Democratic Republic of the Congo
Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to face widespread sexual violence, disease, and displacement in conflict situations arising from clashes between dozens of armed groups. Often, sexual violence and rape are used as terror tactics and weapons of war, and despite the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Women’s Platform for the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework, women are still largely underrepresented in peacebuilding efforts. Additionally, women activists face rape as a form of torture by government actors who disagree with their political activity. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) aims to provide protection for civilians, including reducing the threat of armed groups perpetrating sexual and gender-based violence, monitoring and reporting on sexual violence and ensuring women’s participation in stabilization and national political dialogue.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to face widespread sexual violence, disease, and displacement in conflict situations arising from clashes between dozens of armed groups. Often, sexual violence and rape are used as terror tactics and weapons of war, and despite the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Women’s Platform for the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework, women are still largely underrepresented in peacebuilding efforts.
Additionally, women activists face rape as a form of torture by government actors who disagree with their political activity. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) aims to provide protection for civilians, including reducing the threat of armed groups perpetrating sexual and gender-based violence, monitoring and reporting on sexual violence and ensuring women’s participation in stabilization and national political dialogue.
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (February 2019)
After two years, the elections took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the end of December 2018. The pre-electoral context saw a range of violations targeting civilians, including incidents in Mai Ndombe between 16 – 18 December; 890 people were killed, 82 injured and 465 houses and buildings were burned down or plundered (OHCHR). As a result of the violence, between 20,000 and 30,000 people have been internally displaced, and more than 16,000 people, mainly women and children, have fled to the neighboring Republic of Congo. The humanitarian situation continues to be dire. Food insecurity continues to rise, particularly affecting women and girls. Additionally, as of 27 January 2019, 59% of those who have contracted Ebola were women; women and girls are at a higher risk due to the caregiving they provide to family members (ONUSCO). Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) continues to be widespread and has increased by 60% in North Kivu over the last year. As the Security Council discusses the situation in the DRC, there should be consideration of measures to ensure that women fully and freely participate in future elections. The Council should also focus continued attention on ways to address institutional discrimination against women as an important aspect of conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. The obstacles faced by women in the elections, including threats, violence, and lack of funding for women candidates, should be duly identified and remedied to improve women’s participation in local elections planned over the next two years. Further, Article 13.3 of the Electoral law should be revised to meaningfully support women’s representation in political parties, including through temporary special measures (CEDAW). It is vital that the new President prioritizes the implementation of policies and laws on women’s rights, including the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, by appointing women as head of key ministries and allocating sufficient financial resources to finalize, implement, and monitor the second National Action Plan on 1325 (2000) in 2019. Given the widespread, active efforts to undermine freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, particularly in the lead-up to the election, the new President should prioritize the protection of those rights as a core commitment. Further, efforts to address the Ebola outbreak must be gender-sensitive and actively engage with women in local communities as a priority; the Council should ask for concrete information and updates on ways in which the mission has adopted a gendered response lens in the context of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC’s (MONUSCO) stated prioritization of women in its response (S/2019/6, S/PV.8397). Finally, the Council should continue to take forward the discussions and recommendations from the February 2018 Informal Expert Group (IEG) meeting, particularly in advance of the renewal of the mandate of the MONUSCO in March 2019 (S/2018/362).
Relevant Resources
