The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice is an international women's human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and through domestic mechanisms, including peace negotiations and justice processes. We work with women most affected by the conflict situations under investigation by the ICC.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice works in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Libya and Kyrgyzstan.

Offices
■ Cairo, Egypt
■ Kampala and Kitgum, Uganda
■ The Hague, the Netherlands

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the June 2013 issue of Women's Voices, a regular eLetter from the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice. In Women's Voices, we provide updates and analysis on political developments, the pursuit of justice and accountability, the participation of women in peace talks and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of women's rights activists within armed conflict situations, specifically those countries under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

In addition to Women's Voices, we also produce a regular legal eLetter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of judicial decisions and other legal developments at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and discussion of legal issues arising from victims' participation before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of gender-based crimes in each of the Situations under investigation by the ICC.

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

DRC :: Women’s Initiatives’ partners in the DRC sign open letter to Mary Robinson, United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa

On 20 May 2013, 82 civil society organisations working in the DRC, including partners of the Women’s Initiatives, published an open letter to Mary Robinson, the United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa. The letter highlights recent human rights violations allegedly committed by the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) in the Eastern DRC, including the rape of dozens of women and girls in the Rutshuru territory in recent weeks; the murder of civilians who have spoken out against M23; serious incidents of looting; and threats, abductions, and killings of human rights activists. Additionally, according to the letter, since March 2013 an increase in recruitment activities by the M23, including the forced recruitment of children, have been reported.

Formed in April 2012 following the defection of ICC indictee Bosco Ntaganda from the Congolese Army (FARDC), the M23 occupied the city of Goma from 20 November to 1 December 2012, eventually withdrawing pursuant to an agreement reached by leaders of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). Peace talks have been ongoing in Kampala, Uganda, but partners of the Women’s Initiatives report that both the Congolese Army and the M23 continue to engage in violence and commit human rights violations in the Eastern DRC. Most recently, fighting between the M23 and the Congolese Army escalated early in the morning of 20 May 2013, in the Nyiragongo region approximately ten kilometers from Goma. Reports indicate that at least 19 people were killed in the recent clashes and that thousands more were displaced.[1] Heavy shelling near to Muganga I and Mugunga III, camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), reportedly injured several and caused thousands of IDPs to flee from the Mugunga area to Goma.[2]

As described in the December 2012 issue of Women’s Voices, according to the United Nations Group of Experts on the DRC (GoE), the Government of Rwanda and the Government of Uganda, have provided military and political support to the M23, including by transporting weapons and soldiers through Rwandan territory; recruiting Rwandan and Congolese refugees for M23; providing weapons and ammunitions to M23; deploying the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) and the Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) to reinforce M23 units on the battlefield against the Congolese Army; and encouraging and facilitating desertions from the Congolese Army.[3]

The 82 organisational signatories to the open letter, including partners of the Women’s Initiatives, are requesting that Ms Robinson publicly call on Rwanda and Uganda to end all military support to the M23 and other armed groups operating in the Eastern DRC, to take a position against the integration of M23 leaders into the Congolese Army (FARDC), and to establish a new disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process.

The letter also expresses support for the deployment of an Intervention Brigade established by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013, emphasising however, that the brigade must protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law. The Intervention Brigade, established by UN Security Council Resolution 2098, is authorised to engage in military action against armed groups in the Eastern DRC and is considered an 'offensive' military force. Its mandate is to 'prevent the expansion of all armed groups, neutralize these groups, and to disarm them in order to contribute to the objective of reducing the threat posed by armed groups on state authority and civilian security in eastern DRC and to make space for stabilization activities.'[4] The brigade will be composed of troops from Tanzania, South Africa, and Malawi and has begun operations in Goma.[5]

■ Read the letter to Mary Robinson

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DRC :: The UK Foreign Secretary and Angelina Jolie meet with Women’s Initiatives and partners

On 25 March 2013, the Women’s Initiatives launched the DRC gender justice film, Our Voices Matter, in Bukavu, South Kivu, with a public screening attended by over 70 individuals, including members of the local government, military officials, judges, women’s rights and human rights organizations and transitional justice networks.

