ICC Women – Gender Justice + Challenges of ICC Rape Witness

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Welcome to Women’s Voices,
our regular e-letter from the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. In
Women’s Voices you will find updates and analysis on political developments,
the pursuit of justice, the status of peace talks and reconciliation efforts
from the perspective of women’s rights activists from four conflict situations
— Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur and the Central
African Republic (CAR). We are working in these contexts because they are
situations under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In addition to Women’s Voices, we also produce a
regular legal newsletter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of legal developments,
judicial decisions, announcements of arrest warrants and victims’ participation
before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of
gender-based crimes.

With both online e-letters we will also update you about the programmes,
legal and political advocacy, campaigns, events, and publications of the
Women’s Initiatives.

More information about the work of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice
and previous issues of Women’s Voices and the Legal Eye can be found on our website at www.iccwomen.org.

DRC : More mass rape reported in the Kivus after the incidents in
the Walikale Territory

On 8 January 2011, the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, called upon
the DRC authorities to investigate without delay allegations of mass rape which
took place in the Fizi territory, South Kivu, at the beginning of the year. On
6 January, the humanitarian organisation Médecins sans Frontières
(MSF) announced that its medical team in Fizi treated 33 women who had been
raped in a coordinated attack on New Year’s Day in and around the town of Fizi.
Rapes, including gang rapes by up to four men, were accompanied by beatings,
and houses and shops were looted during the attack, which was allegedly carried
out by members of the regular Congolese army (FARDC). Wallström said that the
fact that these crimes were allegedly committed by FARDC members confirmed her
warnings of October 2010 when she informed the UN Security Council of the
increase in the number of cases of sexual violence committed by soldiers of the
regular army.

This incident comes less than six months after more than 300 civilians were
raped by a coalition of 200 soldiers from the Forces démocratique pour la
libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the Mai Mai Cheka and elements led by Colonel
Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, an army deserter and former Congrès national pour la
défense du peuple (CNDP) member, during coordinated attacks against 13 villages
located on the Kibua-Mpofi road in the Walikale territory, North Kivu. The
Walikale territory, situated between Bukavu, South Kivu, and the Maniema
Province, is rich in minerals, particularly cassiterite, and has a very high
concentration of rebel groups fighting for control of the mines.

During the attack, which took place between 30 July and 2 August 2010, at
least 303 civilians were raped, of whom 235 were women, 52 were girls, 13 were
men, and three were boys. The villages of Luvungi and Lubonga were the most
affected by the attack.

The majority of rapes were committed by two to six armed men. It is also
reported that victims were often raped in front of their families. Moreover,
several victims said they were beaten and subjected to genital searches before
the sexual assault took place. Apart from mass rapes, witnesses also reported
pillaging, beatings and abductions. The rebels prevented the villagers from
requesting help by cutting off all the roads and means of communication.

According to witnesses of the attack interviewed by the UN Joint Human
Rights Office (UNJHRO) during its mission in the affected areas from 25 August
to 2 September 2010, the mass rapes were planned in retaliation for support
given by the local population to the government forces. Rape was chosen as a
form of punishment to forever mark the victims and to humiliate the entire
community. As reported by a member of the Nianga ethnic group, which
constitutes the majority of the population in the targeted villages, ‘it would be
better to die than to be a victim of rape committed by FDLR or their allies, as
this rape constitutes the worst human humiliation’.

It was not until 5 August, when the first victims started arriving at a
medical centre managed by the International Medical Corps (IMC) in Walikale,
that the attack became known. According to the IMC, only two survivors arrived
at the medical centre within 72 hours and could therefore be administered the
post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV. Women who reached the centre within 120
hours after having been raped were provided with emergency contraception.

According to Women’s Initiatives’ partners in North Kivu, the situation
remains unstable around the area targeted by rebels between the end of July and
the beginning of August. One of Women’s Initiatives’ partners reported that the
only safe way to reach Walikale is by MONUSCO-operated flights, which are
difficult for non-UN staff to board. Women’s Initiatives’ partners also
denounced the lack of assistance to victims/survivors of the attack.

