The Human Rights Blog

Sumbu Chantraine Temo, President of Amnesty International at Stockholm University.

Colonel Nyiragire “Kifaru” Kulimushi, known as Congo’s “rape Colonel” surrendered in early July together with 116 of his soldiers amid accusations of mass rape and looting.

Kifaru was a former member of the militia Maï Maï, which played a significant, and sometimes problematic, role in the Second Congo War. As a result of a peace agreement and palaver, the Maï Maï militia joined Congo’s national army, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) along with other rebel groups in 2009.

At a military training course in South Kivu in late spring 2011, Kifaru learned that he was to be demoted due to a restructuring within the FARDC.  Unwilling to accept the FARDC’s decision, Kifaru and his men defected as a means of protest. In the days that followed, it is alleged that Kifaru and his soldiers looted villages and committed mass rapes.  NGO’s estimate that approximately 250 women were raped between June 10-12 in villages of Nyakiele, Kanguli and Abala, all in eastern Congo.

Because the rapes garnered international media attention, government spokesman Lambert Mende, DRC’s Minister of Communications, declared that the national army would begin a manhunt for Kifaru. The army soon managed to locate Kifaru, and he and his men surrendered.

According to AFP, Colonel Sylvain Ekenge, spokesmen for FARDC, indicated that Kifaru and his men were ordered to surrender and did so with no demands. “He did not negotiate the conditions of his surrender because there were no conditions to negotiate…“[w]e gave him the order to come out and he came out of the bush.”

“He said he is afraid and that he had done nothing,” Ekenge added.

A BBC article dated July 8, 2011, reported that the UN held the FARDC responsible for the mass rapes.  “[T]he rapes highlighted poor discipline in the army, and the failure to properly vet rebels integrated into the army following a peace deal to end years of unrest.”

Though government authorities are watching the alleged perpetrators, Kifaru and his men are not in detention, as AFP reported that the soldiers are located in an army base in wait for an investigation.  As Ekenge told AFP, ”[Kifaru] remains at the disposal of the authorities while waiting for the outcome of a military hearing. He is not in detention.” (See DR. Congo colonel and men accused of mass rape surrenders. AFP, July 8, 2011)

Not the first time…

This is not the first time Kifaru has been accused of involvement in mass rapes. On New Year’s Day 2011, a group of soldiers led by Kifaru’s deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware, attacked Fizi, a village in South Kivu.  This time, approximately 50 women were raped.

After an investigation, Colonel Kibibi and his group of soldiers were arrested and later convicted after a hearing in military court.  Nine of Kibibi’s men were sentenced for crimes against humanity. Colonel Kibibi and three other officers were sentenced to 20 years in prison. Five other officers were sentenced for between 10 and 15 years imprisonment for the same crime. One man was exonerated whilst another one will be charged in a juvenile court.

Brief history of rape in eastern Congo.

Rape as a tactical weapon conflict in DRC can be traced back to the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. Likewise, during the Congo’s eight year Civil War, rape was used as key weapon of war, just as it had been in neighbouring Rwanda.

Although the spillage from the Rwandan conflict is more or less settled the eastern part of Congo, the violence continues because of the region’s vast minerals resources. Today, the Congolese army, rebels, local militias, and warlords continue to vie for control over the mines. Rising conflicts result in risks to the civilians lives and personal safety.

“Because one mine alone can export upwards of ten million dollars worth of minerals per month, rape is the cheapest and easiest means to keep civilians intimidated, humiliated and in a state of constant fear, thus making them completely powerless against the rebels.  Civilians who favor an opposing rebel group are often times punished with rape by the group seeking power, often done in a public way in order to shock and destroy the local community.” (See UN admits peacekeeping efforts failed to protect civilians of Eastern Congo from coordinated mass rapes, The Human Rights Blog, Sept. 30, 2010)

In July 2011, the United Nations published a report on mass rapes that occurred last year in villages in North Kivu. The report states that 387 people were raped; among the victims were 44 were children and 23 men.

Experts say that the extent of sexual violence in Congo is to be regarded as a strategic move by the armed forces. The rapes take brutal forms, working as a weapon intended to paralyze, degrade, and weaken communities.

Many of the rape victims are rejected by their husbands and families and often find themselves without legal support. Although men are also victims of rape, it is yet a greater taboo that is rarely discussed.  “A recent study found that 24% of men and 39% of women have been raped in Congo while many more cases go unreported.” (See video Nation of Vice – DRC, Journeyman Pictures, 2010.)

Recent reports also show that soldiers and civilian workers in MONUSCO have also been guilty of sexual exploiting the Congolese women by offering food and shelter in return for sex.  (See Mass Rape: Time for Remedies, Amnesty International, pg. 15.)

