Congo, Democratic Republic: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
PRESS RELEASE
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
Geneva,
25 November 2010.
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women, The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) calls again the
attention of the world to the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC), theatre of the most deadly conflict of the last 50 years and massively
affected by rapes committed on a daily basis by belligerents. The women and men
fighting against this scourge in turn become victims of criminals who act with
total impunity. It was to support their action and make it widely known that
OMCT carried out a mission of solidarity to the country in February 2010.
Since then, new waves of mass rapes emerged.
The extreme high level of sexual violence against women is used as a ‘weapon of
war’ in order to control the area with ‘sexual terror’, to break down the families and communities to whom the
women belong. A woman who has been raped in the DRC
risks expulsion from her home or community. As a woman explains in OMCT’s film
‘Indifference
and Impunity’[1]
on its mission to the country ‘One woman
belongs to one man and has a woman been with another man, she loses her value.
That’s why it is difficult for a woman who has been raped to reintegrate into
her household: people are ashamed of her and the husband rejects her. The women
are alone, excluded from their family and community.’ Faced with these
consequences, women victims of sexual torture are frequently reluctant to
report sexual violence out of fear and shame.
The lack of reporting by women is used by the DRC
authorities as an excuse for inaction and the torturers can commit their crimes
with impunity. The current climate of impunity is a major factor in the
continued systematic practice of rape. As clarified during the mission: ‘Rape has become banal and (… ) is being
committed not only by soldiers but also by civilians. As no strong actions against
the perpetrators are being taken, men believe that they can commit rape and
other acts of torture against women in their custody without incurring any
punishment.’ The perpetrators of the rapes return to the place where they
committed the crime and the people who denounced them publicly are now the ones
afraid for their security. In the movie it is alleged that the government does
not cooperate to punish the perpetrated in
the name of peace.
The growing acceptance of relativist theories with
respect to the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in particular,
under pressure from arguments emphasizing, “public security”, or “culture” or
like in the DRC “in the name of peace” is one of the problems nourishing the erosion
of the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, whichOMCT considers today as the most
serious challenge ever in its fight against torture and ill-treatment
On the occasion of the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, OMCT recalls
that torture of women is a fundamental violation of human rights and one which
is absolutely and unreservedly prohibited under international law. In spite of
the international legal prohibitions on torture and other cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment or punishment, the torture of women continues to occur in
the DRC as well as in many other countries around the world. When women become
the targets of torture or ill-treatment, the act often is of a sexual nature.
As a result of the determinative impact of gender on the torture, women have
been denied equal protection against torture under both international and
national law and there is widespread impunity for the perpetrators of torture
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committed against
women.
Contact:
Anne-Laurence
Lacroix, OMCT Deputy Secretary General, Tel. +41 22 809 49 39
We are pleased to invite you to a public presentation of the documentary film “Indifference and Impunity” followed by an expert discussion. The event will take place on Tuesday, 7th December 2010 in Geneva, Conference room Mahatma Gandhi, Maison des Associations, Rue des Savoises 15, 1202 Genève.
For any further information/inscription please contact: ms@omct.org