violence which will encourage victims of sexual violence in Eastern Congo to report perpetrators to police and to express their needs for access to medical treatment, psychological services and other social resources. The petition can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/26180.html . "While no amount of money can reverse or address the impact of sexual violence on victims, the MJPC maintains that in this way, society at large, through the government, can acknowledge the humiliation suffered, shock and pain experienced by victims and provide the resources to help victims rebuild their lives.

About MJPC
MJPC is a non-profit organization working to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the DRC particulary in the east of DRC where thousands innocent civilian including children and women continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished.

Press Contact: Makuba Sekombo
The online petit MJPC Kinshasa, D.R. Congo
info@mjpcongo.org 1 408 806 3644
http://www.mjpcongo.org

Posted by makuba sekombo on 06/21/2009 @ 04:37PM PT
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Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.