Amnesty International says that the frequency and brutality of the mass rapes is due, in large part, to the government’s inability to find and prosecute human rights abusers. (See New Mass Rapes in DRC are Result of Horrific Failure of Justice, Amnesty International, June 23, 2011)  However, some rule of law experts on the ground point to barriers in the Congo’s Constitution, particularly Article 166, which prohibits charges from being brought against government officials without an absolute majority of the National Assembly.  (See Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo)

On the right path:

In light of the recent convictions of Colonel Kibibi and others as well as the surrender of Colonel Kifaru, the DRC seems to be moving in a more positive direction in preventing future sexual violence against civilians.  As Amnesty International’s DRC Campaigner, Claire Morclette, said, “[The Kibibi] conviction is a step in the right direction…[f]or decades crimes like this have gone unpunished in DRC, their perpetrators never bought to justice. However much remains to be done to ensure victims of gross human rights violations in the country receive justice.” (DR CONGO COLONEL’S RAPE CONVICTION IS FIRST STEP ON ROAD TO JUSTICE, Amnesty International: February 23, 2011)

KÄLLA – Bibliography:

RDC : “Kifaru” et 116 soldats accusés de viols massifs se sont rendus, Jeune Afrique, Aug. 7, 2011.

En RDC, le «colonel Kifaru», présumé coupable de 250 viols, entendu par l’état-major, RFI, 09 Juillet 2011.

DR Congo hunting for colonel suspected of mass rape. The African Confidential.

Congo’s shame: Rape used as tool of war. The Washington Times.

When Rape Becomes a Game. Huffington Post via Enough Project, July 6, 2011.

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“I find the Congolese people extraordinary, courageous, able to see joy where very few of us would. I am heartbroken by the place as well, but when we’re talking about Congo, a country where five million have died, where 200,000 women and girls have been raped, it is not okay for us to stand by and do nothing.” – Anneke van Woundenberg, Human Rights Watch

This past summer, over 500 people were raped in the eastern part of The Democratic Republic of Congo.  The most concentrated instances of violence occurred during days of July 30 through August 2 when 235 women, 13 men, 52 girls, and 3 boys were raped, and in most cases gang raped.  These acts took place in Luvungi, a village in the Walikale district of Eastern Congo, which is situated less than 20 miles from a United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) base. It is believed that armed rebel militia groups – the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Mai Mai Cheka – are responsible for the attacks.  The UN also reported that during the first three weeks of August, the FDLR was responsible for attacks on nineteen other villages northeast of Shabunda, where 214 other rapes were committed.

On September 24^th, the UN took responsibility for its inadequate actions to prevent the rapes in a report to the UN Security Council.  The UN acknowledged that MONUSCO forces did not receive proper training or equipment to protect and defend civilians in Eastern Congo, despite the fact that the UN mandates that MONUSCO forces are permitted to use force to protect civilians.  As the UN News Centre states:

“[t]he report points to serious shortcomings in the preparedness and response of the local detachments of the Congolese army and the police stationed in the area. It also notes that their failure to prevent or stop the attacks was compounded by subsequent failings on the part of MONUSCO forces, which the report says did not receive any specific training in the protection of civilians.”

MONUSCO is the UN’s major organization and stabilization mission in the DRC and the UN’s most expensive and expansive program in the world.  Concentrated in Eastern Congo, MONUSCO is primarily charged with protecting and defending Congolese civilians from violence and crimes against humanity, such as rape, as well as conducting military operations.

In regards to these latest, gruesome attacks on Congolese civilians, the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights explained that MONUSCO forces, while not responsible for the recent rapes, could have done more to prevent them.  In her statement regarding the reports, Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “[t]he scale and viciousness of these mass rapes defy belief.  Even in the eastern part of DRC where rape has been a perennial and massive problem for the past fifteen years, this incident stands out because of the extraordinarily cold-blooded and systematic way in which it appears to have been planned and executed.”

Rape as a weapon of war

Rape has been used as the primary weapon of war in the Congo since the nation’s eight year-long Civil War and was a key war tactic used in neighboring Rwanda’s genocide of 1994.  Inexpensive, immediate, and far-reaching in its effects, gang rape has long been the weapon of choice for armed rebel groups who wish to retain and expand their power.

At present, rebel warlords vie for control over Congo’s profitable mining industry.  Because one mine alone can export upwards of ten million dollars worth of minerals per month, rape is the cheapest and easiest means to keep civilians intimidated, humiliated and in a state of constant fear, thus making them completely powerless against the rebels.  Civilians who favor an opposing rebel group are often times punished with rape by the group seeking power, often done in a public way in order to shock and destroy the local community.

