Brussels, 23/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On behalf of the European Commission, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed the guilty verdicts against nine Congolese soldiers tried for sexual violence in South Kivu. He sees in this a step forward in the struggle against impunity on gang rape used as a weapon of war. The issue was, indeed, due to feature centrally in his discussions on Wednesday 23 February with UN High Commissioner for Human, Rights Navi Pillay to identify areas for joint action.
In a statement published on Tuesday 22 February, the commissioner said: “I note the decision delivered by the Congolese courts which have just sentenced nine soldiers found guilty of raping some 60 women in South Kivu at the start of January to prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years. Tackling the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war is part of our cooperation partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It has to be addressed on several levels, and this ruling is a major step towards tackling impunity, one of the fundamental points. The European Commission will continue to assist the government of the DRC in its efforts to protect its people, especially women, by means of a raft of measures which seek to re-establish the authority of the rule of law throughout the whole country, prevent violence, make people aware of these problems and reform the police and judiciary”. The commissioner announced that, to this end, the Commission will very shortly launch an €18 million programme in partnership with Sweden and Belgium. This money will be used to maintain EU support for reform of the justice system in the eastern provinces of the DRC, and more especially tackling impunity, and assistance for the victims of sexual violence. (A.N./transl.rt)