Congo (Kinshasa)

There has been a lot of talk about the mass rapes that took place in Walikale (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in late July and early August. I only now got around to reading the MONUSCO report, which I have posted here in French. It's pretty graphic in parts – the attackers apparently searched the women's body cavities for gold and money before raping them. Some of the women were bitten by snakes in the forest during the rape.

Four armed men barged into Anna Mburano's hut, slapped the children and threw them down. They flipped Mrs. Mburano on her back, she said, and raped her, repeatedly.

It did not matter that dozens of United Nations peacekeepers were based just up the road. Or that Mrs. Mburano is around 80 years old.

“Grandsons!” she yelled. “Get off me!”

The Congolese government must seek justice against rebel force that allegedly carried out mass gang rapes last month, a U.N. special envoy warned.

A U.N. human rights report claimed members of the Mai Mai militant group along with members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda gang-raped hundreds of women and several men between July 30 and Aug. 2.

A United Nations report about to be released on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1993-2003 lists rape among the abuses committed. Sexual violence against women shatters victims' relationships with their families and society. Many seek refuge abroad, including in Switzerland.

Rape as a weapon of war continues to take a heavy toll on women's lives in today's conflicts around the world. A high proportion of the women who are victims of rape end up infected with sexually transmitted diseases and infections, including HIV. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is experiencing an almost perpetual state of internal strife and lacks medicines and basic health-care services, particularly in rural areas.

A UN expert pushed Monday for the prosecution of rebel leaders for the mass rape of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, saying urgent action was needed "before the trail goes cold."

Margot Wallstrom, UN special representative on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, singled out the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Mai-Mai militia.

Tackling systemic conflict and sexual violence like the atrocities on the Congo requires a comprehensive role in peacekeeping operations, world leaders said.

World leaders discussed global peacekeeping operations on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly under way at U.N. headquarters this week.

The European Union (EU) urged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday to ramp up efforts to protect the population and end the impunity of sexual predators following recent mass rapes.

"The EU is worried about the human rights situation in the DRC," said Belgian European Affairs Minister Olivier Chastel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

The Council adopted a decision extending until 30 September 2012 the EU mission to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (12855/10).

The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Friday it "had not expected the admonitions" of the UN Security Council and denied recent mass rapes in the country were linked to the government, a spokesperson told AFP.

The DR Congo officers deployed in the Kivu provinces "were put into offensive contact with these groups of rapists, we beseiged them", said government spokesperson Lambert Mende, when questioned by AFP.