Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statements

The U.N S.C Resolution 1325 : What effective impact for Congolese Women?
By Annie MATUNDU – MBAMBI, Femmes du Bas-Fleuve (AFEBAF), August 2007
The adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 has undoubtedly influenced opinion on the issue of the contribution of women to peace and security in the world.
The department of Peacekeeping operations has taken decisive steps in the implementation of the SCR 1325. This is the case for the operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where gender experts play an important role in putting these questions at the center of Peacekeeping operations work. This resolution has become a model of activities to ensure the protection of women by the Peacekeeping operations.

For the full report in English, please click HERE
For the full report in French, please click HERE

The Cry of a Congolese Woman
By Marie-Louise Mazunga Pambu, COMMON CAUSE UK, platform of Congolese women in the UK
Unofficial translation from French by M-C Faray and the PeaceWomen team, August 2007
“If silence is a crime, knowing and saying nothing is a more serious one”
The continuous silence which surrounds today’s tragedy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a serious crime. For a decade now, Congolese people in general, and women in particular, are enduring incredible suffering. The DRC, with its sixty million inhabitants, has been reported to have women constituting up to 51% of the population. Unfortunately, this majority is without a voice!

For the full report in English, please click HERE
For the full report in French, please click HERE

The situation of Congolese Women: War, Peace building, Participation and Feminism.
By Marie-Claire Faray-Kele, WILPF UK, August 2007
A reflection on women’s human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighting the emergence of feminism, its impact on the participation of women in peace building and advocacy for UN Security Resolution 1325.

For the full report click HERE

Citizenship and Participation of Congolese Women in the Post Conflict Context
By Jeanine Gabrielle NGUNGU
A paper on the implementation of SCR 1325 in the DRC, focusing on the political participation of women.

To read, click HERE

Ending Violence Against Women in Eastern Congo – Preparing Men to Advocate for Womens Rights
Women for Women International, Winter 2007
Over the past decade, a complex web of local, regional, and national conflict has devastated much of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is estimated that nearly four million people have died as a result of the conflict, which has been marked by gross human rights violations, often directly targeting women by using rape and other forms of sexual violence as weapons of war. As such, in response to horrific reports of rampant sexual violence from the international NGO community and Congolese women themselves, Women for Women International launched a multi-tiered program of direct aid and emotional support, rights awareness and leadership education, vocational skills training and income-generation support in the DRC in May 2004 to provide services to the socially excluded Congolese women who endured, witnessed and survived these atrocities.

After participating in the program and experiencing transformative changes in their own lives, 20 many of the women felt that, in reality, there was only so much that they could do—that in order to truly reshape the vastly unequal landscape of gender relations in eastern Congo, a different kind of effort was needed to address Congolese men’s perceptions of and attitudes toward women, and the severe limitations that these perceptions and attitudes place on Congolese women’s economic, social and political participation and empowerment. As a result, Women for Women international launched the Men’s Leadership Program in eastern Congo in January 2005 with the aim of preparing them to leverage their community influence. to create trickle-down changes in attitudes at all levels and to engage men in intervention, prevention and reconciliation efforts.

For the full report, please click HERE

Seizing This Moment of Hope: Towards a Secure Future in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Refugees International, 17 October 2006
The report argues that increasing security for civilians is the most pressing humanitarian priority as the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo improves. It calls on the international community and the Congolese government to end the violence by strengthening the Congolese armed forces, expanding the UN peacekeeping force in the country and enforcing an existing embargo on arms and natural resources. The report also provides recommendations on how the country can continue to maintain progress after the presidential runoff election on October 29 by providing concrete steps for improving humanitarian assistance, funding and coordination.

To download report, please click HERE

Beyond Victimhood: Women’s Peacebuilding in Sudan, Congo and Uganda
International Crisis Group - Africa Report, 28 June 2006
Peacebuilding cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process. Crisis Group’s research in Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved. Women make a difference, in part because they adopt a more inclusive approach toward security and address key social and economic issues that would otherwise be ignored. But in all three countries, as different as each is, they remain marginalised in formal processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole. Governments and the international community must do much more to support women peace activists.