According to the UNJHRO report, the 13 villages were not under the
protection of the regular Congolese army at the moment of the attack. Local
sources report that the 212th Brigade left the area two to four months earlier,
as the FDLR were thought to no longer be a threat.

The proximity of a UN stabilisation mission (MONUSCO) Company Operating Base
in Kibua, just a few kilometres away from the 13 villages attacked by the
rebels, did not provide any protection either. MONUSCO has been heavily
criticised for its inability to protect civilians and avoid the mass rapes, and
its failure was recognised by Atul Khare, Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations. On 7 September 2010, while presenting the findings of
his visit to eastern DRC to the Security Council, Khare declared that ‘while
the primary responsibility for protection of civilians lies with the State, its
national army and police force, clearly, we have also failed. Our actions were
not adequate, resulting in unacceptable brutalisation of the population of the
villages in the area. We must do better.’

In response to the insecurity in the Walikale area, MONUSCO organised an
operation (‘Operation Shop Window’) which resulted in the surrender of 27 Mai
Mai rebels and the arrest of three members of the Mai Mai and one of the FDLR
militias. Furthermore, on 5 October 2010, Lieutenant Colonel Mayele, the
commander of the Mai Mai Cheka, was handed over by his group to the UN and
Congolese army. This arrest took place during the visit to the DRC of the
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in
Conflict, Margot Wallström, who stated that it was a clear signal to other
perpetrators that rapes will not go unpunished. Ms Wallström also underlined
the importance of justice for survivors, as for the victims of these mass
rapes, ‘justice delayed is more than justice denied — it is terror continued’.

Although these arrests are an important sign given by the DRC Government to
the perpetrators of sexual crimes, laws punishing rape should be implemented
and enforced in a consistent way and not only as a reaction to the
international outcry provoked by shocking cases such as that of Walikale. As
the recent incident in Fizi demonstrates, the attacks in Walikale are not an
exception in eastern DRC. The Government, primarily responsible for the
protection of its citizens, should take immediate action to ensure that the
regular army is equipped and trained to protect civilians. The zero tolerance
approach towards FARDC members responsible for human rights violations and rape
contained in the joint FARDC/MONUSCO operational goals of ‘Operation Amani Leo’
must be implemented urgently. Moreover, MONUSCO must abide by its mandate as
established by UN Security Council Resolutions 1906 and 1925, which prioritise
the protection of civilians over other activities that should be performed by
the UN stabilisation mission in the DRC.

Read more about MONUSCO’s mandate and the zero tolerance
approach in
Women’s Voices March 2010
Read Atul Khare’s briefing
Read the UNJHRO preliminary report (French only)

DRC : France arrests Callixte Mbarushimana following an ICC sealed
arrest warrant

On 11 October 2010, Callixte Mbarushimana, Executive
Secretary of the Forces démocratique pour la libération du Rwanda
(FDLR), was arrested by French authorities in Paris following a sealed arrest
warrant issued by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on 28 September 2010. Mbarushimana is
charged with five counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, torture,
rape, inhumane acts and persecution, and six counts of war crimes, namely
attacks against the civilian population, destruction of property, murder,
torture, rape and inhuman treatment.

The FDLR is a Rwandan Hutu militia group operating in
eastern DRC since 1994, and includes a significant number of former génocidaires
who fled from Rwanda into the DRC after the Rwandan genocide. Since its
establishment, the FDLR has launched attacks on Rwanda from the DRC, with the
aim of removing the current Rwandan government through its campaign of
violence. The militia group was characterised as a threat to the peace and
security of the Great Lakes region by the UN Security Council.

