February 10, 2011 - Margot Wallström The Special Representative was invited by the Human Rights Council to report on his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Background:
The two main issues raised concerning the phenomenon of sexual violence are intimidation and impunity.
Margot Wallström has described the situation in the DRC as follows:
"Sexual violence is used by combatants as a weapon to instill fear among the people. In addition, the phenomenon has become systematic and widespread, in fact, there is an increase in cases of violence against women perpetrated by civilians not aware of criminal penalties.
Women are raped in front of their family, without needing the ability to intervene in their defense. The goal is to live as women, victims of sexual abuse, shame, sometimes irreversible physical damage. Women should bring up their children, should provide them with the cibo, devono accudire i loro mariti e devono sopportare ogni genere di umiliazione. Sono stati segnalati casi di violenza sessuale anche contro ragazzi.
E’ necessario cambiare il punto di vista che considera lo stupro durante i periodi di conflitto solo come danno collaterale. Lo stupro non è né culturale, né sessuale ma é criminale. E’ stimato che su 15.000 abusi sessuali commessi solo 12 sono stati puniti. La giustizia è stata tremendamente lenta.
A seguito di un’indagine su quale tipo di risarcimento desiderassero le donne vittime di violenze sessuali, è emerso che le vittime considerano “accettabile”, come forma di riparazione, l’instaurazione di una situazione di pace and allowing their children to go to school. However, the duty to punish those responsible can not 'vanish, so do not fall sexual abuse with impunity and silence.
It was found that the perpetrators of such abuses when they are deprived of all their property as a result of their actions, they become brittle, especially if the family is involved. This could be the right way to ensure that the fighters consider violence as an obstacle rather than as a tactic of war.
UN Role:
Sexual violence in the DRC, as in every other area of \u200b\u200bthe planet, is a political problem and a serious violation of human rights.
The Human Rights Council plays a crucial role in the protection of these rights and the guarantee of freedom. Peace and security can not be guaranteed without providing a proper justice to women. "
Margot Wallstrom then referred to two important resolutions, respectively, the Resolution 1888 of UN Security Council unanimously adopted September 16, 2009 , and Resolution 1960 on sexual violence during armed conflict, adopted December 16, 2010.
Resolution 1888 urges Member States to take effective action to stop the use of rape as a tactic of war and address some practical issues raised by the previous Resolution 1820.
Resolution 1888 and the third adopted by the Council agenda on women, peace and security, and it is important that all states go beyond the condemnation of the use of sexual violence during conflicts and beyond the simple request to put an end to impunity.
Resolution 1960 provides a series of measures to ensure sentences for perpetrators of sexual violence, through recommendations to the Security Council on possible sanctions to be taken, procedures, reports, etc. ...
Margot Walltstrom then shared the desire of the UN to take a series of actions in this regard, including:
(a) to ensure opporunità a normal life for all women;
(b) increase the obligations of civil actors to respect human rights;
(c) ensure punishment for all those responsible for acts of sexual violence;
(d) change the attitude and behavior of individuals;
(e) providing vocational training for peacekeepers to enable them to get in touch with the population (eg language courses to facilitate communication with the population and thus make more 'perceived their needs);
(f) fornire una formazione professionale alle forze armate; e
(g) creare una rete di collaborazione tra i leader dei villaggi, chiese e reporter e rafforzare la collaborazione con la società civile.
La Rappresentante Speciale ha sottolineato l’importanza di una collaborazione continua tra le NU e l’Unione Africana; la necessità di migliorare i meccanismi di monitoraggio dei Diritti Umani, significanti nel riportare al Segretario Generale anche casi di reclutamento di bambini nei conflitti; e infine l’importanza di fornire un supporto ai peacekeeper.
A chiusura dell’incontro, Margot Walltstrom, noted the presence in the landscape of many international legal standards for the protection of women against sexual violence, saying that "there is no gap in current international law, the only problem is their implementation. This is why the UN urged the DRC to send a clear message to perpetrators of such abuses, since it is clear that such violence is a violation of law and therefore punishable by law. "
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