Women's Voices January 2011


	E-letter January 2011

In this issue

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Dear Friends,

Welcome to Women's Voices, our regular e-letter from the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice. In Women's Voices you will find updates and analysis on political developments, the pursuit of justice, the status of peace talks and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of women's rights activists from four conflict situations — Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur and the Central African Republic (CAR). We are working in these contexts because they are situations under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In addition to Women's Voices, we also produce a regular legal newsletter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of legal developments, judicial decisions, announcements of arrest warrants and victims' participation before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of gender-based crimes.

With both online e-letters we will also update you about the programmes, legal and political advocacy, campaigns, events, and publications of the Women's Initiatives.

More information about the work of Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice and previous issues of Women's Voices and the Legal Eye can be found on our website at www.iccwomen.org.

DRC :: More mass rape reported in the Kivus after the incidents in the Walikale Territory

On 8 January 2011, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, called upon the DRC authorities to investigate without delay allegations of mass rape which took place in the Fizi territory, South Kivu, at the beginning of the year. On 6 January, the humanitarian organisation Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) announced that its medical team in Fizi treated 33 women who had been raped in a coordinated attack on New Year's Day in and around the town of Fizi. Rapes, including gang rapes by up to four men, were accompanied by beatings, and houses and shops were looted during the attack, which was allegedly carried out by members of the regular Congolese army (FARDC). Wallström said that the fact that these crimes were allegedly committed by FARDC members confirmed her warnings of October 2010 when she informed the UN Security Council of the increase in the number of cases of sexual violence committed by soldiers of the regular army.

This incident comes less than six months after more than 300 civilians were raped by a coalition of 200 soldiers from the Forces démocratique pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the Mai Mai Cheka and elements led by Colonel Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, an army deserter and former Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) member, during coordinated attacks against 13 villages located on the Kibua-Mpofi road in the Walikale territory, North Kivu. The Walikale territory, situated between Bukavu, South Kivu, and the Maniema Province, is rich in minerals, particularly cassiterite, and has a very high concentration of rebel groups fighting for control of the mines.

During the attack, which took place between 30 July and 2 August 2010, at least 303 civilians were raped, of whom 235 were women, 52 were girls, 13 were men, and three were boys. The villages of Luvungi and Lubonga were the most affected by the attack.

The majority of rapes were committed by two to six armed men. It is also reported that victims were often raped in front of their families. Moreover, several victims said they were beaten and subjected to genital searches before the sexual assault took place. Apart from mass rapes, witnesses also reported pillaging, beatings and abductions. The rebels prevented the villagers from requesting help by cutting off all the roads and means of communication.

According to witnesses of the attack interviewed by the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) during its mission in the affected areas from 25 August to 2 September 2010, the mass rapes were planned in retaliation for support given by the local population to the government forces. Rape was chosen as a form of punishment to forever mark the victims and to humiliate the entire community. As reported by a member of the Nianga ethnic group, which constitutes the majority of the population in the targeted villages, 'it would be better to die than to be a victim of rape committed by FDLR or their allies, as this rape constitutes the worst human humiliation'.

It was not until 5 August, when the first victims started arriving at a medical centre managed by the International Medical Corps (IMC) in Walikale, that the attack became known. According to the IMC, only two survivors arrived at the medical centre within 72 hours and could therefore be administered the post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV. Women who reached the centre within 120 hours after having been raped were provided with emergency contraception.

According to Women's Initiatives' partners in North Kivu, the situation remains unstable around the area targeted by rebels between the end of July and the beginning of August. One of Women's Initiatives' partners reported that the only safe way to reach Walikale is by MONUSCO-operated flights, which are difficult for non-UN staff to board. Women's Initiatives' partners also denounced the lack of assistance to victims/survivors of the attack.

According to the UNJHRO report, the 13 villages were not under the protection of the regular Congolese army at the moment of the attack. Local sources report that the 212th Brigade left the area two to four months earlier, as the FDLR were thought to no longer be a threat.

The proximity of a UN stabilisation mission (MONUSCO) Company Operating Base in Kibua, just a few kilometres away from the 13 villages attacked by the rebels, did not provide any protection either. MONUSCO has been heavily criticised for its inability to protect civilians and avoid the mass rapes, and its failure was recognised by Atul Khare, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. On 7 September 2010, while presenting the findings of his visit to eastern DRC to the Security Council, Khare declared that 'while the primary responsibility for protection of civilians lies with the State, its national army and police force, clearly, we have also failed. Our actions were not adequate, resulting in unacceptable brutalisation of the population of the villages in the area. We must do better.'

