The Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations was pleased to learn of the arrest of Germain Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Until October 17, 2007, no other arrests had been made since Thomas Lubanga was detained in March 2006. It was thus with a sense of relief that the Coalition welcomed the news of this second arrest, viewing it as a sign of renewed interest in pursuing crimes of massive violence in DRC.
In addition, the Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations notes with satisfaction, for the first time in a case concerning the DRC, the prosecution has decided to include accusations of sexual violence. In fact, despite voluminous evidence of sexual violence brought to the attention of the Prosecutor and the International Court in the Lubanga case, the warrant made no mention of any accusation of violence committed against Congolese women and girls. The Coalition is therefore very pleased with this first positive step towards recognizing violence committed against Congolese women in the Germain Katanga case.
Nevertheless, given the scale of sexual violence committed in the eastern DRC by all of the parties involved in the conflict, the coalition is surprised that the warrant for Germain Katanga limits itself to accusations of sexual slavery. It appears extremely difficult to disassociate sexual slavery from other violence committed concomitantly against women, such as rape, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence of comparable seriousness and torture. In fact, as they are now formulated, the accusations against Germain Katanga fail to take into account the diversity and extent of the sexual violence committed.
Since the International Criminal Court came into being, Congolese women and girls assisted and supported by civil society organizations have been waiting and hoping for concrete action on sexual violence by the highest international criminal authority. The Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations stresses that women and girls are the first victims of armed conflict, that violence against women is particularly serious and that it should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
To that end, the Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations asks the Prosecutor and the Court to consider the different forms of violence committed against women in the Katanga case and to take the measures necessary to effectively execute the mandate of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Furthermore, the Coalition hopes that the commitment of the ICC to pursue sexual violence committed in DRC will lead to more arrests in the fight against impunity, on behalf of Congolese women and their sisters everywhere.
About the Coalition
The Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations endeavours to ensure that the authors of crimes of a sexist nature be brought before the courts in order to establish case law that will recognize the violence carried out against women in situations of conflict, and to assist the survivors of sexual violence in obtaining justice. The Coalition is funded by Rights & Democracy, a human rights organization based in Montréal, and is administered by the Women's Rights programme.
http://www.womensrightscoalition.org/
For more information:
Gaëlle Le Goff, (514) 362-8122 or Ariane Brunet (514) 283-6073, extension 238.
Certainly, advances have been made in recognizing women’s rights. The legal framework is increasingly responsive to the experiences of women and girls in conflict, especially in cases of sexual violence, as we have seen in the important work being carried out by the international criminal tribunals. But there remains much to be done, particularly to improve prevention and to combat impunity.
-- Kofi Annan
October 28, 2002