DRC

Rape case submitted to the African Commission

Julie was a victim of sexual violence at the hands of an officer of the Congolese army. As it is often the case when high-ranked officers are charged, the judicial system remained deaf to the victim’s claim. Last month, TRIAL brought the case before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

In December 2014, in a poor village in South Kivu, Julie (real name withheld) was invited into a neighbor’s house under the false pretense of buying a piece of cloth. Once inside, she was forcefully apprehended by a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Congolese army and raped.

That day, Julie’s life took a dramatic turn. Pregnant, reviled by her husband and shunned by her community, she was forced to flee her village. Isolated and without any means of survival, she now lives in abject poverty with the infant that was conceived through rape.

In spite of all the evidence, Julie’s complaint was never properly investigated. In fact, the military commandment exercises considerable pressure on the competent authorities to discourage them from initiating legal proceedings against members of the armed forces, thereby nurturing the cycle of impunity.

Faced with this unbearable situation, TRIAL submitted a claim on Julie’s behalf to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Together, they demand that DRC recognize these crimes and promptly bring justice and compensation to the victim.

DRC

No reparations for victims of sexual violence

“No monetary reparations have been paid out in the rape cases in DRC – ever.” Unfortunately, this observation made by the Foreign Policy Journal is not surprising: impunity for sexual violence remains the rule in this country scarred by conflicts.  

Only a small proportion of victims of sexual violence obtain the opening of an investigation and the conviction of their abuser. Those receiving compensation are even rarer.

But even the latter never get what is owed to them, because of a complex and expensive procedure and an obvious lack of political will. Yet those compensations are crucial for victims who are often stigmatized and rejected by society following their assault.

TRIAL tackled this issue in a case of mass rapes. For months, it put the Congolese authorities under constant pressure for the judgement to be applied, so that victims finally obtain what is rightfully theirs.