ENOUGH Project (Washington, DC)
20 March 2008
press release
In an ENOUGH Project report released today, Field Researcher Rebecca Feeley and Policy Advisor Colin Thomas-Jensen argue that the policies needed to protect women and girls and prevent sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo must be closely linked to ongoing peacemaking and conflict prevention efforts.
A recent ceasefire brokered by the United States, European Union, United Nations and African Union is a first step toward a comprehensive peace strategy for eastern Congo. However, systematic and widespread crimes against humanity continue to haunt the region.
Feeley, who is based in eastern Congo, asserts: "As the international community rolls up its sleeves to do the difficult work of consolidating the ceasefire, it must also take urgent steps to ramp up efforts to protect Congolese women and girls ensnared in an epidemic of sexual violence." Because rape is used as a weapon of war, ending the crisis in the East--one of the world's thorniest conflicts--will ease the suffering of women and girls. "Conflict resolution is only the beginning," says Thomas-Jensen. "To fully emerge from its decade long nightmare, Congo needs genuine reforms in the justice sector and armed forces."
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