Our Voices Matter highlights the multiplicity of perpetrators operating in the Eastern DRC, and includes compelling testimonies from six women victims/survivors reflecting their demands for justice, an end to the widespread impunity, as well as their urgent needs for medical services, psychosocial assistance and economic opportunities for women victims/survivors. The screening was followed by a panel discussion and presentations by several of the key partners involved in the production of the film.

On the 26 March, the Women’s Initiatives and representatives of its 147 members and partners met with the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and UNHCR Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie to discuss the use of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflicts, barriers to accessing justice and the factors sustaining impunity as well as possible solutions to these challenges in the context of the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, launched by the Foreign Secretary in May 2012.

In response to the film Our Voices Matter, which was screened during the meeting, Ms Jolie said: 'We came to the DRC to highlight issues of sexual violence and you have made our work easier – the film says it all. It is often difficult for women to speak about these types of experiences and it is incredible that they trusted the organisation and your partners to tell their stories – the film was very moving. This is just the beginning of our collaboration on these issues.'

The UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, congratulated the Women’s Initiatives on its work and said that 'what you are doing to promote accountability for sexual violence is very important, and I am happy to announce funding for the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice of GBP 850,000 (US$1.3 million) over the next three years to further support your work.'

'The priority being given to this issue by the UK government is helping to mobilise a strategic response to reduce the high levels of impunity for crimes of sexual violence common in situations of armed conflict such as in Eastern DRC,' said Brigid Inder, Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.

■ Read the press release on the screenings

■ Read the G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict

■ Watch Our Voices Matter

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DRC :: Bosco Ntaganda surrenders to the ICC – community reactions

On 18 March 2013, ICC indictee Bosco Ntaganda (Ntaganda) voluntarily surrendered to the United States Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. According to American officials, upon his surrender, Ntaganda requested to be transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where an arrest warrant has been pending for more than six years. He was flown to The Hague on 22 March 2013 and is currently being held at the ICC detention centre in Scheveningen, The Hague. The confirmation of charges hearing, which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, is scheduled to commence on 10 February 2014.[6]

Ntaganda was originally charged by the ICC in 2006, and a second warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2012. Overall, he has been charged under Article 25(3)(a) with 10 counts of war crimes (enlistment, conscription and use of children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities in both an international and a non-international armed conflict; murder; rape and sexual slavery; attacks against a civilian population, and pillage) and three counts of crimes against humanity (murder; rape and sexual slavery; and persecution) that allegedly took place in the Ituri region in Eastern DRC between September 2002 and September 2003, during which time Ntaganda was the alleged Deputy chief of the General Staff of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo (FPLC) and alleged Chief of Staff of the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP).[7] Following the 2009 Goma Peace Agreements, signed between the DRC Government and the CNDP, Ntaganda was integrated into the Congolese Army (FARDC) and promoted to the rank of General. In April 2012, Ntaganda reportedly led the desertion of former CNDP members form the Congolese Army and the creation of a new movement, Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23), which has been associated with ongoing violence and human rights violations, including gender-based crimes, in the Eastern DRC.[8]

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Reactions from women’s rights advocates in eastern DRC

Prior to his transfer to The Hague, partners of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice in the Eastern DRC were cautiously optimistic upon receiving news of Ntaganda’s surrender, emphasising that further steps needed to be taken in order to ensure accountability for crimes committed in the Eastern DRC. 'We are very happy with this first step. It is a great joy, but it is not enough. We want Bosco to be transferred to the ICC as soon as possible,' said Jeanine Bandu Bahati, president of Encadrement Des Femmes Indigènes et des Ménages Vulnérables (EFIM). This was echoed by Jacqueline Mukanda, of the Ligue pour la Solidarité Congolaise (LSC). 'Of course we are happy, we can hardly believe it. But we are afraid Bosco may be set free and return to his attacks on the community again. If that happens, the violence will be even worse than before,' said Ms Mukanda.

Women’s Initiatives partner, Stella Yanda, of Initiatives Alpha, emphasised the significance of Ntaganda’s surrender and transfer to the ICC. 'After having asked with all of our voices for several years we believe that today our wishes are finally being fulfilled. This is a big step that has been taken in the fight against impunity. Congolese women in general and those in the east in particular think that the process against Ntaganda will be as fair as possible and we urge all of the parties involved, the prosecutor, the judges, and the Congolese government to cooperate with the judicial process.'

