DRC: Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone

By Human Rights Watch

July 16, 2009

Read the full report here:

Recommendations

To the Congolese Government:

Consider establishing a special chamber with Congolese and international judges and prosecutors within the Congolese justice system. The chamber's mandate should be to investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, and should include the capacity to investigate and prosecute senior military and civilian officials who are responsible for or complicit in crimes.

Professionalize the army, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), and end sexual violence by its soldiers:

Enforce compliance with international humanitarian law among all members of
the armed forces;
Ensure that there is a clear chain of command, and that
brigades are controlled effectively by a superior hierarchy;

Investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual violence, and ensure
that army commanders cooperate with the judiciary;

Introduce a vetting mechanism to remove high-ranking military
officers responsible for serious human rights abuse, including sexual violence;

Ensure that all soldiers of all ranks-including those recently
integrated into the army-receive regular, mandatory training on civilian
protection, including protection of women and girls.

Initiate a comprehensive, formal evaluation of the impact of training and
modify it accordingly;
Create the position of gender advisor in the FARDC
for awareness-raising and advocacy regarding sexual violence, including violence
against soldiers' wives and daughters, to be filled by a senior officer and
located within the command structure;

Ensure soldiers receive a regular, adequate salary and have
access to medical and psychological care; and

Create military barracks that provide a base for soldiers and
their families.

Take measures to strengthen the military justice system's response to sexual violence:

Create specialized units on sexual violence within each military
prosecutor's office and tribunal to facilitate the investigation and prosecution
of these crimes; consider associating members of civilian judiciary and
international experts in an advisory role;

Strengthen expertise of military prosecutors and judges on
investigations that link senior officials to crimes committed on the ground,
including their command responsibility;

Appoint more senior military officers to the military bench in eastern
Congo, as Congolese law mandates that judges in military courts must have a
similar or higher rank than the defendant;

Inform victims and their families about their rights and judicial
proceedings, offer counseling to adult and child victims through trained staff,
and avoid re-traumatizing or stigmatizing victims during the judicial
process;

Ensure that all victims whose cases are investigated or
prosecuted receive adequate medical and psycho-social support;

Improve access to justice for victims, in line with UN recommendations,
including by making the medical certificate free of charge and supporting legal
assistance programs;

Increase the number of female judicial staff;

Ensure compensation payments are paid, possibly through the creation of
a compensation fund;
Ensure that trials conform to international standards
on due process;

Ensure the safety of victims, witnesses, and human rights
defenders working on FARDC crimes; and

Allow the military justice system to function independently of
the army.

To the National Assembly:

Adopt the International Criminal Court (ICC) implementing law into Congolese domestic legislation, which would, among other things, shift jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity to the civilian courts.

To the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC):

Organize MONUC troops so they can react rapidly and with adequate logistical support in order to effectively protect women and girls against acts of sexual violence;

Avoid cooperating with Congolese army units and military commanders that have been implicated in serious violations of international humanitarian law;and

Make efforts to increase the number of female peacekeepers and to create a female unit in the UN police, with particular skills in addressing sexual violence.

To the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) and other United Nations agencies, the European Union (EU), the United States (US), and other International Donors:

Support efforts to establish a judicial mechanism-such as a mixed chamber-that prosecutes war crimes and crimes against humanity by civilian and military leaders who will not be tried by the ICC;

Urge the Congolese government to implement the above reforms, and provide funding and technical assistance for their implementation;

Introduce benchmarks for funding to the justice sector, such as a number of prosecutions of high-ranking military officials for their command responsibility in sexual crimes, in accordance with international fair trial standards, or specific steps towards the creation of a mixed chamber;

Include an explicit focus on sexual violence prevention in security sector reform programs; and
Take measures to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1820 on sexual violence, including by improving technical expertise on sexual violence crimes in all UN member states, with a view to assisting countries affected by sexual violence in armed conflict.

To the UN Security Council:

Request the Secretary-General to publicly list parties to armed conflict that are responsible for acts of sexual violence in violation of international law in the annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict;

Extend the monitoring and reporting mechanism on children and armed conflict to countries where sexual violence by parties to armed conflict occurs;

Request the Security Council working group on children and armed conflict to refer violations involving sexual violence against children in Congo to the sanctions committee for Congo;

Adopt targeted measures, including arms embargoes, against parties to armed conflict that fail to address acts of sexual violence against women or children committed by their members;

and apply individual measures, including travel bans, asset freezes, and exclusion from governance structures against individual commanders responsible for sexual violence;

Take measures to implement Resolution 1820 on sexual violence in armed conflict globally and in Congo, including by taking action to end impunity for sexual violence and by strengthening the capacity of peacekeeping personnel to protect women and children against sexual violence; and

Request the Secretary-General to establish and hire for the position of Special Envoy or Representative on Women, Peace, and Security, at a level that signals accountability and resource-commitment, to coordinate and drive the full implementation of resolutions 1325 and 1820 within the UN system.

To the International Criminal Court (ICC):

Enhance the capacity of national courts to prosecute serious crimes that the ICC will not address, including sharing expertise on legal issues related to the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, witness protection, and the fair trial rights of defendants.