Following the previous blog posted by Christina, I would like to further develop the issue on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2008, Congo’s President Joseph Kabila requested that the United Nations should downsize the number of peacekeepers to 2,000 by the end of June 2011 and is currently pressing the U.N. to withdraw the entire mission. As a response, Margot Wallstrom, the United Nations Special Envoy on Sexual Violence, advises that it is not the right time to withdraw the mission as the security challenges are still threatening and a huge number of women are being victimized. Wallstrom argues that Congo still needs U.N. troops to assist women’s safety.
According to 2010 ReliefWeb report, sexual violence is a persistent characteristic throughout the history of armed conflict, and the DRC continues to face problems in the policy implementation process. The main root causes are a lack of political will, the culture of impunity for rape, inadequate cooperation and coordination among stakeholders and finally, insufficient funding. To tackle these problems, MONUSCO can play a very important role in bringing all types of stakeholders such as the Ministry of Justice, health care organizations, community centers, schools, the media, the International Criminal Court and advise strategies to end the tragic violence. President Kabila’s strategy seems to have the presence of MONUSCO to get support for his re-election for the time-being.
Therefore, it is critical that MONUSCO should maintain its strong stance as to support the sexual abuse victims and prevent the ongoing and future sexual violence for the next few years at least by deploying patrols in the most vulnerable areas. MONUSCO is in a critical position to address these problems.
http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20100529-uns-monuc-force-prepares-phased-withdrawal
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