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Today's Top News
UN 'Failed' DR Congo Rape Victims
UN troops failed 242 women and children who suffered a mass rape attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a top UN peacekeeping official has said.
Congolese people cross a road in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Nord-Kivu province. UN troops failed 242 women and children who suffered a mass rape attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a top UN peacekeeping official has said. (AFP/File/Pascal Guyot) Congo hosts the largest and most costly UN peacekeeping mission in
the world, but the mass rape attacks happened just 30km from a UN base
some time between July 30 and August 3 in the North Kivu region.
"Our actions were not adequate, resulting in the unacceptable brutalisation of villages in the area," Atul Khare, under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
He said that government of the DRC holds the primary responsibility for security in the area, but acknowledged that "Clearly, we have also failed".
The area was reportedly over-run by rebels from neighbouring Rwanda and Congolese Mai Mai militia.
Rape warning
On July 30, the day the rapes began, the UN mission in North Kivu apparently received an e-mail warning that rebels had moved into the town and one woman had been raped there.
But the UN did not report it until ten days later.
Al Jazeera's Cath Turner, reporting from the UN in New York, said the response of peacekeeping forces was "the biggest contention in this whole controversy".
Our correspondent said Khare wants to see peacekeepers doing "more spot patrols, more random patrols and more night patrols" in an attempt to prevent further attacks.
Khare also wants to improve communications in the area as "there is next to no mobile phone coverage. The UN wants to put in signal towers ... so it can better communicate with the troops there" in addition to improving early warning systems, our correspondent said.
Broad statement
Margaret Wallstrom, the UN special representative on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, told the Security Council that some of the women were gang raped by up to five or six men and many were rounded up.
In terms of finding the perpetrators, our correspondent said there was a broad statement about bringing "them to justice".
"A commission was formed, but there is no date set for when they will go to the DRC," she said, noting that the UN is frequently criticised for talking a lot but not taking action.
"There is a kind of sense here that something has to be done. We are just going to have to see how that red tape and bureaucracy takes it forward," our correspondent.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Comments
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32 Comments so far
Show AllI fail to see the connection to the US here at all, nor the racist comment. UN Peacekeepers have failed all over the world. Whites were raped in far more substanitial numbers in the Balkans under the UN Peacekeepers.
America is not responsible for the problems in the Congo, I believe you'll find that was a European gift.
I'm curious though, what could we do in your opinion? What should we do?
It was a matter of policy, right from the beginning. My point was simply that the color of these women had nothing to do with their being raped. There were thousands and thousands in the Balkans and there have been many thousand's in the Congo, Africa in a number of places for fact.
We may have some interests there, but one thing ios for sure. The situation in Africa has and had nothing to do with the US. We are not responable for it. GW will confirm I merely reject the almost automatic postings (not referring to you) here blaming the US for everything from the Black Death in the Middle Ages to Slavery in Darfur.
I see little need to "prove" that since it is factually well known and there are many articles available about that very fact.
Yes I did understand your point, I certainly don't agree with it. I don't feel rapes in the Congo are ignored any more because they are happening to predominently black women. They are certainly better off than a slave girl in the Sudan or Darfur that is raped constantly. Beaten, etc.
And again, what would you have us do? Its not our responsibility. I know you agree that we should get out of Iraq and Iran, so I can't see you suggesting we send troops there, God forbid.
The truth is other than boots on the ground we can't do anything.
In any case I didn't mean to come across as saying you racist war monger. My aplogies for once again tripping over my keyboard, but its not unknown as GW can tell you.
20,000 to 50,000 is a fair amount. I don'y usually bother to do this as I am a little old to be preparing a paper for grading, but just for you....
Saying that the women in the Congo are ignored because of their color IS playing a race card.
Wikipedia....Rape in the Bosnian War
The evidence of the magnitude of rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina prompted the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to deal openly with these abuses.[17] Reports of sexual violence during the Bosnian War (1992–1995) and Kosovo War (1996–1999) perpetrated by the Serbian regular and irregular forces have been described as "especially alarming".[18] Since the entry of the NATO-led Kosovo Force, rapes of Albanian, Roma and Serbian women by Serbs and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, have been documented.[19]
It has been estimated that during the Bosnian War between 20,000 and 50,000 women, mainly Muslim, were raped.[20][21] A Commission of Experts appointed in October 1992 by the United Nations concluded that "Rape has been reported to have been committed by all sides to the conflict. However, the largest number of reported victims have been Bosnian Muslims, and the largest number of alleged perpetrators have been Bosnian Serbs. There are few reports of rape and sexual assault between members of the same ethnic group."[22] Although men also became victim of sexual violence, war rape was disproportionately directed against women who were (gang) raped in the streets, in their homes and/or in front of family members. Sexual violence occurred in a multiple ways, including rape with objects, such as broken glass bottles, guns and truncheons.[18] War rape occurred as a matter of official orders as part of ethnic cleansing, to displace the targeted ethnic group out of the region.[23]
During the Bosnian War the existence of deliberately created "rape camps" was reported. The reported aim of these camps was to impregnate the Bosniak and Croatian women held captive. It has been reported that often women were kept in confinement until the late stage of their pregnancy. This occurred in the context of a patrilineal society, in which children inherit their father's ethnicity, hence the "rape camps" aimed at the birth of a new generation of Serb children. According to the Women's Group Tresnjevka more than 35,000 women and children were held in such Serb-run "rape camps".[24][25][26] Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, and Zoran Vuković were convicted for rape, torture, and enslavement committed during the Foča massacres.[27]
http://condor.depaul.edu/~rrotenbe/aeer/aeer13_1/Olujic.html
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~whmoore/garnet-whmoore/JillianWeise.pdf
The Congo and its people have experienced well over 100 consecutive years of this "Brutality" committed against them.
