I recently read a statement about rape as a weapon of war in the DRC with the brilliant notion that in order to end the violent acts, rape must first become a liability for the perpetrator and can no longer be an incentive for maintaining power.  While seemingly obvious, this concept is the key to combating the epidemic of rape that has plagued Congolese men, women, and children for over a decade.

At the start of the New year Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutwara, a senior army commander of the Conoglese army Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), ordered an attack on a village in South Kivu where his so

ldiers raped 62 villagers over the course of an entire evening.[1]  Colonel Mutwara ordered the attack due to a soldier that had been stoned to death by residents after the soldier had been involved in an altercation with a local shop owner.[2]  But Mutwara had been denying the attack.³

Recently Colonel Mutwara was arrested, an unusual response to rapes that occur frequently in the DRC.The trial, being called the Fizi trials, began on February 15 and included ten of his fellow soldiers.⁴   On February 21 Mutwara was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with the remaining soldiers receiving equal or slightly less punishments.⁵   Nearly fifty women showed up to testify and relay their horrific accounts of being raped.⁶   The victims received up to $10,000 from the government for compensation, but complained that the sentences were not enough.⁷This was the first time a commanding officer had been tried in such an attack.⁸

The trials were held by prosecutors and lawyers brought over to the remote part of eastern Congo and the mobile court “was paid by George Soros' Open Society Initiative and aided by several other agencies, including the American Bar Association, Lawyers Without Borders and the U.N. Mission to Congo.”⁹

Hopefully the Fizi trials will send a message that there will now be repercussions for those committing rapes and war crimes in general.  Since Mutwara and his gang of soldiers did actually receive a punishment, the Fizi trials could become a landmark in curbing the violence in the DRC, perhaps enough to go down in Congo history.  But this can only happen if Mutwara’s  punishment is continued to be enforced.  If the trials result in no lasting action, rapes will be likely to continue at a similar rate. But the fact that there are trials being held at all is a great beam of hope in a region where rapes occur all the time with no consequences whatsoever. 

In addition to the Fizi trials, this month the UN Security Council met to discuss the peacekeeping mission in the DRC through the UN operation MONUSCO.  A list of thirty individuals accused of war crimes including human rights violations was to be reviewed.10  Whether action will be taken to persecute these criminals is yet to unfold, along with any lasting effects from the recent arrests. 

            One thing is for certain though in the DRC.  In order for rape to end, there must be some sort of punishment in place to dissuade armed groups and soldiers from committing these inhumane acts.  The best hope for this is for international organizations supporting local legislative systems to aid in reprimanding the criminals and enforcing punishment.  Through this combined effort we as a global community can begin to end the use of this disgusting weapon of war.