For complete report please click here

Struggling to Survive: Children in Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, April 2006
Kinshasa and New York – Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to endure some of the most inhumane treatment found anywhere in the world, despite outward signs of progress, according to a new report by the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. The report, Struggling to Survive: Children in Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, documents dozens of continued, pervasive and egregious violations against children by all armed forces and groups operating in DRC and urges that immediate actions be taken to protect Congolese children and to hold the perpetrators of crimes against children accountable.

Forgotten Casualties of War: Girls in Armed Conflict
Save the Children, 25 August 2005
About 12,500 girls currently belong to government and non-government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a programme to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate all militias into society is failing them. The report includes research showing that although girls make up to40 percent of all children involved with armed groups, only a few girls participate in formal DDR processes. To date, fewer than 2 per cent of children passing through Save the Children’s reintegration programme in the DRC have been girls. In Sierra Leone, just 4.2 per cent of girls known to have been in fighting forces went through the formal DDR process.

Women’s bodies as a battleground: sexual violence against women and girls during the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Kivu (1996-2003)
International Alert, 9 June 2005
Due to the increasing ‘privatisation’ of violence in the DRC, combatants who have no regard for international protocol often use sexual violence as a weapon of war. This research, conducted and reported by local women’s organisations, goes beyond documenting the violation of women’s human rights during the war in DRC to examining the socio-cultural roots of this violence and the different forms it takes.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: FDLR Militia Dependents Vulnerable
Refugees International, 1 June 2005
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a Rwandan militia group, the FDLR (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda), may finally be ready to lay down their arms and return in peace to Rwanda. But as the return process begins to be negotiated and organized, MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, the government of Rwanda and other implementing agencies are not paying adequate attention to the needs of FDLR dependents, leaving at least 40,000 women and children potentially vulnerable.


Forgotten Casualties of War: Girls in Armed Conflict
Save the Children, 28 April 2005
Save the Children with this report calls on world leaders to better protect the large numbers of vulnerable and innocent girls whose lives are destroyed every year by conflict. The report identifies a "hidden army" of girls, some as young as eight, who are abducted against their will to live life in the army. The roles of the girls vary from being actual soldiers through to serving as porters, cleaners and cooks. Almost all are forced to serve as sex slaves or "wives".

Seeking Justice The Prosecution of Sexual Violence in the Congo War
Human Rights Watch (HRW), MArch 2005

Plaidoyer des femmes du Sud Kivu a l'occasion de la journee internationale de la femme de l'an 2005
Reseau des Femmes pour la Defense des Droits et la Paix (RFDP), 8 March 2005

Women's Rights Report Details Systematic Rape in DRC
Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington -- Invaders from Rwanda and Burundi, who are exploiting the natural resources of three-fourths of the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern territory, are also "guilty of systematic sexual violence against [its] women," says Venantie Bisima, coordinator of Reseau des Femmes pour la Defense des Droits et la Paix (RFDP), a network of women's organizations based in Bukavu, in the eastern part of the country.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Mass Rape- Time for Remedies
Amnesty International, AFR 62/018/2004, 26 October 2004
This report is a result of research conducted over a year, including through interviews in the DRC with survivors of rape, with local human rights activists, local and international humanitarian organizations, and government and armed group representatives. The interviews were carried out in February and March 2004 in locations in Maniema and North- and South-Kivu provinces, and in May and June 2004 in the Ituri district of Orientale province and the capital, Kinshasa. Survivors of rape were interviewed individually and confidentially.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Surviving Rape: Voices from the East
Amnesty International, AFR 62/019/2004, 26 October 2004

DRC: Special Report on War and Peace in the Kivus
Integrated Regional Information Networks, 6 August 2004
A major stumbling block to the achievement of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the present showdown in South Kivu Province between the dissident army general, Laurent Nkunda, and loyalist government troops. This report examines recent outbreaks of conflict in the region and the effect of the use of rape as a weapon on the Congolese population.

