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FULL ADDENDUM REPORT IS ATTACHED.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
Distr. GENERAL A/HRC/7/6/Add.4 28 February 2008 Original: ENGLISH |
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Seventh Session
Agenda Item 3
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, ITS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES, YAKIN ERTURK
FULL ADDENDUM REPORT IS ATTACHED.
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102. Sexual violence has been a defining feature
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s armed conflicts. Women living in
areas of conflict still suffer extreme levels of violence, committed by FARDC,
PNC, armed groups and increasingly also civilians.
103. The situation is particularly dramatic in
South Kivu, where non-State armed groups, including foreign militia, commit
sexual atrocities that are of an unimaginable brutality and aim at the complete
physical and psychological destruction of women with implications for the
entire society. Given the multitude of actors involved in the conflict and the
continuation of these crimes, the international community, in cooperation with
the Congolese authorities, has a responsibility to take all necessary measures
to ensure that women in South Kivu are protected. Without strong international
backing, the Congolese authorities will not be able to resolve this major human
rights crisis which is, after all, rooted in the international community’s
failure to effectively react to, let alone prevent, the Rwandan genocide.
104. While war has ended in many other parts of
the country, women are not at peace. Sexual violence remains rampant throughout
the country. In Equateur Province, PNC and FARDC have carried out systematic
reprisals against the civilians, including mass rape. Soldiers and police who
commit these acts amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes are
rarely held to account by the commanding officers. Many of the perpetrators
have been given commanding positions in the State security forces, which
further aggravates the situation.
105. Impunity for rape is massive, especially if
the perpetrator belongs to the State security forces. Due to political
interference and widespread corruption, a perpetrator with a minimum of
influence or affluence goes unpunished. It is questionable whether there is
political will to end this impunity, given that the justice system is denied
the budget and support to effectively deal with its caseload.
106. The scale and the brutality of sexual
violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo seem to have eroded all
protective social mechanisms, unleashing brutal fantasies carried out on
women’s bodies. Civilians are increasingly among the perpetrators of rape,
which indicates a normalization of the war-related violence. This intensifies
existing inequalities and oppression of women in society. If the sexual
violence associated with war is addressed in isolation, gender-based
discrimination and violence endured by women in “peace” will be grossly
neglected and the war on women reinforced.
107. Women survivors of rape have suffered
severe physical and psychological injuries, but lack sufficient care. Survivors
are often socially stigmatized and many are so destitute that they have to
struggle for their mere survival. Women are also systematically denied the
compensation to which they are entitled under international and Congolese law.
108. In view of my findings, I would like to
make the following recommendations to the Congolese State institutions:
(a) End
impunity, in particular with regard to members of the security forces:
·
Demonstrate a
zero-tolerance policy on sexual violence and other gross human rights
violations; publicly condemn all acts of rape committed by security forces.
·
Issue, disseminate and
enforce orders to the FARDC, FARDC Naval Forces, PNC, ANR, Police Special
Services (Kin Mazière) and Republican Guard prohibiting rape and other forms of
sexual violence, which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Investigate suspects, including bearers of command responsibility, prosecute
and severely sanction any member of the security forces who committed, ordered
or condoned rape or other human rights violations. Prosecute and punish
officers bearing command responsibility for grave violations.
·
Disseminate, raise
awareness and implement the Law on Sexual Violence of 20 July 2006. Train
judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and all the security forces on
the law.
(b) Enhance
the independence and capacity of the justice system:
·
Instruct authorities at
all levels, including commanding officers of all security forces, to fully
cooperate with judicial investigations and desist from interfering in the
administration of justice. Instruct commanding officers to surrender alleged
perpetrators immediately to the justice system, even in zones of military
operations. Fully cooperate with any investigation carried out by the
International Criminal Court.
·
Increase the budget
designated for the functioning of justice to at least 2 per cent of
the national budget. Deploy more justice personnel, including high‑ranking
military judges and prosecutors, to the provinces.
·
Develop, in cooperation
with the United Nations and civil society, a standardized national medical
certificate to be used in judicial processes.
·
Sanction any person who
usurps judicial functions by encouraging or forcing victims of sexual violence
to accept out-of-court settlements.
·
Reform the penitentiary
system. Address the security gaps and the inhumane conditions in prisons.
Diligently investigate all escapes and take disciplinary and penal measures
against officials, including commanding officers, who are implicated in such
escapes.
·
Adopt a law to establish
the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, with the composition and functions as
foreseen by article 152 of the Constitution.
