Rape toll in eastern Congo doubled in UN's special report

Published on Wednesday 8 September 2010 15:51

MORE than 500 rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Congo since late July, more than double the number previously reported.

• UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon

The United Nations, revealing the new statistics, said its peacekeeping forces had failed in their efforts to protect citizens

UN assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping, Atul Khare, told the security council at least 267 more rapes occurred in another area in the east of the country in addition to the 242 rapes reported in and around Luvungi, a village of about 2,200 people about 20 miles from a UN peacekeepers' camp.

"While the primary responsibility for protection of civilians lies with the state, its national army and police force," said Mr Khare, "clearly, we have also failed. Our actions were not adequate, resulting in unacceptable brutalisation of the population of the villages in the area. We must do better."

At the start of this month, the UN peacekeeping force in Congo, called Monusco, launched an operation using 750 troops to back efforts by Congolese security forces to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks, said Mr Khare. At least 27 rebels armed with automatic rifles have surrendered and at least four more have been arrested, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Khare said, peacekeepers would undertake more night patrols and random checks. The UN is also looking into ways of providing them with mobile phones.

Rape as a weapon of war has become commonplace in eastern Congo, where the government army and UN peacekeepers have failed to defeat the few thousands rebels responsible for a protracted conflict fuelled by vast mineral reserves. Luvungi is a farming centre on the road between Goma, the eastern capital, and the mining town of Walikale. Mr Khare said over 15,000 rapes were reported in Congo in both 2008 and 2009.

Ambassador Susan Rice, the US representative to the UN said the briefing was "very frank, comprehensive and illuminating" .

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon sent Mr Khare to Congo to investigate why UN peacekeepers didn't learn about at least 242 mass rapes in the Luvungi area from 30 July to 12 August, when it was informed by the International Medical Corps treating many of the victims.

The additional sexual attacks, in an area called Uvira and other regions of North and South Kivu, came to light during his trip. He learned of 74 cases of sexual violence, including against 21 minors - all girls between the ages of seven and 15 - and six men, in a village called Miki, in South Kivu. All the women in another village, Kiluma, may have been systematically raped, he said.

Mr Khare said in Katalukulu, ten women were raped by Congolese soldiers. He called for the prosecution of Rwandan rebel FDLR and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels blamed for many of the attacks and for sanctions against their leaders.