“I have no joy, no peace of mind": Medical, Psychosocial and Economic Consequences of Sexual Violence in Eastern DRC
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-Holland, March 2004
This report by MSF aims to bring greater attention to the terrible medical, psychosocial, and socio-economic consequences of sexual violence in Eastern DRC. It is based on medical data and testimonies collected in MSF’s project in Baraka, which is but one location in Eastern Congo that has been scarred by this terrible feature of the war. With the establishment of Transitional Government in July 2003, major advances have been achieved in the peace process in the DRC, and in many places there has thankfully been a stop to fighting and a decrease in attacks on civilians. The legacy of war and the extent to which sexual violence has occurred, is only just beginning to become apparent. While the number of new cases of sexual violence may have decreased, the phenomenon is ongoing and the scars on people’s lives remain extremely deep.

Echo de La Femme: Bimensuel de Communication et de Solidarité au Respect des Droits de la Femme
PAIF, numéro 008, 04 Juillet 2002

Letters from Lubumbashi on the Production of the Vagina Monologues and Violence Against Women
July 2002

Assessment of Reproductive Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo
JSI Research and Training Institute on behalf of the Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium, July 2002
The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is among the most severe in the world. An estimated two to four million Congolese are internally displaced, 90 % of them in the Eastern region. Health and other infrastructure has been destroyed or deteriorated due to war or neglect. The reproductive jealth of the Congolese population is not being addressed. Basic services are unavailable or inaccessible to the majority of the population. Gender-based violence is an enormous problem. Rape is used as a weapon of war by the members of the various military forces. Domestic violence is common in a culture where women have few rights. The stigma surrounding rape is strong and prevents many women from seeking care. This report offers recommendations and urges donors and governments to support basic health services.

The War Within the War : Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Eastern Congo
Human Rights Watch (HRW), June 2002
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, warring parties carry out a war of sexual violence against women and girls. As military activities increases, so do rapes and other crimes against women and girls. This report is based on research carried out in North and South Kivu provinces, an area controlled since 1998 by rebel forces fighting the government of President Kabila, the Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD) and their patron, the Rwandan army. Sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war by most of the forces involved in this conflict, frequently and sometimes systematically raping women and girls.

La guerre dans la guerre: Violence sexuelle contre les femmes et les filles dans l'est du Congo
Human Rights Watch (HRW), juin 2002
Dans le cadre de la guerre dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), les parties impliquées mènent une guerre de violence sexuelle contre les femmes et les filles. Alors que les activités militaires augmentent dans une région, les viols et autres crimes contre les femmes et les filles suivent la même progression. Ce rapport s'appuie sur des recherches conduites dans les provinces du Nord et du Sud Kivu, une région contrôlée depuis 1998 par les forces rebelles luttant contre le gouvernement du Président Kabila, le Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD) et son protecteur, l'armée rwandaise. La violence sexuelle a été utilisée comme une arme de guerre par la plupart des forces impliquées dans ce conflit qui ont violé des femmes et des filles de façon fréquente et parfois systématique.

Recommendations on the Democratic Republic of Congo
Oxfam, presentation to the United Nations Security Council, 25 April 2002

Sexual Violence in Eastern Congo: Recent Testimonies
Human Rights Watch, 2002

Declaration de Nairobi
Nous femmes de la République Democratique du Congo représentant les différentes composantes du Dialogue Inter-Congolais: Gouvernement, RCD, Opposition Politique et Société Civile, Nairobi, République du Kenya, 15 au 19 février 2002
Nairobi Declaration
Women of the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing the different components in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue: Government, the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD), the political opposition and civil society, Nairobi, Kenya, 15-19 February 2002

Echo de la Femme: Bulletin de communication pour la solidarité avec les femmes sinistrées de Goma
Promotion et appui aux initiatives feminines (PAIF), Bulletin n° 001 Février 2002
Contient: l'éditorial, un bilan d'un sinistre sur l'orbite de la femme, La Femme au 17 Janvier 2002 à Goma : débâcle et surprise, l'aide humanitaire entre le bien et le mal, la reprise de la vie sera-t-elle possible pour la femme de Goma?, Mais il faudra apprendre à vivre avec le volcan.

