[Svrilist] Rape of two minors, impunity of the perpetrators

Tue Apr 11 09:50:55 SAST 2006

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From: Women at list.omct.org [mailto:Women at list.omct.org] On Behalf Of OMCT 
urgent appeals
Sent: 04 April 2006 14:20
To: svrimail
Subject: DRC: Rape of two minors, impunity of the perpetrators

Case DRC 300306.CC.VAW

Child Concern / Violence against Women

Rape of two minors / Impunity of the perpetrators

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention 
in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

      Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the 'Ligue de 
la Zone Afrique pour la Défense des Droits des Enfants et Elèves 
(LIZADEEL)', a member of the SOS-Torture network, of the rape of two 
young girls of 13 and 17 years of whom the names are not mentioned for 
confidential and safety reasons.

1) According to the information received, on 15 January 2006 around 7 
p.m., returning from a visit to the tailor in the municipality of 
Makala, a young girl of 13 years old, was approached by a young man in 
his twenties who had already tried before to approach her in the street 
of the school. At the intersection of the road to Kimwenza and By-pass 
(an uninhabited place), they were joined by six friends of the young 
men. After they had gagged the young girl with a scarf to prevent her 
from screaming, the seven men all raped the young girl from 7 p.m. until 
5 a.m. She was found the following day by passers-by, bathing in her own 
blood.

After they had found their daughter back, the parents have alerted the 
police officers of the station close to Ngaba circus in the district of 
Mont Amba. The police officers know the identity of the men who raped 
the young girl. Nevertheless, resulting of, according to the police, 
insufficient financial means, the police is unable to undertake the 
necessary actions and the authors remain free and unpunished. The young 
girl has since then been looked after by the Bomoto health centre of 
Matonge which offers medical assistance to victims of sexual violence. 
She suffers since her rape of severe physical and psychological 
injuries. She can no longer walk properly and is at risk of no longer 
being able to have children according to the doctors. Traumatised, she 
no longer speaks since the rape and does not go to school any more.

2) Moreover, on 18 February 2006, another young girl, aged 17, was 
approached by five men when she went to a night prayers with her friend 
at around 8 p.m. in the municipality of Kalamu. When she tried to 
react,  « Dunga », who appeared to be the leader of the group, ordered 
his accomplices to burn the young girl with a cigarette. While three men 
of the group abducted the other girl, the two others overmastered the 
young girl and pulled her at her arms. Despite her calls for help, none 
of the present passers-by came to help. At one moment, she called out of 
an acquaintance who tried to intervene to help her but who was beaten by 
the two men. Furthermore, when they dragged her to the ground, two 
policemen in civil cloth, who were not on duty and live in the 
neighbourhood, have interpelatted the two men. Apparently recognising 
the persons, they did not offer any help to the young girl, nor did they 
warn their colleagues at the service. The young girl benefited from the 
discussion to escape and to look for refuge in a house the closest by. 
They immediate started to chase her and threw a brick at her, which 
caused a big bruise. When the two men found her back, they hit her 
violently. They forcibly brought her to a small room behind an outlet 
for drinks where she was held and raped by the two men. Furthermore 
Dunga brought in a bottle of soda in the sex of the young girl and moved 
it to hurt her severely. Following the rape of the girl, while the two 
men were having a discussion, she benefited to escape on hands and feet 
because she could not walk normally and asked a by-passer for help who 
guided her to her house.

Dunga was arrested two days later by the police following a compliant of 
the victim at the headquarters' station of the Funa District. During his 
interrogation, the police officer realised the authors were an organised 
gang which regularly commits the same kind of actions. After having 
threaten the mayor of the municipality of Kalamu and because of a fear 
that he might flee, Dunga has been transferred to the Provincial 
Inspection and then to a penitentiary and re-education institution in 
Kinshasa in order to carry on breaking up the rapists' network. The 
young girl, having suicidal tendencies, is treated at the Bomoto centre 
of Matonge and is seen regularly by a psychologist.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned about the use 
of sexual force in Kinshasa of which an important part is reportedly 
done by organised gangs, would like to remind that the Democratic 
Republic of Congo, as a State Party to the UN Convention on the Rights 
of the Child, should comply with article 19 stating that « States 
Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social 
and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical 
or mental violence, injury or abuse, (...) including sexual abuse, while 
in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has 
the care of the child ». Moreover, in the second paragraph, article 19 
precises that « such protective measures should, as appropriate, include 
(...) other forms of prevention and (...) identification, reporting, 
referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child 
maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial 
involvement ». Furthermore, OMCT is also deeply concerned by the fact 
that, despite the knowledge of authors' identity, they are not 
prosecuted and remain free and unpunished.

OMCT would like to remind that the Declaration on the Elimination of 
Violence Against Women states in article 4.c that States should 
« exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with 
national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether 
those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons ».

Actions requested

Please write to the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
urging them to:

i.          take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and 
psychological integrity of  the two girls and intervene with the 
appropriate authorities in order to ensure that the adequate medical and 
psychosocial assistance is provided;

ii.                   order a thorough and impartial investigation into 
this rape case, in order to identify all the responsible parties, bring 
them to trial and apply penal sanctions as provided for by law;

iii.         guarantee adequate reparation to the girls and their families;

iv.        guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental 
freedoms throughout DRC in accordance with international human rights 
standards, including the implementation of recommendations of the 
Committee Against Torture (CAT) at its 35th session (see point 12 
regarding acts of violence against women, CA/C/RDC/CO/1/CRP.1).

    Adresses

- President of the Republic, S.E. Joseph Kabila, Présidence de la 
République, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, République Démocratique du Congo, E-mail: 
upp at ic.cd <mailto:upp at ic.cd>

- Vice-President of the Republic in charge of the Commission Politique, 
Défense et Sécurité, M. Azarias Ruberwa Manywa, Cabinet du 
Vice-Président de la République, avenue roi Baudouin ex-3Z, 
Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique du Congo, Email :  
vice_presidence.rdc at ic.cd

- Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, M. Ramazani 
Baya, Cabinet du Ministre, bâtiment du Ministère des Affaires 
Etrangères, Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique du Congo

- Minister of Justice, M. Kisimba Ngoy, Ministère de la Justice et Garde 
des Sceaux, BP 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, République Démocratique du Congo, 
E-mail: minjustrdc at yahoo.fr

- Minister of Internal Affairs Fax: +243 88 02 042, E-mail: 
mininterieur at yahoo.fr

- Minister of Human Rights, Mme Marie-Madeleine Kalala, Cabinet du 
Ministre, Boulevard du 30 juin, Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique 
du Congo, Fax: 00 243 12 20 664, Email: min_droitshumains at yahoo.fr 
<mailto:min_droitshumains at yahoo.fr> ou mindroits_humains at yahoo.fr

- National Observatory of Human Rights (ONDH), Cabinet du Président, 
avenue Sendwe, Kinshasa/Kalamu, République Démocratique du Congo, Tél: 
+243 98313740 / + 243 98271199 / + 243 98407633

- M. Théo Kiakwima, Deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency, 
Tel : + 243 995 8610

- Ambassador, Antoine Mindua Kesia-Mbe, Permanent mission of the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, Avenue de Budé 18, 1202 Genève, Suisse, 
e-mail : missionrdc at bluewin.ch <mailto:missionrdc at bluewin.ch>, Fax : 
+4122 740.16.82

- Chief of the diplomatic mission for the EU, Jean-Pierre Mavungu, 
Mission permanente de la République du Congo, 6 avenue de Foestraets, 
1180 UCCLE

Geneva, 04 April 2006

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this 
appeal in your reply.

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