In response to the insecurity in the Walikale area, MONUSCO organised an operation ('Operation Shop Window') which resulted in the surrender of 27 Mai Mai rebels and the arrest of three members of the Mai Mai and one of the FDLR militias. Furthermore, on 5 October 2010, Lieutenant Colonel Mayele, the commander of the Mai Mai Cheka, was handed over by his group to the UN and Congolese army. This arrest took place during the visit to the DRC of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, who stated that it was a clear signal to other perpetrators that rapes will not go unpunished. Ms Wallström also underlined the importance of justice for survivors, as for the victims of these mass rapes, 'justice delayed is more than justice denied — it is terror continued'.

Although these arrests are an important sign given by the DRC Government to the perpetrators of sexual crimes, laws punishing rape should be implemented and enforced in a consistent way and not only as a reaction to the international outcry provoked by shocking cases such as that of Walikale. As the recent incident in Fizi demonstrates, the attacks in Walikale are not an exception in eastern DRC. The Government, primarily responsible for the protection of its citizens, should take immediate action to ensure that the regular army is equipped and trained to protect civilians. The zero tolerance approach towards FARDC members responsible for human rights violations and rape contained in the joint FARDC/MONUSCO operational goals of 'Operation Amani Leo' must be implemented urgently. Moreover, MONUSCO must abide by its mandate as established by UN Security Council Resolutions 1906 and 1925, which prioritise the protection of civilians over other activities that should be performed by the UN stabilisation mission in the DRC.

Read more about MONUSCO's mandate and the zero tolerance approach in
Women's Voices March 2010
Read Atul Khare's briefing
Read the UNJHRO preliminary report (French only)

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DRC :: France arrests Callixte Mbarushimana following an ICC sealed arrest warrant

On 11 October 2010, Callixte Mbarushimana, Executive Secretary of the Forces démocratique pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR), was arrested by French authorities in Paris following a sealed arrest warrant issued by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on 28 September 2010. Mbarushimana is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, torture, rape, inhumane acts and persecution, and six counts of war crimes, namely attacks against the civilian population, destruction of property, murder, torture, rape and inhuman treatment.

The FDLR is a Rwandan Hutu militia group operating in eastern DRC since 1994, and includes a significant number of former génocidaires who fled from Rwanda into the DRC after the Rwandan genocide. Since its establishment, the FDLR has launched attacks on Rwanda from the DRC, with the aim of removing the current Rwandan government through its campaign of violence. The militia group was characterised as a threat to the peace and security of the Great Lakes region by the UN Security Council.

Mbarushimana, a Rwandan citizen, has been exercising the function of Executive Secretary of FDLR since July 2007. In this capacity, he is accused of being one of the leaders that agreed to carry out widespread attacks on the civilian population in the Kivus between 2008 and 2009 with the aim of creating a humanitarian catastrophe and 'blackmailing' the international community to obtain political concessions in exchange for the end of the attacks. Rape and sexual violence were used extensively as weapons against the civilians in the two provinces. The FDLR's members are indicated as being among the perpetrators of the mass rapes that took place in Luvungi and nearby villages in the Walikale territory, North Kivu, between 31 July and 2 August 2010.

Considering the leading role of Mbarushimana within the FDLR and the proven participation of FDLR members in the mass rapes in Walikale, Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice calls on the ICC to include investigations on these mass rapes in the case against the FDLR's Executive Secretary.

Mbarushimana was previously linked to crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide of 1994 when he was working as a computer technician at the United Nations Development Program in Rwanda. According to a UN war crimes investigator, Mbarushimana organised the murder of 32 of his UN Tutsi colleagues, and personally shot two of them. Despite this evidence and the testimonies of 24 witnesses, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda never issued an indictment against him as he was not considered one of the planners of the genocide. Mbarushimana continued to be employed by the UN for a number of years, working in Angola and Kosovo. He was living in Paris, France, until his arrest.

Mbarushimana's arrest was preceded by the arrests of Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, also senior FDLR figures, by German authorities in November 2009. Mbarushimana is the fourth person to be arrested by the ICC in relation to the DRC Situation, and the first person charged with crimes committed in the Kivu provinces.