In such an enviroment it all but impossible to construct a society where women and children will be free of such violence.
You speak the truth. And the Peacekeepers can't be everywhere. With their rules of engagement they can't do a lot in any case.
Won't be much comment on this tragedy either.
"But then women and children are hardly free of this kind of violence in our own society"
Women and children here are certainly free of the type of violence this article deals with in our society. Nothing like Rawanda, the Congolese violence happens here. Nothing.
"The Congo doesn't need any societal construction. Perhaps that's been the problem all along"
I'm not sure what you mean here?
Of course, but surely you don't believe there is any comparison, in any way, other than the act itself is what I meant.
"I meant the societal construction of the French, Belgian, and Dutch occupation and colonization of Ghana. I also meant the sort of societal construction that's presently going on in Iraq and Afghanistan."
I thought so, but one tripping a day is my limit! This time I ask first!!
I think this video makes it pretty obvious that the outside world needs to step in.
Soldiers in Congo explain why they rape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZIK9Ce0yM
"I think this video makes it pretty obvious that the outside world needs to step in"
U.N. Peacekeepers are already there, what else can be done?
They are there, meaning "inside the borders of the country" but they are not there meaning "in the villages where this is happening".
There's clearly a lot more that could be done.
Other than increasing the number of Peacekeepers I don't see what anyone can do without interfering in their country.
What are you suggesting?
For an example, villages could be given satellite phones so the UN peacekeepers can actually know when a village is being attacked. Peacekeeping troops could patrol more and stay on base less, to have a presence. More and better satellite monitoring should be happening. And yes, number of peacekeepers probably should be increased as well.
But "interfering in their country" is precisely what *should* be happening right now.
Good suggestion about the cell phones. And patrols...if you increase the number of troops. More patrols means more boots.
Whose satellites? Who pays? Peacekeepers are in short supply I'm told and a lot of flare ups are thinning them further.
"But "interfering in their country" is precisely what *should* be happening right now."
Other than keeping the peace as much as they can, the UN isn't able to do much nor should they interfere with the internal politics of a country should they?
Did you read the article? Do you not see room for improvement even without more boots?
There are thousands and thousands of satellites that could easily be used. Here, read up:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/science-for-human-rights/page.do?id=1650018
And YES YES YES, the UN should interfere with the "internal politics" of a country where mass rape is occurring! That's just obvious! Are we going to let thousands of women be raped because of some misapplied view of "interference"? This is where dogmatic thinking is a bad thing. Peacekeepers are not in short supply, willingness is in short supply. There are plenty of troops from all over the world that could go protect villages.
If it's your position then you should just explicitly say "We should just turn away. In fact, since I oppose 'interference with internal politics' the current UN troops should pull out." Otherwise, I'm going to assume you're just playing devil's advocate.
The most interesting thing is the lack of comment on this and other areas while others are rife with postings.
???? None. Why do you ask? I find that a curious question.
If you consider disagreement or comment that doesn't follow your mindset, I can't help that. And if you don't like facts unless they come from an area or source that you approve of, once again I can't help you.
Your reasoning is faluty to say the least. And if you think anything I said was an attempt to antagonize, you must be very, very young.
While I completly disagree with your shallow and faulty reasoning I see no reason at all why this comment was flagged. This drive by flagging is becoming a problem.
By the way, 24 of the total of 30 comments that were made were either you or me. That was the reason for my comment.
You're right- there's lot of that behavior on CD, unfortunately. People being antagonistic and dismissive- essentially arguing the position "We should just give up." One of the dumbest and least helpful forms of contribution, and it happens all the time.
"Clearly, we have also failed".
_____
Great. He admits responsibility. No need for a lengthy trial. Time to wheel out the old, rusty guillotine, and deliver justice.