UN welcomes verdicts in latest DR Congo rape trial

UN welcomes verdicts in latest DR Congo rape trial

2011-03-11 02:49:27 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations on Thursday welcomed the guilty verdicts handed down by a military court in the latest rape trial in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

UN special envoy Margot Wallström said that the verdicts showed that efforts to end impunity are producing results and justice is possible. 11 army officers were found guilty in a case involving the rapes of 24 women last year.

The 11 members of the Congolese army, known as FARDC, were accused of rape, pillaging, destruction of schools, abduction of children and other violations of physical integrity.

"This sends a strong signal to all perpetrators of acts of sexual violence that no military commander is beyond the law, including members of a national army," said Wallström, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

The offenses took place in Katasomwa, approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Kalehe in South Kivu province, from September 26 to 29. All of them were sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment by the military tribunal of South Kivu.

"It also shows that the focus on ending impunity for this type of crimes continues to render concrete results," the UN special envoy added.

Wallström commended the fact that 21 of the women testified in court, adding that it is now crucial that the victims of and witnesses to instances of sexual violence are protected, as well as their families.

DRC authorizes with the aid of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) have worked to prosecute acts of sexual violence. Two weeks ago, a similar case was prosecuted in the Maniema province.

Last month, a military court in Baraka in eastern DRC sentenced a high-ranking commander and several other army personnel for rape and other crimes in the town of Fizi on New Year's Day.

This was the first time that a senior official and members of the army were arrested, tried and sentenced for conflict-related sexual violence in the strife-torn African nation.

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