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Sudan :: The impact of the Doha Peace Talks on the Darfur security situation

The ongoing Doha Peace Talks between the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement are negatively impacting upon the security situation in Darfur. From May 2010 to the present day, the general situation in Darfur has shown no improvement and remains very unstable. Many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are of the opinion that the Doha talks do not represent their opinions and interests.

In the last few months several incidents took place reflecting the deterioration of the security situation in the region.

On 29 July 2010, in Kalma, the largest IDP camp in Darfur, around 7,000 IDPs demonstrated peacefully to express their position against the Doha negotiations. They protested against the continuation of the negotiations in the absence of two key Darfur movements, namely the Abdalwahid Nour and the Justice and Equality Movement; without the participation of these movements, the IDPs feel that they cannot be assured their interests will be fully represented. Following the demonstration, a group of IDPs was attacked by Government troops, resulting in a dozen IDPs being injured. Moreover, three to seven demonstrators were reported to have been killed. This incident took place upon the return to Darfur from Doha of 400 civil society representatives, who had been invited by the mediators. Although many IDP leaders said they requested the delegation representing the Kalma camp in Doha not to speak on their behalf, as the delegation was not elected by the camp's leaders, they were later informed that this request was not heeded by the members of the delegation.

Another incident took place on 4 September when at least six IDPs were reported to have been killed during clashes between supporters and opponents of the Doha peace talks in the Hamidya camp near Zalingi town in West Darfur. While the camp's population accuses the Government of organising this incident, the Government claims that the attack was carried out by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which is opposing the peace talks, against the supporters of the Doha process. The attack took place two days after SLA members accused pro-Government fighters of killing up to 54 people at a market in Tabarat village, North Darfur. Most of the reported victims were residents of a nearby refugee camp.

The increase of attacks in different parts of the Darfur region shows the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the region.

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Sudan :: Displaced women concerned about the planned evacuation of the IDP camps

Darfuri IDPs, particularly women, are very concerned about the plan of the Sudanese Government to evacuate camps in Darfur. Although this plan has not been officially announced by the Government, this issue dominates public discussions amongst IDP women, particularly after the incidents that took place in the Kalma camp on 29 July 2010. Their concerns were increased when the IDP community was informed that the services in the existing camps, already very limited, were going to be suspended. Moreover, the rumour that some IDPs, those allegedly loyal to the Government, have already moved to the Tagwa alternative camp, contributed to the concerns within the IDP community. In addition, despite the announcements made by Government supporters on the services available at the new alternative camp, which would include air-conditioned tents, IDP women reported a total lack of basic services in the Tagwa camp. Women interviewed by Women's Initiatives' partners said 'We are not stupid, how can tents have air-conditioning when there is no electricity?'

It has been reported that the Government of Southern Darfur has ordered the engineering department to conduct a survey in Bilal and in areas in the south of Nyala, not far from where the existing camp of Kalma is situated, in order to build a new camp to replace the one in Kalma. The Deputy Governor of Southern Sudan, Abdel Karim Musa Abdel Karim, said that the Kalma camp will be restructured following an agreement made with UNAMID and the IDPs. The Deputy Governor explained that the camp has become a security threat and is not adequate for housing the IDPs anymore. The Deputy Governor has stated that the new camp will accommodate between 25,000-30,000 people in two different locations and will be supplied with basic services.

The IDPs interviewed by Women's Initiatives' partners considered this as the first step towards the implementation of the new Government strategy for Darfur that was officially ratified on 16 September 2010, focusing on security, reconciliation, development and resettlement of the IDPs and refugees. This new strategy was drafted without consulting other stakeholders, including the negotiating parties of the Doha peace talks. IDPs perceive this strategy as a move to destroy the camps and force the IDPs to flee. Many IDPs informed Women's Initiatives' partners that they heard about this strategy from the media and they think that the evacuation of the IDPs camps will bring about the departure of the international humanitarian organisations, thus dramatically reducing access to information on the real conditions faced by IDPs in South Darfur, and creating a dramatic gap in the provision of basic services.