La femme dans la tourmente des guerres en République démocratique du Congo: Du 2 août 1998 au 30 septembre 2001
Lisette Banza Mbombo et Christian Hemedi Bayolo, Kinshasa, 2002
L'état de la question de l'ouvrage de Lisette Banza Mbombo et Christian Hemedi Bayolo donne un aperçu de ce cauchemar au niveau international et en République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Au moment où l'on cherche des solutions impliquant le plus possible les femmes en vue de résoudre les problèmes les plus graves de la société, celles-ci sont les victimes de traitements dégradants et la cible privilégiée des belligérants de tout genre. La femme congolaise, mère, épouse, maîtresse de maison s'activant pour la survie de sa famille mériterait mieux que d'être ligotée par les coutumes en temps de paix ou de servir de « natte de combattant » en temps de guerres.
Women's Rights Violations During the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: From 2 August 1998 to 30 September 2001
Lisette Banza Mbombo and Christian Hemedi Bayolo, International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Kinshasa, 2002
This paper offers an overview of this situation of nightmarish proportions at both the international level and within the Democratic Republic of Congo. At a time when efforts are being made to integrate as many women as possible in the process of resolving society's gravest ills, those women are being subjected to degrading treatment and targeted by belligerents on all sides. Congolese women - all the mothers, wives and household heads struggling to ensure the survival of their families - deserve better than to be shackled by tradition in times of peace and used as sexual slaves by combatants in times of war. Through their meticulous and solemn inventory of cases of massacre, murder, rape, slavery, abduction and torture in detention, and by reproducing victims' accounts, Lisette Banza Mbombo and Christian Hemedi Bayolo expose to us the full horror of the wartime situation of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through their words, scenes from another era - one that we thought had long ago disappeared in this, the age of human rights - play before our horrified eyes, provoking fear and shock.

Engendering the Inter-Congolese Dialogue: Mission of Peace and Solidarity of African Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo
African Women on Peace and Solidarity Mission to DRC, Femmes Africa Solidarité (Geneva), Kinshasa, 23 December 2001

La Femme dans la Tourmente des Guerres en R.D. Congo
Lisette Banza Mbombo et Christian Hemedi Bayolo, Rencontre du 2 août 1998 au 30 septembre 2001
Ce rapport d'une conference qui a rassemblée des Congolaises des quatre coins du pays souleve des aspects variés des expériences des femmes en guerre. Il explique le contexte de la situation de la femme en RDC et examine leurs souffrances et leurs rôles comme facilitatrices de la paix. Les annexes donnent des statisques et des exemples d'assassinats, de viols, d’esclavage sexuel, de massacres dans plusieurs endroits et de base de données sur la femme et la guerre.

Report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), January 2000

UN Documents

2005

MONUC hebdo highlights the activities on the occasion of International Women's day in the DRC, March 8, 2005

Investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
UN OIOS, 11 January 2005

2004

Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo
The long shadow of war: prospects for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo: A joint independent evaluation for the European Commission, UNDP and the MDRP, 6 October 2004 -
Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration’ (DDR) refers to a temporary intervention designed to restore security and establish the preconditions for post-war recovery. In the Republic of Congo (RoC) DDR activities have focused on reducing the number of weapons in the hands of ex-combatants, their reintegration into society, reform of the armed forces and police, and repatriation of foreign ex-combatants. Evaluation of these activities suggests that DDR in the RoC is achievable, but requires more political and financial support.