Mbarushimana, a Rwandan citizen, has been exercising the function of
Executive Secretary of FDLR since July 2007. In this capacity, he is accused of
being one of the leaders that agreed to carry out widespread attacks on the
civilian population in the Kivus between 2008 and 2009 with the aim of creating
a humanitarian catastrophe and ‘blackmailing’ the international community to
obtain political concessions in exchange for the end of the attacks. Rape and
sexual violence were used extensively as weapons against the civilians in the
two provinces. The FDLR’s members are indicated as being among the perpetrators
of the mass rapes that took place in Luvungi and nearby villages in the
Walikale territory, North Kivu, between 31 July and 2 August 2010.

Considering the leading role of Mbarushimana within the FDLR and the proven participation
of FDLR members in the mass rapes in Walikale, Women’s Initiatives for Gender
Justice calls on the ICC to include investigations on these mass rapes in the
case against the FDLR’s Executive Secretary.

Mbarushimana was previously linked to crimes committed during the Rwandan
genocide of 1994 when he was working as a computer technician at the United
Nations Development Program in Rwanda. According to a UN war crimes
investigator, Mbarushimana organised the murder of 32 of his UN Tutsi colleagues,
and personally shot two of them. Despite this evidence and the testimonies of
24 witnesses, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda never issued an
indictment against him as he was not considered one of the planners of the
genocide. Mbarushimana continued to be employed by the UN for a number of
years, working in Angola and Kosovo. He was living in Paris, France, until his
arrest.

Mbarushimana’s arrest was preceded by the arrests of Ignace Murwanashyaka
and Straton Musoni, also senior FDLR figures, by German authorities in November
2009. Mbarushimana is the fourth person to be arrested by the ICC in relation
to the DRC Situation, and the first person charged with crimes committed in the
Kivu provinces.

Sudan : The impact of Doha Peace Talks on the Darfur security
situation

The ongoing Doha Peace Talks between the Government of Sudan
and the Liberation and Justice Movement are negatively impacting upon the
security situation in Darfur. From May 2010 to the present day, the general
situation in Darfur has shown no improvement and remains very unstable. Many
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are of the opinion that the Doha talks do
not represent their opinions and interests.

In the last few months several incidents took place reflecting the deterioration
of the security situation in the region.

On 29 July 2010, in Kalma, the largest IDP camp in Darfur, around 7,000 IDPs
demonstrated peacefully to express their position against the Doha
negotiations. They protested against the continuation of the negotiations in
the absence of two key Darfur movements, namely the Abdalwahid Nour and the
Justice and Equality Movement; without the participation of these movements,
the IDPs feel that they cannot be assured their interests will be fully
represented. Following the demonstration, a group of IDPs was attacked by
Government troops, resulting in a dozen IDPs being injured. Moreover, three to
seven demonstrators were reported to have been killed. This incident took place
upon the return to Darfur from Doha of 400 civil society representatives, who
had been invited by the mediators. Although many IDP leaders said they
requested the delegation representing the Kalma camp in Doha not to speak on
their behalf, as the delegation was not elected by the camp’s leaders, they
were later informed that this request was not heeded by the members of the
delegation.

Another incident took place on 4 September when at least six IDPs were
reported to have been killed during clashes between supporters and opponents of
the Doha peace talks in the Hamidya camp near Zalingi town in West Darfur.
While the camp’s population accuses the Government of organising this incident,
the Government claims that the attack was carried out by the Sudan Liberation
Army (SLA), which is opposing the peace talks, against the supporters of the
Doha process. The attack took place two days after SLA members accused
pro-Government fighters of killing up to 54 people at a market in Tabarat
village, North Darfur. Most of the reported victims were residents of a nearby
refugee camp.

The increase of attacks in different parts of the Darfur region shows the
deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the region.

