U.N. peacekeepers accused of crimes in Congo

Since the onset of war in 1998, women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo have endured extreme sexual violence perpetrated against them by government soldiers and rival militias. In an even more alarming development, U.N. peacekeeping troops in the region have been accused of sexually exploiting young girls.

With the current state of lawlessness in the eastern Congo, grave crimes such as rape often go unpunished. In addition, the health care system in this region is not adequate enough to provide much needed rehabilitation and counseling to women survivors and most do not receive sufficient medical or psychological care.

In a recent report, Amnesty International estimates that at least 40,000 women have been victims of rape. Women are often raped in public spaces, in front of their children and other family members. They are often raped repeatedly or gang-raped in their homes, on their way to school, at work in the field or on their way to get water. Moreover, most cases of rape go unreported for fear of reprisals and abandonment by the women's husbands and families. 

U.N. peacekeepers: from protectors to perpetrators

The British Independent newspaper first leaked accusations against United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Congo (MONUC) personnel in 2001. The soldiers stationed in the towns of Goma, Bunia and Kisangani preyed on vulnerable children who traded sex for something to eat; a few eggs, a packet of milk, or a few dollars.

The majority of girls, some as young as 11 years old, were raped by militias, lost family members and forced to support themselves. Already traumatized by war and sexually violated, these girls desperate for food found that the only way to survive was to engage in sex with peacekeepers.

UUSC partner confirms a growing crisis

According to UUSC program partner, the Center for Research and Education on Women's Rights (CERDF), soldiers in the town of Kisangani would often elicit sex from young girls. One of their slogans is “$1 for one girl.”

CERDF visited bars and nightclubs between the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. to interview young girls. They identified 50 young girls and registered them with the organization. With UUSC funding, CERDF was able to pay for school tuition for one year, provide them with an HIV/AIDS test and educate the girls about the consequences of their actions.

CERDF was also able to use local talk radio to broadcast information about the growing crisis facing young girls in today's Congolese society under the context of children's rights. They visited local administrative authorities to discuss this growing abusive trend against children in Kisangani.

The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight investigated 150 allegations of sexual abuse by MONUC soldiers. MONUC employs approximately 11,000 soldiers in the Congo from over 50 countries. Allegations have been made against soldiers from South Africa, Morocco, Uruguay, Pakistan, Tunisia and Nepal.

In order to begin to remedy the problem, the United Nations has banned its peacekeepers from having sex with local people, and enforced a dusk to dawn curfew for its soldiers and a midnight deadline for civilian employees. The United Nations will also deploy eight-person “Code of Conduct” units to ensure peacekeeping troops understand the severity of their crimes.

The United Nations cannot discipline peacekeepers, but it can send them home to their country of origin and request that they be tried there. On Feb. 14, 2005, six Moroccan soldiers were sent back home to Morocco to be tried. The Moroccan government has announced that the soldiers were arrested and will be brought to justice.

For more information and to respond to a recent action alert supporting peace in the Congo, visit: U.S. must also work to end 'disaster' in Congo.

Posted Feb. 28, 2005