Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2013/757)

The Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2013/757) was submitted to the Counci on 17 December 2013.The Report was submitted to the Council pursuant to paragraph 34 of Resolution 2098 (2013) and gave an update on the situation in the DRC from 30 September 2013 to December 2013. The report focuses on the implementation of the MONUSCO mandate in the context of the operations of the Intervention Brigade. The report is structured around six sections, covering major developments, including political developments and the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework. The report also addresses progress in the implementation of the MONUSCO mandate, updating on, among others, the protection of civilians, human rights, security sector and police reform, sexual violence, justice and corrections institutions, and DDRRR; the safety and security of MONUSCO personnel within the context of the operations of the Intervention Brigade; and Mission reconfiguration and road map for the transfer of tasks. The report concludes with the Secretary-General’s observations. The document also includes an Annex on the transfer of tasks from MONUSCO to the United Nations Country Team.

Women, peace and security concerns are referenced on thirteen occasions throughout the report, primarily with respect to violence against women, and sexual violence in particular. With regards to WPS, the report also includes some sex-disaggregated data on civilian deaths and casualties as well as updating on security sector and police reform and justice and corrections institutions.

Specifically, the report notes that crimes of sexual violence were among crimes not covered in the clemency granted to certain prisoners (para. 15). With respect to sexual violence, the documents also reports on continued use of sexual violence by certain Mayi-Mayi factions (paras. 21, 47, 49, 51), as well as updating on access to services for survivors in the east, including psychosocial and medical (para. 54) and the visit of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in October to meet with Government officials (para. 55). Additionally, the report also includes a gender perspective with regards to security sector and police reform as well as justice and corrections institutions. In terms of police reform, 30 women audit inspectors were trained by MONUSCO, representing a quarter of new trainees (para. 45). Moreover, 30 women started training in general police duties, of 500 cadets, while 27 women started a 12 month training course on community policing, in this case representing a 10 military justice authorities in three investigations, including of crimes of sexual violence (para. 59), stating the there is no place for impunity for perpetrator of sexual violence (para. 94). Finally, the report notes that a separate cellblock is for women is under construction for the central prison in Kinshasa (para. 62).

The above references to women, peace and security notwithstanding, it was unfortunate that the report missed opportunities to address gender concerns in a number of important areas. Specifically, the report did not adopt a gender perspective with respect to political developments, including government consultation with civil society representatives, and electoral processes and reforms. In addition, the report did not incorporate a gendered lens regarding the humanitarian situation, including displacement, nor with regards to humanitarian assistance and delivery. It is also not specified whether a gender or WPS perspective was adopted by the joint protections teams deployed to assess protection needs in affected areas. It is also unfortunate that the report does not discuss the gendered dimensions of the DDRRR processes implemented by MONUSCO. Finally, in discussing the Mission reconfiguration to the east and transfer of tasks to the UN Country Team along with risk analysis and mitigation in this regard, it is vital that gender specific needs are also taken into consideration during these processes to ensure that these are not sidelined or diminished.

The December 2013 NGOWG MAP recommendations call on the Council to follow up on its November presidential statement (PRST/2013/17), which call for women’s full inclusion in all stages of conflict resolution, reconstruction and the promotion of peace. The report also does not address targeted attacks against women, including women’s human rights defenders, nor electoral reform. The report does not address women’s participation in any point in the document. Despite this neglect, the report does address the MAP recommendations with respect to sex-disaggregated data on the humanitarian situation, security sector, and judicial reform.