Mbuji Mayi, 13 November 2012 – The public prosecutor's office in Mbuji Mayi, Kasaï Oriental province, located at the center of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has now a specialized unit as part of the fight against sexual violence. Inaugurated on Saturday, 10 November 2012, the unit is an initiative of the United Nations Joints Human Rights Office (UNJHRO).

Three magistrates and one administrative secretary will be responsible for running this unit. Its mission will consist of creating appropriate conditions to help handle cases of sexual violence and mentor its victims. Victims will therefore be interviewed in strict confidentiality and judiciary prosecutions against the presumed guilty will be initiated based on the data collected. A data base will be set up and regularly updated to ensure that the data are reliable and effectively help handle cases of sexual violence in the province.

During the opening ceremony, an official of the United Nations Coordination office turned over to the provincial justice minister office supplies and or stationery for a smooth functioning of the new office.

The project for the construction of the new unit fits into the framework of reinforcing the fight against sexual violence-related impunity which the United Nations joint Human rights office has been implementing in Kasaï-Oriental province for two years. In June 2012, with funding from a Swedish international development Agency, a training workshop on investigating techniques in the area of sexual violence was organized for about forty civilian and military magistrates in the province.

Piergiorgio Paglialonga/ MONUSCO