Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveler - DRC news: sexual violence and progress toward peace

sometimes i visit these: Congogirl on Twitter / Bloglines Congogirl link / Congogirl's Links List on My Del.icio.us / Where IS DR Congo, anyway?? / Congo Daily / good summary article on DR Congo / Samantha Power's article, "Bystanders to Genocide" / Dizolele - Eye on Africa / Congo Blog - Ba Leki / Cedric Kalonji's photo blog / Extra Extra / Nayembi / Thirteen Wildlife Blogs from DR Congo / Babycatcher / Global Voices / Helene in RD Congo / ID Land - adventures in international development / John's Blog / Kim Gjerstad in Congo / On Safari with el Jorgito / The Salon of News and Thought / This is Zimbabwe / Bluehaired Mary / African Path / Global Bioethics Blog / Somewhere in Africa / Africa is a Country

June 2009


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	Thu, May. 15th, 2008 04:56 pm

DRC news: sexual violence and progress toward peace

There have been allegations in the past of UN peacekeepers sexually assaulting civilians, and it's in the news again. I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the future. It's happened in other countries, and the mission in DRC continues its mandate, so I don't think these accusations are over.

Also, IRIN has an analysis of the progress toward peace in the Kivus, and the International Crisis Group has a new report out entitled Congo: Four Priorities for Sustainable Peace in Ituri. For a taste of the report, check out these recommendations from the executive summary to the gov't of DRC and to MONUC (another fourteen to other parties can be found at the site, full report in French):

RECOMMENDATIONS
Completing the disarmament process and restoring state authority
To the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:
1. Concentrate the deployment of FARDC in the strongholds of the Front for National Integration (FNI) and the Patriotic Force of Resistance in Ituri (FRPI) militias and systematically replace it in the rest of the district with national police force officers including residents of Ituri.
2. Order the military prosecutor to initiate official investigations into the alleged complicity of FARDC officers in the illegal exploitation of natural resources and mining in Ituri.
3. Initiate a disciplinary investigation into Governor Médard Autsai’s administration of Province Orientale.
To the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC):
4. Increase tactical and operational support to FARDC in order to facilitate the encirclement of the FRPI militia, limit its capacity for movement and restrict its access to external support.
5. Create a civilian-military task force, mandated to implement an integrated strategy for finalising the disarmament of the FNI and FRPI militias that combines sensitisation and pressure and enjoys the backing of local community leaders.

Tags: conflict, dr congo, monuc, sgbv

rezendi

it's a vain pursuit but it helps me to sleep

	Fri, May. 16th, 2008 03:14 am (UTC)

The accusations aren't unique to the DRC either - the MINUSTAH peacekeepers in Haiti are actively despised by most of the population.

congogirl

	Fri, May. 16th, 2008 02:30 pm (UTC)

No, they're not unique to DRC. Do you know much more about to what extent the UN pursued the allegations in Haiti? There was a new committee set up that I remember reading about perhaps a year or so ago, but I can't recall whether it was MONUC-level or UN level...

delerium69

Call Me Del

	Fri, May. 16th, 2008 04:27 pm (UTC)

I can imagine few things as traumatizing as being abused by the people who are supposed to protect you. I've been hearing these sexual abuse stories about UN peacekeepers (which really has a different connotation if you've watched the tv series "Farscape") and it still has the power to infuriate me.

congogirl

	Fri, May. 16th, 2008 04:51 pm (UTC)

I'm a little TV-impoverished, but if you want to explain more, feel free! I agree, it's horrifying especially considering that the conditions under which the UN is typically brought into a situation is horrifying enough.

delerium69

Call Me Del

	Fri, May. 16th, 2008 05:47 pm (UTC)

The show, which centers around a human astronaut accidently tramped in another galaxy and his group of mixed species friends on spaceship (he is the above icon), there is a subset of one humanoid species who call themselves "Peacekeepers," but it's a misnomer because they're actually militaristic and bent on controlling space in order to enforce "peace." One of the main characters is an exiled/rejected Peacekeeper officer who must learn to actually show empathy and kindness towards others, as well as realize emotions are a good thing and not a "weakness" (and she ends up in a relationship with the human).

It was actually a great show, so of course the Sci-Fi Channel cancelled it. ;-p