Many women interviewed by Women's Initiatives' partners consider the new strategy to be merely an additional delay, and a way of perpetuating the suffering and hardship they face. They think that any strategy carried out without consulting at least the key stakeholders will not be easily implemented on the ground and will be opposed. Women fear that resistance to this strategy will result in people fleeing these camps, thereby exposing women to further violence, while in flight or when they have to leave the camps to gather firewood.

The representative for women in one of the Darfur camps said to Women's Initiatives' partners on the ground that civil society and the international community should play a role in supporting the affected community and in avoiding any new disasters. She added, 'The Government shouldn't be given the opportunity to use the scenario of the security, resettlement and development [strategy] to politicise and narrow the real challenges, and it should not communicate that [the strategy] can easily be implemented.'

Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice conducted consultations with its partners, including those working with IDPs, to continue developing a strong assessment of the security and day-to-day situation within the camps. Women's Initiatives' partners confirmed that the absence of basic services in IDP camps, such as food and health facilities, as well as the lack of income-generating activities within the camps, obliges women to look for jobs in the city and collect firewood and food in the forest, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. Young girls are particularly vulnerable to being attacked. Moreover, since August 2010 the Government of Sudan has not allowed international NGOs into the affected areas, thereby limiting the capacity of humanitarian workers to provide essential services. The access of staff of international organisations to the areas affected by the conflict is made even more difficult by the deterioration of the security situation, with an increase in carjacking and kidnapping of international staff in all states of Darfur. Women's Initiatives' partners report that the situation is now even worse than in 2003 and 2004.

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Sudan :: Women leaders in IDP camps in North Darfur under threat after meeting a UN Security Council delegation

Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice was informed by its partners that women camp leaders in the IDP camps of Abu Shouk, El Salam and Zamzam, North Darfur, have been under threat since they met with a UN Security Council delegation last October.

Because of their position and role, women camp leaders have always been a target of the Sudanese Government's repressive regime, and have been subjected to harassment, rape, kidnappings, murders, detention, and torture. According to Women's Initiatives' partners, their security situation worsened dramatically after meeting with a UN Security Council delegation that visited North Darfur on 10 and 11 October 2010. The delegation, led by British Ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, and Ugandan Ambassador to the UN Ruhakana Rugunda, met with Government officials, community representatives, including IDPs, and the UN. Women report that during this meeting they described their conditions in a transparent and truthful way and put their concerns in writing on a petition that was given to the members of the delegation.

Read the 'Petition presented by the displaced women in North Darfur to the UN Security Council delegation' in English and Arabic.

When the Government learned that women had met with the Security Council delegation, it called for an urgent meeting of all tribal and traditional administrations inside the IDP camps. According to Women's Initiatives' partners, during this meeting Government representatives ordered the leaders to hand over to the security forces all women who met with the Security Council delegation, giving them only 72 hours to do so.

Immediately after the departure of the Security Council delegation, the national security forces began threatening women on the phone, in an attempt to force them to turn themselves over to the police. Women reported the arrest of some activists in the streets and the disappearance of many others, including Mayor Ahmed Atim Osman, leader of the Abu Shouk and El Salam camps. Moreover, several activists reported having been victims of attempted kidnappings.

In addition, the Government continues to watch and monitor women's houses, employing security personnel to follow their movements. Some women reported that their houses were raided at night, and several women's rights activists and women IDP leaders had to leave their houses to find refuge in safer places.

Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice condemns the actions of the Government of Sudan and calls for an end to the harassment of these women and other IDPs who met with the Security Council delegation. Moreover, Women's Initiatives calls upon the Security Council to take immediate protective measures for the women and other IDPs that met with its delegation, as well as to denounce the abuses of the Government of Sudan.

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DRC :: The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice participates in the World March of Women in Bukavu, South Kivu

From 13 to 17 October, the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice participated in the World March of Women in Bukavu, South Kivu, with a delegation of 13 women's rights and peace activists coming from different areas of eastern DRC.

The World March of Women is an international feminist movement working to connect grass-roots groups and organising actions aimed at eliminating the causes of violence against women. This year, the third international action of the movement culminated in Bukavu with four days of meetings, panels, cultural events and a march. More than 1,000 women from all over the world, and particularly from the Great Lakes region, joined Congolese women in Bukavu to concretely express women's solidarity with victims/survivors of the conflict that has been raging in eastern DRC for more than a decade.