The Centre d’Education et de Recherche pour les Droits des Femmes (CERDF) and the Fédération des ONG Laïques à Vocation Economique du Congo (FOLECO) jointly stated that 'The transfer of the warlord Bosco Ntaganda is a source of satisfaction for women in eastern DRC. However, his allies in the country remain a danger.'

The Société civile de la République démocratique du Congo stated that Ntaganda’s transfer to the ICC 'will prove a turning point towards peace and security and will honor the victims of crimes perpetrated by Ntaganda, victims still waiting for justice, and will be a strong signal in the fight against impunity.' The Société Civile cautioned the Congolese government against integrating other criminals into the army, police and other political institutions, asking the government to learn from its past mistakes in this regard.

■ Read the statement issued by the Women’s Initiatives on the surrender of Ntaganda

■ Read a statement issued by Women’s Initiatives’ partner Ligue pour la Solidarité Congolaise (LSC), in conjunction with Groupe des Hommes Voués au Développement Intercommunautaire (GHOVODI), on Ntaganda's surrender (in French)

■ Read a statement by Société civile de la République démocratique du Congo on Ntaganda’s surrender (in French)

■ Read more information about the Situation in the DRC and the case against Bosco Ntaganda, see the Gender Report Card 2012. For more information about M23, including previous statements by the Women’s Initiatives and our partners, see here.

■ Read more information about the M23, read our summary of a report authored by the National Network of Human Rights NGOs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a translation of key findings related to crimes reportedly perpetrated by M23 during its attack on Goma in November 2012

■ For the Women's Initiatives' analysis of the Goma Peace Agreements (2009) read In Pursuit of Peace (p 9-23) and Women's Voices May 2009.

■ Read more information about the arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda

■ For more information and updates about the situation in the Eastern DRC, follow the Women’s Initiatives on Twitter @4GenderJustice

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DRC :: Women’s Initiatives conducts documentation training in Bukavu

In March 2013, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice conducted a workshop on the documentation of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflict. The workshop was held in Bukavu between 19 and 23 March, and involved 19 women’s rights advocates from North Kivu, South Kivu, and Province Orientale.

Over the last four years, the organisation has held two training workshops in the DRC to support the capacity of local partners to document incidents of sexual and gender-based violence and to advocate for the investigation of these crimes by the International Criminal Court within the context of the 2004 referral by the DRC government to the ICC. The documentation material is also utilised to advocate for more and better quality prosecutions before domestic courts within the Congo, more effective implementation of the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women, and the provision of medical and psycho-social services to victims/survivors of these crimes.

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Footnotes

1   'RDC : 19 morts dans des combats entre l’armée et M23-BFM', Radio Okapi, 21 May 2013, available here, last accessed 4June 2013.
2   'Nord-Kivu: des tirs d’obus ont fait 4 morts et 17 blessés à Goma', Radio Okapi, 22 May 2013, available here, last accessed 4 June 2013.
3  Addendum to the interim report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2012/348) concerning violations of the arms embargo and sanctions regime by the Government of Rwanda, S/2012/248/Add.1, 27 June 2012; Final Report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, S/2012/843, 15 November 2012.
4  S/RES/2098 (2013), 28 March 2013, para 12(b).
5   'M23 rebels in DRC prepare for battle with new UN force', The Guardian, 5 May 2013, available here, last accessed 4 June 2013; 'UN 'intervention brigade' starts patrols in DR Congo', AFP, 3 June 2013, available here.
6   On 17 June 2013, Pre-Trial Chamber II postponed the confirmation of charges hearing in the case against Bosco Ntaganda from 23 September 2013 to 10 February 2014. ICC-01/04-02/06-73.
7   For a more detailed analysis of the charges against Ntaganda, see Gender Report Card 2012, p 114-115.
8  For more information about the emergence of the M23 and the security situation in the Eastern DRC at that time, see Gender Report Card 2012, p 174-178. See also Women’s Voices December 2012, available here.

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