Women (DRC)

The Network of African Women Parliamentarians and Ministers (REFAMP), International Alert's partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim to step up efforts to end the armed conflict in the country.

“For the first time ever, we sit together, women politicians and activists, and talk about what we can do together. It is big and so important.”
Chou Chou Namegabe, Association des Femmes des Médias

Dear Secretary-General,

As NGOs working in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we remain very concerned by the grave humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, characterized by persistent high levels of violence, human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. Renewed fighting between M23 and FARDC around Goma this month highlights the significant and continuing insecurity faced by communities.

For years the international community has attempted to help stabilize Eastern DRC, at the expense of billions of dollars, yet sustainable peace remains elusive. Elections in November 2011 were widely seen as lacking credibility¹ and provincial and local elections have been delayed indefinitely. There has been scant progress on critical reforms in justice, security, land and governance. Successive military campaigns have failed to remove foreign and domestic armed groups and have increased the population’s suffering causing large scale displacement.

Depuis plusieurs années la communauté internationale a essaye de stabiliser l'Est de la RDC, a un cout des milliards de dollars, mais cette paix durable continue de faire défaut. Les élections présidentielles et législatives de novembre 2011 étaient perçues comme étant peu crédibles¹ et en ce qui concerne les élections provinciales et locales, elles ont été reportées indéfiniment. Peu de progrès ont été constatés quant aux réformes cruciales dans les secteurs de la justice, la sécurité, les affaires foncières et de la gouvernance.

L’un des résultats positifs des processus de paix et des transitions politiques dans la région des Grands Lacs en Afrique ces dix à quinze dernières années, a été la représentation et la participation accrues des femmes dans l’arène politique et dans la sphère publique. Cette avancée majeure pour les femmes a été obtenue essentiellement par l’adoption de systèmes de quotas et par la cooptation.

Full report

In the context of an ongoing programme on Women’s Economic Empowerment, Alert co-organised a regional workshop with the Economic Community of the Great Lakes (CEPGL) and UN WOMEN on April 25th – 27th in Gisenyi, Rwanda.

Last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo went to the polls for the country’s second democratic elections, which have been marred by violence and tensions in many provinces since the start of the electoral campaign in October.

Ce rapport cherche à déterminer si les violences sexuelles peuvent toujours être considérées comme une arme de guerre dans l’est de la République démocratique du Congo et se penche sur les raisons pouvant expliquer de tels niveaux de violence. Malgré la signature d’un accord de paix global en 2003 (accords de Lusaka), l’organisation d’élections en RDC en 2006 et la signature de divers accords de paix locaux avec les groupes armés congolais du Nord et du Sud-Kivu en 2008 et 2009, la guerre n’est pas encore finie dans l’est de la RDC.

Full report

International Alert recently attended the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which undertook a 15-year review and appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA).

In partnership with the Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), Alert organised a panel discussion to present the preliminary results of a joint research project on the nature and impact of women’s political participation currently being carried out in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Chris Dolan, director of the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, has recently been conducting research for International Alert for an upcoming report on sexual violence in eastern Congo. In this interview he concluded democracy is not possible in the eastern Congo without big changes in relations between men and women. Article published on 20th October 2010, Guardian.

Combatants on all sides of the conflict in Eastern DRC have been using sexual violence purposefully asa weapon of war. Acts of sexual violence continue to be committed with unprecedented cruelty, the perpetrators inflicting the most humiliating and degrading treatment on their victims that they can devise. This report is based on interviews with 492 women and 50 soldiers in Eastern DRC. It documents the violation of women's human rights during the war and examines the socio-cultural roots of this violence and the different forms it takes.

Full report