Sudan-Displaced women concern about planned evacuation of IDP camps

Darfuri IDPs, particularly women, are very concerned about
the plan of the Sudanese Government to evacuate camps in Darfur. Although this
plan has not been officially announced by the Government, this issue dominates
public discussions amongst IDP women, particularly after the incidents that
took place in the Kalma camp on 29 July 2010. Their concerns were increased
when the IDP community was informed that the services in the existing camps,
already very limited, were going to be suspended. Moreover, the rumour that
some IDPs, those allegedly loyal to the Government, have already moved to the
Tagwa alternative camp, contributed to the concerns within the IDP community.
In addition, despite the announcements made by Government supporters on the
services available at the new alternative camp, which would include
air-conditioned tents, IDP women reported a total lack of basic services in the
Tagwa camp. Women interviewed by Women’s Initiatives’ partners said ‘We are not
stupid, how can tents have air-conditioning when there is no electricity?’

It has been reported that the Government of Southern Darfur has ordered the
engineering department to conduct a survey in Bilal and in areas in the south
of Nyala, not far from where the existing camp of Kalma is situated, in order
to build a new camp to replace the one in Kalma. The Deputy Governor of
Southern Sudan, Abdel Karim Musa Abdel Karim, said that the Kalma camp will be
restructured following an agreement made with UNAMID and the IDPs. The Deputy
Governor explained that the camp has become a security threat and is not
adequate for housing the IDPs anymore. The Deputy Governor has stated that the
new camp will accommodate between 25,000-30,000 people in two different
locations and will be supplied with basic services.

The IDPs interviewed by Women’s Initiatives’ partners considered this as the
first step towards the implementation of the new Government strategy for Darfur
that was officially ratified on 16 September 2010, focusing on security,
reconciliation, development and resettlement of the IDPs and refugees. This new
strategy was drafted without consulting other stakeholders, including the
negotiating parties of the Doha peace talks. IDPs perceive this strategy as a
move to destroy the camps and force the IDPs to flee. Many IDPs informed
Women’s Initiatives’ partners that they heard about this strategy from the
media and they think that the evacuation of the IDPs camps will bring about the
departure of the international humanitarian organisations, thus dramatically
reducing access to information on the real conditions faced by IDPs in South
Darfur, and creating a dramatic gap in the provision of basic services.

Many women interviewed by Women’s Initiatives’ partners consider the new
strategy to be merely an additional delay, and a way of perpetuating the
suffering and hardship they face. They think that any strategy carried out
without consulting at least the key stakeholders will not be easily implemented
on the ground and will be opposed. Women fear that resistance to this strategy
will result in people fleeing these camps, thereby exposing women to further
violence, while in flight or when they have to leave the camps to gather
firewood.

The representative for women in one of the Darfur camps said to Women’s Initiatives’
partners on the ground that civil society and the international community
should play a role in supporting the affected community and in avoiding any new
disasters. She added, ‘The Government shouldn’t be given the opportunity to use
the scenario of the security, resettlement and development [strategy] to
politicise and narrow the real challenges, and it should not communicate that
[the strategy] can easily be implemented.’

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice conducted consultations with its partners,
including those working with IDPs, to continue developing a strong assessment
of the security and day-to-day situation within the camps. Women’s Initiatives’
partners confirmed that the absence of basic services in IDP camps, such as
food and health facilities, as well as the lack of income-generating activities
within the camps, obliges women to look for jobs in the city and collect
firewood and food in the forest, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. Young
girls are particularly vulnerable to being attacked. Moreover, since August
2010 the Government of Sudan has not allowed international NGOs into the
affected areas, thereby limiting the capacity of humanitarian workers to
provide essential services. The access of staff of international organisations
to the areas affected by the conflict is made even more difficult by the
deterioration of the security situation, with an increase in carjacking and
kidnapping of international staff in all states of Darfur. Women’s Initiatives’
partners report that the situation is now even worse than in 2003 and 2004.

Sudan : Women leaders in IDP camps in North Darfur under threat
after meeting a UN Security Council delegation

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice was informed by its
partners that women camp leaders in the IDP camps of Abu Shouk, El Salam and
Zamzam, North Darfur, have been under threat since they met with a UN Security
Council delegation last October.

