Tens of thousands raped during Congo fighting

By Alex Singleton | 8 March 2005

Government troops and rebel fighters have raped tens of thousands of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. Yet fewer than a dozen perpetrators have been prosecuted by a judicial system which the organization says is in dire need of reform.

Despite the peace agreement and broad-based transition process in the D.R. Congo, which began in 2003, soldiers of the national army and armed groups continue to perpetrate sexual violence in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale. In 1998, armed conflict broke out among the Congolese government, several neighboring countries and various rebel factions. Since then, combatants on all sides have subjected tens of thousands of women and girls-as well as a far smaller number of men and boys-to sexual violence.

"Sexual violence has shattered tens of thousands of lives in Congo, but fewer than a dozen victims have seen their assailants prosecuted," said Alison Des Forges, senior advisor to Human Rights Watch's Africa division. "The Congolese government must reform its justice system to prosecute wartime rape effectively."