·
Amend existing
legislation to ensure that civilian courts have jurisdiction over all crimes
against humanity, regardless of the perpetrator’s function.
·
Adopt a law on the
implementation of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which will transfer
the jurisdiction to hear international crimes from the military to the civilian
courts.
(c) Reform
the security sector:
·
Implement a systematic
vetting process for all branches of the security forces to ensure that officers
accused of having committed human rights violations are discharged and
prosecuted accordingly.
·
Suspend and prosecute,
including in military operation zones, any member of the security forces
suspected of committing rape or other gross human rights violations as well as
any officer interfering in the administration of justice.
·
Instruct authorities at
all levels to support and collaborate with the United Nations team
designated to map human rights violations committed between 1993 and 2003.
(d) Compensate,
support and protect women survivors of violence:
·
Compensate all victims of
sexual violence committed by State agents, beginning with those cases where
courts have already ordered the payment of compensation. Allocate adequate
funds for that purpose in the national budget.
·
Ensure that all women
survivors of sexual violence have access to medical and psychosocial care.
Support and participate in existing Provincial Synergies to combat sexual
violence. Initiate the creation of similar action committees, involving
Government representatives, civil society and the United Nations in all
provinces of the country.
·
Deploy security forces to
protect civilian populations at risk of attacks, with regular patrols in these
areas. Resume, with the full support of MONUC, military operations against the
FDLR/Rasta armed group in South Kivu. Involve the local population in setting
up protection mechanisms.
(e) End
discrimination and all forms of violence against women:
·
Elaborate jointly with
the Presidency, concerned ministries, civil society and the United Nations, an
action plan on women, peace and security, with clear objectives and benchmarks
and a particular focus on sexual violence. Allocate adequate resources for its
implementation.
·
Adopt a gender parity law
in line with article 14 of the Constitution.
·
Abolish all legal
provisions that discriminate against women, beginning with a comprehensive
reform of the Family Code.
·
Adopt a law on the
establishment of a national human rights commission, with an adequate budget
and in line with the Paris Principles relating to the Status of National
Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, including
women’s rights.
·
Denounce publicly and
unequivocally all forms of violence against women, including spousal abuse,
marital rape and sexual harassment without invoking any custom, tradition or
religious consideration to justify or excuse such violence. Investigate and
prosecute with due diligence all cases of violence against women in the family
or community.
109. I would like to recommend to the
International Criminal Court that it:
· Investigate war crimes or crimes against humanity
- including sexual violence committed after 1 July 2002 - that the Congolese
authorities are genuinely unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute.
Prosecute high-ranking officers of FARDC and PNC and leaders of armed groups
that have committed such crimes and award compensation to victims.
· Take appropriate measures to protect witnesses and
victims collaborating with the Court.
110. I recommend to the United Nations and
particularly to MONUC troop-contributing countries that they:
· Fully support the Congolese security forces in all
military operations that would genuinely improve the protection of the civilian
population.
· Include vetting mechanisms in the Disarmament,
Repatriation, Reinstallation, and Reintegration Programme to prevent impunity
for foreign perpetrators of gross human rights violations.
· Provide OIOS and the Conduct and Discipline Team
with the capacity to investigate all allegations of sexual exploitation and
misconduct of peacekeeping forces, collect forensic evidence that can be used
in a court of law. Where allegations are found to be substantiated, ensure that
the victim receives compensation from MONUC or the relevant troop-contributing
country.
· Adopt and fund a comprehensive strategy on
assistance and support to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by United
Nations staff or related personnel.
· Amend existing norms of conduct: failure to
support children fathered in areas of deployment should be considered
misconduct that is harmful to the interests of the organization.
· Establish cooperation between the United Nations
Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (managed
by UNIFEM) and my mandate to ensure, among other things, that the Trust Fund’s
funding for the
111. Finally, I recommend that the international
community:
· Launch a comprehensive international initiative to
improve peace and security of women and the civilian population in the Kivus,
focusing particularly on the role of foreign armed groups.
· Monitor the situation of sexual violence in the
· Maintain a strong military and civilian peacekeeping
presence in the
· Support provincial synergies to combat violence
against women in all provinces of the country. Provide participating civil
society organizations with funds to deliver legal, medical, psychological,
social and economic assistance to survivors of sexual violence.
· Provide direct funding for local women’s initiatives
to support women’s empowerment and livelihood sustenance.
· Ensure that funds made available to the Government
are sufficiently channelled for reparation and care of survivors of violence.
· Amend penal laws and exercise extraterritorial
jurisdiction over acts of sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by
nationals.
· End indifference with respect to sexual violence
in the
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