UNITED STATES VOWS SUPPORT FOR UN EFFORTS AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN DR CONGO

The United States stands alongside the United Nations ready to face down the use of rape as a weapon of war in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a local UN-backed radio station during her visit to the strife-torn nation.

"Unfortunately, we have seen in the late 20th century and now in this century a terrible trend of using sexual and gender-based violence as a tool of war to intimidate and demoralize populations and to force them to flee their homes," Mrs. Clinton said in an interview with Radio Okapi.

She stressed that any bid to halt the scourge in the region has to "start with making sure that the military of the DRC does not engage in sexual and gender-based violence."

Mrs. Clinton also underscored in her interview with the radio station supported by the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUC) the importance of ending impunity for military offenders, as well as cutting off funds to militias operating in the area and resolving the region's underlying political tensions.

In his most recent report to the Security Council on sexual violence in armed conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that at least 200,000 cases of such abuse had been recorded in eastern DRC since 1996.

"But sexual violence is a problem across the country as it is in many countries and there have to be stronger laws against domestic violence [and] against criminal rape that happens on the streets of Kinshasa or any other city," said Mrs. Clinton.

The Secretary of State called for robust prosecution, law enforcement and judiciary measures to "make it clear that this is unacceptable, that there is no excuse for it."

The human rights record of the Congolese Government is "in desperate need of improvement," she added.

"The United States, other countries as well as the United Nations stand ready to assist the Government in taking actions to both promote human rights and to punish violators of human rights and women's rights, but there needs to be much more action and greater commitment from the Government."

Mrs. Clinton is slated to meet victims of sexual violence when she visits a camp for displaced persons in the eastern province of North Kivu, where 400 cases of rape are currently registered every month, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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BAN CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO USE OF RAPE AS WEAPON IN AFRICAN WARS

Warning that rape is being used as a weapon of war with the same efficient brutality as a gun or a grenade, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the Security Council to set up an independent commission of inquiry into such abuses in the conflicts in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan.

Such a panel, supported by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, should recommend to the Council "the most effective mechanisms to ensure accountability for these egregious crimes," he told the 15-member body at the start of a day-long debate on women and peace and security.

"Despite some progress over two decades, the deliberate targeting of civilians through acts of sexual violence continues on a widespread and systematic basis," Mr. Ban declared, also citing abuses perpetrated by the rebel Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Sudan, Central African Republic, Uganda and the DRC.

"Parties to armed conflict continue to use sexual violence with efficient brutality. Like a grenade or a gun, sexual violence is part of their arsenal to pursue military, political, social and economic aims. The perpetrators generally operate with impunity."

The session, in which 45 Member States are scheduled to speak, follows a report to the Council on the issue last month in which Mr. Ban called on States to strengthen prevention and protection measures against the crime.

Today he recalled his meetings with victims of sexual violence. "I am haunted by their testimony, and I will not relent in calling on States and non-State parties to prevent these terrible crimes," he said, adding that such abuse hurts recovery and peacebuilding in countries such as Burundi, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where the fighting may have ended but sexual violence persists on a very serious scale.

He said the UN needed to fashion a multi-sectoral response to the scourge, address the issue from planning to implementation of its mandates, create a UN institution to advance gender equality and women's human rights, and improve monitoring and investigation to overcome the hurdles faced in reporting on sexual violence.

"I am also in discussions with UN System partners on appointing a new senior system-wide official to address sexual violence," he added.

"Victims of sexual violence are among the world's most vulnerable and traumatized people. For the sake of these innocent women and men, their families and their societies, we must come together and act. That will help victims and war-torn countries and set our world on a course for a better future," he concluded.
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