A Child Was Raped Every Half Hour' In RD Congo: UN's Alarming Report (X image @l_jimanel)
Kigali, Rwanda: United Nations condemned the alarmingly increased rape and sexual violence against children in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported in the first two months. The rape were reported amidst heightened tensions between the M23 armed group and government forces. UN warned that the rate of sexual violence in the DRC against children had “never been higher”. As per the report, a “child was raped every half an hour” in DRC.
“Early reports show that children make up between 35 to 45 percent of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence reported … in just January and February of this year”, said James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency.
Speaking from Goma, he reporters of Geneva that, “In short, based on initial data … during the most intense phase of this year’s conflict in eastern DRC, a child was raped every half an hour”.
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The UN official said that the violence against children is not an isolated incident in the ongoing conflict, but a “systemic crisis”. “It is a weapon of war and a deliberate tactic of terror. And it destroys families and communities”. Elder said the figures could be “just the tip of the iceberg, hidden beneath layers of fear, stigma, and insecurity”.
DRC has been plagued with violence as rebel groups and government forces fight for control, after the fallout of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Things escalated further in January after M23 fighters advanced rapidly, seizing the eastern city of Goma and the town of Bukavu in February.
Over 3,000 people have been killed, and more have been displaced from the eastern territory, prompting fears of a wider regional war. UN and West accused Rwanda of backing M23 and providing the group with arms, which the country denied.
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Elder called for more prevention efforts and “survivor-centred services” that allow for a safe and accessible way to “report abuse without fear…Survivors must see the world stand with them, not turn away. And perpetrators must face justice”.
(With inputs from agencies)
