DRC: Congolese Soldiers go on Trial Accused of Raping more than 60 Women

Eleven government soldiers accused of raping more than 60 women have gone on trial in the most high-profile case yet heard by the Democratic Republic of Congo's pioneering "mobile gender court".

The men are alleged to have carried out the attacks on New Year's Day in the town of Fizi, in the South Kivu province, where sexual violence is rife amid clashes between the army and local and foreign militias.

The accused – including commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mutware Kibibi – have been charged with crimes against humanity, including rape and imprisonment.

The opening of the military trial was attended by numerous residents of Fizi, most of whom walked more than 20 miles to attend.

The case, expected to last up to 10 days, is being heard in a mobile gender court set up in the nearby town of Baraka.

The court exists within the structure of the DRC's justice system and travels to remote communities that have little access to conventional courts.

Operating since October 2009, the court conducts about 10 trials a month and has so far recorded 94 rape convictions. It has also trained 150 judicial police officers, 80 lawyers and 30 magistrates.

The mobile court is co-ordinated by the American Bar Association (ABA) and funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa) along with the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Charles-Guy Makongo, DRC country director of the ABA rule of law initiative, said: "The mobile courts are essential tools to improve the access to justice for people in the remote areas.

"They can also be used to show in a concrete way to the Congolese that the authority of the state in particular and the rule of law in general are becoming a reality.

"The mobile courts contribute to the fight against impunity and specifically against impunity in relation with sexual violence.

"They have an incredible pedagogical impact among the communities where they are organised – generally, after the court, the occurrence of rape dropped."

The latest trial is seen as a test of whether the government is serious about tackling Congo's reputation as the rape capital of the world, where sexual offenders do not fear prosecution.

Fidele Sarassoro, deputy head of the UN mission in Congo, has called for a transparent legal process to punish those guilty of the Fizi attack and warned that similar attacks would continue unless justice prevailed.

According to one UN estimate, more than 160 women are raped in eastern Congo every week. Aid workers say most rapes are not even reported.

An attack on a village in North Kivu province last year, in which 300 women were raped in a few days, led to increased pressure for action and criticism of UN peacekeepers for not doing enough to protect civilians.

Legal aid group Lawyers Without Borders has accused the DRC's government of not investing enough in the country's overstretched and corrupt courts.