4/4/2008
Members of European Parliament See Devastating Effect of Rape in DR Congo

A recent peace agreement may have given the long suffering people of the Democratic Republic of Congo some cause for hope. Since 1998 the country has been devastated by war, invasion and disease. Over 5 million people have died. One of the most brutal weapons of war has been the rape of women. In January a parliamentary resolution condemned the use of rape and on Tuesday a group of MEPs returned from a fact finding mission to the DRC.

According to the "DRC Humanitarian Action Plan 2008" more than 30,000 rape cases were reported in DR Congo last year. It is probably only a fraction of the total number.

The MEP's spokesman, Jürgen Schröder said that rape was obviously a weapon during warfare but since the conclusion of the peace agreements (in January 2008), the situation had changed. It was no longer a weapon of warfare; it had become a weapon of ordinary criminality done unfortunately by rebels, by members of the regular Congolese army and even civilians.
 
One of the factors was the general role of females in the society. Unfortunately the role of females was subordinated to the role of males. The whole country was not well-governed. And in North Kivu and South Kivu, there was bad governance or absence of governance and chaos dominated. Males of this society had lost their dignity and now used their "male weapons" to also destroy the dignity of those who were weaker - namely the females and children. It was an expression of the chaotic and desolate situation of the whole society.
 

The consequences were disastrous, said Mr Schröder.  On the one hand women and girls, even small children down to three years were rejected in general by their husbands, by their families, by their villages, because according to the standard of morality or ethics the reputation of the family is affected. On the other hand they suffer physical pain. The perpetrators know that they do not affect only the dignity of the woman but that they also destroy the structure of the society.
 
In its Resolution, the European Parliament called for the allocation of funds to help the victims.

Mr Schröder also said he was convinced that this issue of human rights violations in the form of rape must be seen in the context of violation of human rights. "There is an absence of a judiciary - which means chaos and impunity. People who do these things rarely see trial. We should go on working to find means whereby a judicial system can be established.
 
"The other thing is that we help women of that country, not only to be free from those human rights violations but to be able to play the leading role of the society. This is what we have drawn as one of the major conclusions. That we should make up projects that are meant to help women in DRC to play a leading role in the society.
 
"The human beings who are the most active in renewing the society are women. I have visited Indonesia and Afghanistan. If you look into the eyes of the female members of the Parliament, you have a feeling that you can talk to them and they understand you. If you look into the eyes of men, you see nothing - I am sorry that I am being so frank. Males in such societies are taught in childhood what to do to be a boy, that the boys are superior to the girls. They are victims of their education whereas women are always being told that they are the lowest level of the society - they have nothing to lose.
 

"We support the peace process and the pacification in this part of the world. Also we can help improve the situation by improving relations with Rwanda and China who are both key players."