New York, 31 August 2010 - Rape wild mass of civilians by armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) show once more the necessity of ending the impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes , insisted Tuesday the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations to sexual violence in the candied, Margot Wallström.

On the occasion of a press conference at UN headquarters in New York , she returned to the rape of 154 civilians, between July 30 and August 2 in 13 villages in the province of Banamukira in North Kivu. The attackers had blocked a stretch of 21 km of road, preventing the villagers to communicate with the outside to ask for help.

" You can not have a zero tolerance policy , supported by zero consequences, " she said , urging the DRC government to translate its policies against sexual violence in reality , with " consistent and visible consequences "For the perpetrators of such crimes.

" As long as the rapists are still at large , they take all the reputation of the DRC hostage, " she added.
Margot Wallström , the rapes show that sexual violence " is never an accident , a cultural or acts inevitable . " The systematic rapes are planned and therefore preventable, and rapes in North Kivu highlight the fact that peace and stability can not be consolidated in the DRC as women's safety is not ensured, " said She continued .

According to the United Nations Fund for Population Activities ( UNFPA ), more than 9,000 cases of rape were reported last year , just in the North and South Kivu , where many cases are also not reported.

Margot Wallström gave several directions to address the problem of sexual violence in DRC . " The authors should first be held accountable , since the issue of sexual violence is now at the top of the agenda of both the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) and the Council of the UN Security " she said.

"The time when sexual violence was tolerated , considered the outcome of the war is over , " she insisted , recalling that former Congolese warlord Jean - Pierre Bemba was sued today by the ICC for crimes war , including rape. She then stated that another key element in the fight against the sexual violence lay in the improvement of the UN response to such tragedies .

"The DRC has developed a strategy for joint Government -United Nations for the fight against sexual violence , but efforts to implement it must be strengthened , " she said .

The Special Representative also recalled that if the peacekeepers on the ground were the first to be able to provide assistance to survivors of such acts, they should " be prepared to respond to cases of sexual violence as they are for conventional military operations . "

Margot Wallström , however, expressed his fear to the desire of the Government of DRC to see the strengths of Stabilization Mission in United Nations Democratic Republic of Congo ( MONUSCO ) withdraw from the country .

" We are called to do more with less at the same time the peacekeepers , " she lamented , before pointing out that when the recent attacks in North Kivu , 80 peacekeepers were tasked with securing an area over 300 square kilometers.

Even if it is " simply not realistic " for peacekeepers to protect all women in eastern DRC , " UN seeks new ways to strengthen existing policies , including systems early warning programs distress call and patrols , " said Margot Wallström further .

In conclusion , she stated that one of his closest associates were present on site , along with the number two in the Operations Department of Peacekeeping UN , Atul Khare , "to shed light on the circumstances surrounding these events and assess how the UN could do more to ensure better protection of civilians. "