Civil Society Women Meet in Kigali in Preparation for first Heads of State Summit
United Nations Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary for the Great Lakes, Press Release, Nairobi, Kenya, 11 October 2004
Women’s representatives from the Great Lakes Region wound up the Group Specialised meeting in Kigali on Sunday with a number of adopted recommendations that will be put forward to Heads of State of the region when they meet for the first of two summits within the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR) in Dar Es Salaam next month.
Femmes de la région des Grands Lacs ont conclu leur réunion de trois jours à Kigali
Nations Unies Bureau du Représentant Spécial du Secrétaire général pour la Région la Région Grands Lacs, Communique de Presse, Nairobi, octobre 2004
Les représentantes des femmes de la région des Grands Lacs ont conclu leur réunion de trois jours à Kigali dimanche avec un certain nombre de recommandations adoptées, qui seront transmises aux Chefs d’Etat de la région lorsqu’ils se réuniront à l’occasion du premier des deux sommets prévus dans le cadre de la Conférence internationale sur la région des Grands Lacs (CI/RGL) à Dar es Salaam le mois prochain.

The Special Needs of Women and Children in and after Conflict/Les besoins particuliers des femmes et des enfants dans les situations de conflit 
MONUC, Kisangani, 18-22 February 2003; Kinshasa, 3-8 March 2003
In February and March 2003, four two-day training courses and two shorter briefings on the special needs of women and children in conflict and post-conflict situations were organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). Given the huge size of the mission area and the fact that many local mission staff do not speak English, which is the official MONUC language, identical seminars were held in two locations (Kinshasa and Kisangani) and in two languages (English and French). Despite logistical difficulties and the occasional unwillingness of some MONUC personnel – who seemed to regard the seminars more as a nuisance than a benefit – to acknowledge the importance of gender and child protection issues the substantive quality and usefulness of the training was rated highly by the participants. The seminars generated not only knowledge and awareness, but also important recommendations for policy changes and concrete action that were registered with keen interest by the mission leadership.

Activities report from the Office of Gender Affairs (OGA) of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
Mission de l’Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (MONUC), Kinshasa, 10 du janvier 2003 / 10 January 2003

Congolese Refugee Woman, Mbela Nzuzi, Receives Recognition from UNHCR
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Geneva, 17 June 2002

Conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo Key Element of Anti-Discrimination Committee Discussion
Summary of the proceedings of the consideration of the report of the DRC and NGOs to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
United Nations Press Release WOM/1163, 25 January 2000

Government Statements and Reports

Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo
The long shadow of war: prospects for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo: A joint independent evaluation for the European Commission, UNDP and the MDRP, 6 October 2004 -
Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration’ (DDR) refers to a temporary intervention designed to restore security and establish the preconditions for post-war recovery. In the Republic of Congo (RoC) DDR activities have focused on reducing the number of weapons in the hands of ex-combatants, their reintegration into society, reform of the armed forces and police, and repatriation of foreign ex-combatants. Evaluation of these activities suggests that DDR in the RoC is achievable, but requires more political and financial support.

Sexual Terrorism: Rape as a Weapon of War in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: An assessment of programmatic responses to sexual violence in North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, and Orientale Provinces
US Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Democracy Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), 9-16 January 2004

Third Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 1998

Books, Journals and Articles

DRC: Securing Gender Rights Key to Lasting Peace
Jeanbonheur Kongolo is Co-ordinator of Africa Journalists Commission on Human Rights, December 2, 2004

Women and Peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo : An Inclusive Approach to Peacekeeping in the DRC
Nadine Puechguirbal, former Gender Affairs Officer at the OGA in MONUC, Conflict Trends, Issue 3, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), October 2003

African Women Struggle for a Seat at the Peace Table
Michael Fleshman, Africa Recovery, Vol.16 #4, February 2003, page 1