Written question asked by Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 14 November 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 November 2008. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 24 November 2008 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of incidents of rape and violence against women in Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The UK remains very concerned by the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the recent unconfirmed reports of armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers raping and killing civilians. Unfortunately there are not yet any comprehensive statistics for such incidents in 2008. With the ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC, sexual violence is used to humiliate and intimidate women and sometimes men of all ages, tearing up families and whole communities. With UK support, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC (MONUC) mandate was amended in December 2007 to include a requirement to protect civilians against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The UN has appointed a Senior Adviser on Sexual Violence, who is working with international partners and the DRC government to develop a plan of action and coordinate initiatives to deal with the problem. The UK also took the lead in drafting UN Security Council Resolution 1820 which recognises SGBV as a peace and security issue.

Secondary information