During the World March of Women, on 15 October 2010, the Women's Initiatives' delegation to the March held a Women's Court in Bukavu. The Women's Court was organised around the testimonies of three of Women's Initiatives' partners, each of them reporting about the situation of women's rights and peace in three different provinces of eastern DRC — North Kivu, South Kivu and Province Orientale. The Women's Court had the objective of amplifying the voices of women and victims/survivors of the conflict in eastern DRC. The testimonies focused on identifying the obstacles women encounter in their daily struggle for their rights and on proposing strategies to overcome them. At the same time the testimonies served as a starting point for a broader discussion about violence against women in the DRC, its causes and consequences. During the Court, attended by 113 participants from different countries and organisations, a statement by Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, was read to the audience.

Read the statement by Brigid Inder in English and French
Read the 'Women's Testimonies at the Women's Court' in English and French

At the Women's Court, the French version of Advancing Gender Justice — A Call to Action was also launched. Advancing Gender Justice is an advocacy paper first presented by the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice during the ICC 10-year Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, from 31 May to 11 June 2010.

Read more about Advancing Gender Justice — A Call to Action

Download a copy
English Advancing Gender Justice — A Call to Action
French Faire avancer la justice pour les femmes — le temps d'agir

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DRC / Uganda :: Women's Initiatives partners participate in Women's Initiatives and WITNESS joint video advocacy project

On 12 October 2010 in Bukavu, eastern DRC, the 13 members of Women's Initiatives' delegation to the World March of Women received training on video advocacy as part of a three-year project jointly launched by Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice and WITNESS, a US-based international human rights organisation that provides training and support to local groups to use videos in their human rights advocacy campaigns.

Read the Press Release.

The project, launched on 21 September 2010 during the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York, will train women's rights activists from different countries including Uganda, CAR, DRC, Sudan and Kenya on the use of film to document gender-based violence and raise awareness about this epidemic as part of the global campaign for gender justice.

'Videos about gender-based violence made by women's rights and peace activists from within armed conflicts will provide compelling evidence of the extent of these crimes and the urgency for prevention and accountability', said Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice. 'Women's organisations who assisted victims of the recent four-day siege of Luvungi village, eastern DRC, by militia groups where over 250 women and girls were raped, will be a part of this project and in a position to show the human suffering and impact of sexual violence', Inder said.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice and WITNESS will work together to:

Train over 50 grassroots women's rights organisations in Africa to use video to document violence against women and girls;
Provide long-term, strategic support to key organisations — guiding them in the use of video to bolster local advocacy goals to end gender-based violence; and
Produce in-depth videos on gender-based violence that will be screened for key decision-makers including domestic law and policy makers, United Nations agencies, and the International Criminal Court.

The one-day training organised in Bukavu and attended by all 13 members of Women's Initiatives' delegation to the World March for Women was the first event to take place after the launch of the joint project. During the training, Congolese activists learned how to design effective video advocacy strategies and received practical training on how to use a video camera.

From 15 to 20 December 2010, the second stage of the joint project took place with a video advocacy training course for seven activists from the Greater North of Uganda in Kampala.

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Gender Report Card 2010 — now online!

The Gender Report Card 2010 was launched by Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice on 6 December 2010 in New York City during the 9th Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties.

The launch, one of the first events to be co-hosted by UNIFEM as part of the new agency for women, UN Women, was attended by States Parties, UN officials, ICC officials and NGO members. Speakers included Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict; Joanne Sandler, Deputy Director of UNIFEM; and Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice.

Click here to read the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice's Executive Director's speech during the launch.

The Gender Report Card analyses the institutional developments at the ICC during 2010, as well as the Court's substantive work. This year, the Gender Report Card features new sections on the Assembly of States Parties, including an analysis of the ICC budget, the Outreach Programme and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims. The review of the ICC's substantive progress includes an examination of the investigation and prosecution strategy of the Office of the Prosecutor, an overview of trial proceedings and analysis of key judicial decisions with a focus on cases where gender-based crimes have been charged or where these issues have arisen during the legal proceedings, as well as those decisions affecting victims and witnesses appearing before the Court.

The Gender Report Card 2010 provides the most comprehensive gender analysis of the ICC currently available. Download a copy here.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice dedicates this year's Gender Report Card on the ICC to our friends and colleagues Rhonda Copelon and Paula Escarameia who passed away in 2010.

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