Because of their position and role, women camp leaders have always been a
target of the Sudanese Government’s repressive regime, and have been subjected
to harassment, rape, kidnappings, murders, detention, and torture. According to
Women’s Initiatives’ partners, their security situation worsened dramatically
after meeting with a UN Security Council delegation that visited North Darfur
on 10 and 11 October 2010. The delegation, led by British Ambassador to the UN
Mark Lyall Grant, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, and Ugandan Ambassador to
the UN Ruhakana Rugunda, met with Government officials, community
representatives, including IDPs, and the UN. Women report that during this
meeting they described their conditions in a transparent and truthful way and
put their concerns in writing on a petition that was given to the members of
the delegation.

Read the ‘Petition presented by the displaced women in
North Darfur to the UN Security Council delegation’ in English and Arabic.

When the Government learned that women had met with the Security Council
delegation, it called for an urgent meeting of all tribal and traditional
administrations inside the IDP camps. According to Women’s Initiatives’
partners, during this meeting Government representatives ordered the leaders to
hand over to the security forces all women who met with the Security Council
delegation, giving them only 72 hours to do so.

Immediately after the departure of the Security Council delegation, the
national security forces began threatening women on the phone, in an attempt to
force them to turn themselves over to the police. Women reported the arrest of
some activists in the streets and the disappearance of many others, including
Mayor Ahmed Atim Osman, leader of the Abu Shouk and El Salam camps. Moreover,
several activists reported having been victims of attempted kidnappings.

In addition, the Government continues to watch and monitor women’s houses,
employing security personnel to follow their movements. Some women reported
that their houses were raided at night, and several women’s rights activists
and women IDP leaders had to leave their houses to find refuge in safer places.

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice condemns the actions of the Government
of Sudan and calls for an end to the harassment of these women and other IDPs
who met with the Security Council delegation. Moreover, Women’s Initiatives
calls upon the Security Council to take immediate protective measures for the
women and other IDPs that met with its delegation, as well as to denounce the
abuses of the Government of Sudan.

DRC : The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice participates in the
World March of Women in Bukavu, South Kivu

From 13 to 17 October, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender
Justice participated in the World March of Women in Bukavu, South Kivu, with a
delegation of 13 women’s rights and peace activists coming from different areas
of eastern DRC.

The World March of Women is an international feminist movement working to
connect grass-roots groups and organising actions aimed at eliminating the
causes of violence against women. This year, the third international action of
the movement culminated in Bukavu with four days of meetings, panels, cultural
events and a march. More than 1,000 women from all over the world, and
particularly from the Great Lakes region, joined Congolese women in Bukavu to
concretely express women’s solidarity with victims/survivors of the conflict
that has been raging in eastern DRC for more than a decade.

During the World March of Women, on 15 October 2010, the Women’s Initiatives’
delegation to the March held a Women’s Court in Bukavu. The Women’s Court was
organised around the testimonies of three of Women’s Initiatives’ partners,
each of them reporting about the situation of women’s rights and peace in three
different provinces of eastern DRC — North Kivu, South Kivu and Province
Orientale. The Women’s Court had the objective of amplifying the voices of
women and victims/survivors of the conflict in eastern DRC. The testimonies
focused on identifying the obstacles women encounter in their daily struggle
for their rights and on proposing strategies to overcome them. At the same time
the testimonies served as a starting point for a broader discussion about
violence against women in the DRC, its causes and consequences. During the
Court, attended by 113 participants from different countries and organisations,
a statement by Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives for
Gender Justice, was read to the audience.

Read the statement by Brigid Inder in English and French
Read the ‘Women’s Testimonies at the Women’s Court’ in English and French

At the Women’s Court, the French version of Advancing Gender
Justice — A Call to Action was also launched. Advancing
Gender Justice is an advocacy paper first presented by the Women’s
Initiatives for Gender Justice during the ICC 10-year Review Conference in
Kampala, Uganda, from 31 May to 11 June 2010.

