Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

11. Reaffirms its concern regarding acts of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by United Nations personnel against the local population, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure compliance with the zero tolerance policy he has defined and with the measures put in place to prevent and investigate all forms of misconduct, discipline those found responsible and provide support to the victims, and to pursue active training and awarenessraising of all MONUC personnel, and further requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council regularly informed of the measures implemented and their effectiveness;

Recalling that all the parties bear responsibility for ensuring security with respect to civilian populations, in particular women, children and other vulnerable persons, and expressing concern at the continuing levels of sexual violence,

8. Welcomes the action taken by MONUC in investigating and dealing with instances of sexual exploitation and abuse and its efforts to put in place preventive measures, requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary measures to achieve actual compliance in MONUC with the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action, including pre-deployment awareness training, and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel;

13. Decides that, for a period expiring on 31 July 2007, the provisions of paragraphs 13 to 16 of resolution 1596 shall extend to the following individuals, operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and designated by the Committee: - Individuals committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict, including killing and -maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced displacement;

22. Expressing grave concern at the allegations of sexual exploitation and violence by civilian and military personnel of MONUC, taking note of the measures taken by MONUC to address instances of sexual exploitation and abuse and of the zero tolerance policy reiterated by the Secretary General during his recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, requests the Secretary-General to continue to fully investigate these allegations, to take the appropriate measures set out in the Secretary-General's bulletin on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13), and to keep the Council informed, underlines the importance of MONUCconducting training for the personnel concerned in order to ensure full compliance with its Code of Conduct regarding sexual misconduct, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate disciplinary and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such misconduct involving their personnel;

Decides that MONUC will also have the mandate, in close cooperation with the Congolese authorities, the United Nations country team and donors, to support the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, to that end, to: (c) Assist in the promotion and protection of human rights, with particular attention to women, children and vulnerable persons, investigate human rights violations with a view to putting an end to impunity, assist in the development and implementation of a transitional justice strategy, and cooperate in national and international efforts to bring to justice perpetrators of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law;

(p) In coordination with international partners, continue to develop the capacities of the Congolese national police and related law enforcement agencies in accordance with internationally recognized standards and norms on human rights, proportionate use of force and criminal justice, including the prevention, investigation and prosecution of cases of gender-based violence, by providing technical assistance, training and mentoring support;

Decides that MONUC will have the mandate, within the limits of its capabilities and in its areas of deployment, to assist the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in establishing a stable security environment in the country, and, to that end, to: (o) Provide in the short term basic training, including in the area of human rights, international humanitarian law, child protection and the prevention of gender-based violence, to various members and units of the FARDC integrated brigades deployed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a view to enhancing their capacity to carry out the missions referred to in subparagraph (l) above;

18. Requests MONUC, in view of the scale and severity of sexual violence committed especially by armed elements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to undertake a thorough review of its efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence, and to pursue a comprehensive mission-wide strategy, in close cooperation with the United Nations Country Team and other partners, to strengthen prevention, protection, and response to sexual violence, including through training for the Congolese security forces in accordance with its mandate, and to regularly report, including in a separate annex if necessary, on actions taken in this regard, including factual data and trend analyses of the problem;

Condemning in particular sexual violence perpetrated by militias and armed groups as well as elements of the FARDC, the PNC and other security and intelligence services, stressing the urgent need for the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with MONUC and other relevant actors, to end such violence and bring the perpetrators, as well as the senior commanders under whom they serve, to justice, and calling on Member States to assist in this regard and to continue to provide medical, humanitarian and other assistance to victims,