PRESS CONFERENCE BY UN CHILDREN’S FUND ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO TRIP

Press Conference by Un Children’s fund on Democratic Republic of Congo trip

The international community must send a forceful message that violence against civilians must stop and those guilty of crimes against women and children would be brought to justice, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Briefing the press on a recent visit of members of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to the Democratic Republic of the Congo were:  Luis Gallegos of Ecuador, member of the Board, who had led the mission; William O. Brisben, the United States representative to UNICEF; and chief of the Fund’s media relations, Alfred Ironside.

A report on the UNICEF mission had been presented to the Executive Board today, Mr. Gallegos said.  On 13 to 23 March, members of the Board had visited the capital, Kinshasa, and several eastern provinces, including Kivu and Goma.  The experience had proven the worth and value of the efforts that UNICEF was undertaking in that country to foster the rights of children and women in very difficult circumstances.  The participants of the mission had visited institutions dealing with the education, livelihood and health of children, witnessing the efforts to integrate into society child soldiers and victims of violence.  They had also seen testimonials to the ravages created by war in the eastern part of the country.

He said that the situation of women and children required immediate international attention and needed to be presented to the general public.  Among the main conclusions presented by the visiting team to UNICEF today, he mentioned the need to put an immediate stop to violence against women and children and ensure access of humanitarian assistance to the deprived communities, particularly women and children caught in the quagmire of violence.  Also recommended in the report was immediate enforcement of appropriate legal action against the perpetrators of sexual violence; disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of children associated with armed groups; efforts to ensure a smooth transition process with support of the international community; and increased funding and support of community-focused activities.

He added that the participants in the mission had been very impressed with the work done by UNICEF.  While reflecting on problems from New York, one tended to deal with victims in terms of numbers and statistics.  The visit had given the statistics a human face.  For example, the team had met with a 14-year old ex-combatant, as well as a girl pregnant from a militia chief.  Each of them needed to be reintegrated into their communities.  Violence, rape and the murder of children represented an attack against civil society.  The use of rape as a weapon of war had to be denounced, along with other types of irregular combat.  The United Nations needed to sound an alarm, calling attention to the violence against civilians that the mission had witnessed.

Mr. Brisben added that the team had visited a rape crisis centre supported by UNICEF, where its members saw a 6-year-old child in a bed next to a 75-year-old woman.  Indeed, it was important to put faces on hideous crimes that were committed with impunity, because there was no government enforcement against the perpetrators.  That was not a phenomenon specific to the Congo -- similar offences had become a weapon in a number of African conflicts.  It was important to put an end to such practices.

To a question about what UNICEF was able to do about the current crisis in eastern Congo, Mr. Gallegos replied that, while the Fund was doing an outstanding job, it could not go into dangerous areas controlled by armed groups.  However, wherever possible, in the absence of central authority it maintained schools, together with local communities, provided vaccinations and provided assistance to the victims.  It was also taking upon itself a wider role with women.  Its rape centre was an extraordinary example of its efforts, which were carried out despite the difficulties.

There had to be an international effort to end impunity for violence against civilians and better the livelihood of Congolese men, women and children, he continued.  The population was experiencing extraordinary difficulties as a result of the conflict, widespread poverty and poor development.  The infrastructure had been destroyed, and the difficulties were not easy to solve.  For that reason, he appealed to the media to bring the suffering of the Congolese people to the forefront of international attention.

Mr. Ironside added that UNICEF kept large stocks of emergency supplies so that it could rapidly deploy additional assistance, but its ability to move throughout eastern Congo was greatly curtailed during upsurges in fighting.

Asked what the international community could do to stop the rape, Mr. Gallegos said that, first of all, it was necessary to end impunity.  Perpetrators had to understand that they would be punished.  It was also important to promote education and proper values, involving all actors in relevant efforts.

Mr. Brisben said that the Government had a first line of responsibility, but, lacking that, the international community had to draw attention to the situation.

Mr. Ironside added that UNICEF had tried to bring attention to those issues.  Its Goodwill Ambassador had visited the eastern part of the country to focus specifically on the use of rape as a weapon of war and the Board delegation had also focused closely on that issue.  From UNICEF’s perspective, one important thing was that it was able to shine a light on often overlooked phenomena.

Responding to a question about possible prosecution of rape as a weapon of war by the International Criminal Court, Mr. Gallegos said that the Court had been created specifically to eliminate massive violations of human rights, wherever they occurred.  There should be respect for the rule of law and punishment where it was broken.  The international community should condemn violence against women and children through all the mechanisms available to it.

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