Read more about Advancing Gender Justice — A Call to Action

Download a copy
English Advancing Gender Justice — A Call to Action
French Faire avancer la justice pour les femmes — le temps d’agir

DRC / Uganda :: Women’s Initiatives partners participate in Women’s
Initiatives and WITNESS joint video advocacy project

On 12 October 2010 in Bukavu, eastern DRC, the 13 members of
Women’s Initiatives’ delegation to the World March of Women received training
on video advocacy as part of a three-year project jointly launched by Women’s
Initiatives for Gender Justice and WITNESS, a US-based international human
rights organisation that provides training and support to local groups to use
videos in their human rights advocacy campaigns.

Read the Press Release.

The project, launched on 21 September 2010 during the Clinton Global
Initiative meeting in New York, will train women’s rights activists from
different countries including Uganda, CAR, DRC, Sudan and Kenya on the use of
film to document gender-based violence and raise awareness about this epidemic
as part of the global campaign for gender justice.

‘Videos about gender-based violence made by women’s rights and peace
activists from within armed conflicts will provide compelling evidence of the
extent of these crimes and the urgency for prevention and accountability’, said
Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.
‘Women’s organisations who assisted victims of the recent four-day siege of
Luvungi village, eastern DRC, by militia groups where over 250 women and girls
were raped, will be a part of this project and in a position to show the human
suffering and impact of sexual violence’, Inder said.

The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and WITNESS will
work together to:

1. Train over 50 grassroots women’s rights organisations
   in Africa to use video to document violence against women and girls;

2. Provide long-term, strategic support to key organisations
   — guiding them in the use of video to bolster local advocacy goals to end
   gender-based violence; and

3. Produce in-depth videos on gender-based violence that
   will be screened for key decision-makers including domestic law and policy
   makers, United Nations agencies, and the International Criminal Court.

The one-day training organised in Bukavu and attended by all 13 members of
Women’s Initiatives’ delegation to the World March for Women was the first
event to take place after the launch of the joint project. During the training,
Congolese activists learned how to design effective video advocacy strategies
and received practical training on how to use a video camera.

From 15 to 20 December 2010, the second stage of the joint project took
place with a video advocacy training course for seven activists from the
Greater North of Uganda in Kampala.

Gender Report Card 2010 — Now Online!

The Gender Report Card 2010 was launched by Women’s
Initiatives for Gender Justice on 6 December 2010 in New York City during the
9th Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties.

The launch, one of the first events to be co-hosted by UNIFEM as part of the
new agency for women, UN Women, was attended by States Parties, UN officials,
ICC officials and NGO members. Speakers included Margot Wallström, Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict; Joanne
Sandler, Deputy Director of UNIFEM; and Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the
Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.

Click here to read the Women’s Initiatives
for Gender Justice’s Executive Director’s speech during the launch.

The Gender Report Card analyses the institutional developments at
the ICC during 2010, as well as the Court’s substantive work. This year, the Gender
Report Card features new sections on the Assembly of States Parties,
including an analysis of the ICC budget, the Outreach Programme and the Office
of Public Counsel for Victims. The review of the ICC’s substantive progress
includes an examination of the investigation and prosecution strategy of the
Office of the Prosecutor, an overview of trial proceedings and analysis of key
judicial decisions with a focus on cases where gender-based crimes have been
charged or where these issues have arisen during the legal proceedings, as well
as those decisions affecting victims and witnesses appearing before the Court.

The Gender Report Card 2010 provides the most
comprehensive gender analysis of the ICC currently available.  Download a copy here.

The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice dedicates this year’s Gender
Report Card on the ICC to our friends and colleagues Rhonda
Copelon and Paula Escarameia who passed away in 2010.