DRC: Neither Rape Nor Bad Communication is Cultural - a Critical Look At Monusco's Press Conferenc

While recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo have sparked international debate, at the UN, official declarations have lacked transparency.

In a press videoconference, UN Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of Congo Roger Meece spoke on behalf of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Meece confirmed the occurrence of a systematic four-day campaign of sexual violence in the country's North Kivu province. The crimes have been attributed to the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and local Mai-Mai militiamen. 179 women and four babies were gang-raped 20 miles from the UN military base. MONUSCO was unaware of the mass rape campaign days after it happened.

The Special Representative used several problematic cultural justifications for the challenges of peacekeeping in the DRC. Meece said that the socio-cultural dimension of the crimes makes communication difficult, "There is a cultural baggage associated with rapes."

Crimes perpetuated by rebel groups tend to psychologically shake individuals to the core. Often they include personal and painful episodes, such as the abduction of young children and extreme sexual violence against women. Meece seemed to suggest that the difficulty in obtaining information about such events is a "cultural challenge."

However, specialists, partners, and common sense all point to a more complex and embarrassing problem. It seems the UN mission has not done all it can to build communications infrastructure in the region.

There is no phone coverage in all but one village in the region. Whether there is good communication between MONUSCO and local villages is a topic of continuous debate. In the press conference, Meece would not specify whether peacekeepers actually leave the tanks when patrolling villages. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that MONUSCO is able to build any real level of trust and understanding with local communities.

When explaining why the civilian population was renitent to report the attacks to MONUSCO Meece said that rape victims are "often rejected by families and communities, adding victimization to victimization." An explanation heard all to often and not a valid excuse to explain the lack of reporting in this case. The rapes largely occurred in the victims' homes or wooded areas just outside villages. Entire communities would have known about the crimes, but the lack of disclosure to MONUSCO is a powerful illustration of the relationship that the UN force has with people on the ground.

Also unclear is MONUSCO's gender sensitivity policy. Sources from within MONUSCO confirmed that every patrol team includes a Congolese 'community liaison interpreter,' fluent in local languages. However none of the interpreters are women. There is also no guarantee that a female peacekeeper participates in each patrol. The problem extends to the entire UN system, where it is estimated that only 2 percent of its military personnel are women, a particular liability for the mission in the DRC where sexual violence is a pressing concern. In interview with MediaGlobal, MONUSCO's Leutenant Sikanbar confirmed that although his unit runs day and night patrols, there are no women peacekeepers on duty.

It is widely accepted that women feel more secure reporting rape to female officers, regardless of cultural difference. Often perceived as a side note to peacekeeping missions, the lack of gender sensitivity in a war torn-region is evidently a serious liability to ending sexual violence in conflict.

At the press conference, when questions turned to field infrastructure, the Special Representative did not specify how exactly the mission will improve the SOS or early warning system available to the villages where the mass rape occurred. Populations had no effective way of calling for help at the time of the attacks. In the aftermath, victims might not have been keen to discuss their rape by armed, uniformed men with other armed, uniformed men.

The whole episode highlights the crucial importance of securing the trust of local communities and actively involving them in the process of ending conflict. Meece said that within MONUSCO, "We are reviewing again how we are working."

uilding a more effective relationship with local people must at the very least involve responding to attacks as they happen. Building such a relation is hard for MONUSCO who is cooperating with the Congolese armed forces; a group that has a difficult rapport with civilians in the region. In the current situation some local mistrust of UN peacekeepers is easy to understand, but doesn't mean it is excusable. On Monday Margot Wallstron, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, discussed the situation in the DRC in a press conference where she introduced her office's report on 'Adressing conflict-related sexual violence'. Wallstrom said that, "Sexual Violence should never again be dismissed as random or cultural."

After the conference Wallstrom spoke to MediaGlobal. The Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said that although she believes MONUSCO's declarations were made with good intent, her newly appointed office is working across the UN to review how spokespersons talk about sexual violence.