For example, the town of Luvungi – hit hard by gang rapes between July 30th and August 2nd – is located in the Walikale district, which houses most of the Congo’s cassiterite.  Cassiterite, the primary ore of tin, is used to power fluorescent lights and solder cell phones.  The Congo also naturally produces other valuable substances such as coltan, tungsten, tanalum and gold, which are found in cell phones, computers, flat screen TV’s and other electronics.  (In a video entitled, “Conflict Minerals 101,” John Prendergast of the Enough Project gives an easy to follow explanation of the significance of these minerals and what they mean to the people of the DRC.)

Reaction to the UN’s admission here in the US

While the UN’s surprise admission garnered widespread international attention from foreign media outlets last week, little mention was made of the report in the United States.

Last Friday,Anneke van Woudenberg, Senior Researcher for NYC-based Human Rights Watch and a well-known human rights expert in issues affecting the DRC, spoke with PBS’ Alison Stewart about this very issue on Need to Know.  The sixteen-minute segment provides a concise yet solid overview of the history of Congo’s violence as well as Ms. Woundenberg’s account what she has seen in regards to problems with MONUSCO’s response to the rapes and corruption in the Congolese Army.  Due to her decade’s worth of experience “on the ground,” Ms. Woudenberg provided powerful insight into the Congolese experience.

The Genocide Report, a look back

On Friday, October 1, 2010, I invite readers to visit the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights’ Congo page for the release of an important document that details the violence that took place in the Congo against civilians between the years of 1993 and 2003. Known as “The Genocide Report,” the over 500-page document, which Ms. Woudenberg mentioned in her interview above, sheds light on the many  horrific attacks against Congolese civilians that were never previously reported.  The report also places blame for the violence, citing the involvement of Rwandan troops and rebel militias.

Finally, it is relevant to note that The Genocide Report has been deemed controversial for the following reasons.  After a draft was leaked to the press earlier this month, Rwandan and Ugandan authorities vehemently denied the accuracy of the data contained in the report as well as strong implications that the two nations played instrumental roles in attacks against Congolese civilians.  Both nations subsequently threatened to pull its troops from UN peacekeeping missions unless the document was changed.  While the latest reports project that the language of tomorrow’s final version will be “toned down” from the leaked draft, The Genocide Report will nonetheless place responsibility for the genocide with the Rwandan army and will still provide important details of which the entire world should be made aware.

Link to “The Genocide Report” entitled, DRC: Mapping human rights violations 1993-2003

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Some days, I am reminded just how easy it is to take my life for granted.

On September 28th, I was back in my hometown, celebrating my Mom’s birthday with family.  That evening, I sat at my computer only to find an email explaining what had happened earlier that day, halfway across the globe, in the West African country of Guinea.

While I happily ate cake and chatted with my Mom, grandmother and aunts in our little Pennsylvania town, Guinean soldiers were targeting women pro-democracy demonstrators in what proved to be one of the most savage public attacks against women in modern times.  In broad daylight, soldiers stormed a local stadium and proceeded to brutally beat and rape women demonstrators.  Soldiers stripped women naked, drove gun barrels and knives into their female organs, and raped them.  Later, dozens of rape victims were taken from health centers by armed guards, drugged, and driven to remote camps where they were forcibly held and gang-raped for days.  Because the attacks were in public, witnesses captured graphic images and video, which have since circulated across the world.  In total, 157 people were slaughtered.  While the total number of raped women and beating victims remains unknown, estimates believe it to be over 1,000.

In 2008, the UN Security Council finally classified rape as a weapon of war.  Historically, rape was utilized either as a method of genocide, a means to destroy families and sever communities, or a way to crush political uprisings.   For example, genocidal rape was used in Serbian camps during the Bosnia-Herzegovina Conflict (60,000 rapes) and was an effective way to systematically spread AIDS throughout villages during the Rwandan Genocide (500,000 rapes).  In Guinea, all accounts point to systematic political rape, as all victims were pro-democracy demonstrators.

Sadly, what makes this particular story “new,” is that the rapes were publicly committed in a country that is generally more peaceful and conservative than neighbors Liberia and Sierra Leone.  However, in light of the Guinean government’s recent turmoil concerning the legitimacy of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara’s military rule, this attack should not be considered a complete surprise.

In response to human rights abuses such as this, most nations’ leaders do little more than denounce the actions.  In my estimation, verbal condemnation is simply not enough.  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thought the same and took near-immediate action.  In addition to calling for Camara’s removal and appropriate punishments for his military command, Clinton chaired a September 30th UN Security Council meeting that resulted in the unanimous adoption of a US-sponsored resolution, condemning sexual violence in war zones.  Certainly, Clinton should be applauded for keeping her promise to place women’s human rights at the forefront of her diplomatic agenda.  Likewise, the African Union deserves praise for making good on its threat to sanction Camara’s regime, as travel bans and military asset freezes will be imposed on the Guinean government this week.  In light of these tangible measures, one may dare to hope that other international leaders will follow suit and do more to punish such egregious human rights abuses.  

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