Condition Critical: Voices From the War in Congo
-Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF) : An international,
independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency
aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare
exclusion and natural or man-made disasters.
21 April 2010
Stephen M. Apatow Founder,
Director of Research & Development Humanitarian
Resource Institute (UN:NGO:DESA) Humanitarian University
Consortium Graduate Studies Center
for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine & Law Phone:
203-668-0282 Email:
s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net Internet:
www.humanitarian.net
H-II: Int. Response - Rape as a Weapon of War - Crimes
Against Humanity
By: Stephen Michael Apatow, Founder of Humanitarian Resource
Institute and the United Nations Arts Initiative. [1]
The international community turned it's back on "Crimes Against
Humanity" in the context of endemic "Rape as a Weapon of War"
in DR Congo and Darfur. [2,3]
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—sometimes
referred to as the ‘African World War’—has devastated the country since
its onset in 1998. The world’s deadliest conflict since World War II,
it has killed 5.4 million people and displaced a million more. Despite
the signing of peace accords in 2003 and again in 2008, fighting has
been ongoing throughout the east, and the prevalence of rape in this
region has been described as the worst in the world.[4]
A short distance to the north, the Darfur crisis has been described as
one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. By the end of
2004, there were an estimated two million people affected by continued
armed conflict and violence against civilians." [5] The Lancet
notes conflict dynamics such as changing displacement and causes of
deaths estimated the excess number
of deaths to be approximately 300,000. Although violence was the
main
cause of death during 2004, diseases have been the cause of most deaths
since 2005, with displaced populations being the most susceptible. Any
reduction in humanitarian assistance could lead to worsening mortality
rates,
as was the case between mid 2006 and mid 2007. [6] In
2007, report on the crisis in the Darfur region of western
Sudan identified rape as a systematic weapon of ethnic cleansing
being used by government-backed Janjaweed militiamen. [7]
Crimes Against Humanity
"Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are
particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack
on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more
human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part
either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not
identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of
atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto
authority. Murder; extermination; torture; rape and political, racial,
or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of
crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or
systematic practice." [8]
It is clear that the systemic use of "Rape as a Weapon of War" in DR
Congo and Darfur meet the threshold of crimes against humanity.
Following the H-II: Humanitarian Intervention Initiative appeal on 16
April 2010, leaders across the globe have increased their focus on this
crisis, with Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean calling the
international
community to action:
Governor
General Michaelle Jean received a standing ovation from women when she
reminded lawmakers in the Congo that the United Nations dubs the
practices in the country a “crime against humanity.” Jean devoted the
entire speech to women’s rights on Monday. Congo is home to a conflict
where gang-rape is a weapon of war. -- GG Speaks in Congo:
580 CFRA News, 19 April 2010. [9]
In a
speech attended by the country's president, cabinet ministers, two
brigadiers-general of the Congolese national army, and Canadian
peacekeepers in Congo, Jean spoke of sexual violence "of unimaginable
horror" perpetrated on women and
children that is "reaching endemic proportions." Pointing to hotspots
in
the country's violent eastern region – where she travels Tuesday – Jean
said "in certain cases, this consists of serious violations of
international humanitarian law, meaning `crimes against humanity.'" She
was citing language directly used by the United Nations...
"She
characterized what's happening in the east of the country as a crime
against humanity which
could be pursued nationally under national laws or prosecuted before
the
International Court of Justice, if you can find and extradite the
perpetrators," said Canadian jurist Louise Otis, an international legal
adviser to the UN.
-- Michaëlle Jean urges Congo to stop rape: Governor General calls
on leaders to ensure punishment for 'crime against humanity'. The Star,
Ottawa
Bureau. 20 April 2010. [10]
