South Kivu

Republic of the Congo in November 2011) and Serafin Lionso are being tried in military courts for mass rapes committed in Walikale province [North Kivu] in 2010”.

Human Rights Watch reported in April 2019 on the conviction by a military court in Goma, North Kivu, of a former Congolese army soldier, Marcel Habarugira, on counts of war crimes of rape and use of child soldiers.

The human rights organisation however found that whilst

“The 15-year prison sentence *…+ provides a measure of justice for his victims and may serve

as a check on other abusive commanders”, the “trial proceedings raised questions about

witness protection, the defendant’s right to an appeal, and the government’s failure to pay

reparations to victims”.

UNOCHA reported in its ‘Humanitarian Overview 2018’ that with regards to South Kivu [unofficial translation+ “increase in cases of sexual violence was recorded. In Shabunda territory in particular, the security void assisted the incursion of militias into villages, where mass rapes were reported in the first half of the year”.

7.2.1. Armed forces

Beyond the information included under sections

amongst the sources consulted within the time frame for this report.

7.2.2. Non-state armed groups

See also information included under sections 5. Overview of the Security Situation including

MONUSCO documented “The majority of verified incidents involving armed groups occurred in North and South Kivu Provinces and included rape, gang rape and sexual slavery. Since February [2018], members of the Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki armed group have committed mass rapes in South Kivu’s Shabunda, Walungu and Mwenga territories. In April *2018+, during at least four attacks in mineral-rich Shabunda, Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki members raped and gang-raped at least 66 women, 11 girls and 2 men. Those acts included penetration and intrusive cavity searches, in an alleged search for gold”.

The UN Secretary-General provided the following summary with regards to instances of sexual violence in the DRC and specifically in South Kivu between 27 March and 29 June 2018:

In April and May [2018], MONUSCO documented cases of rape and other forms of conflict-related sexual violence committed against at least 98 women and 18 children, confirming an increasing trend. Raia Mutomboki in South Kivu — the most affected province — are the main perpetrators.⁴³²

The UN Group of Experts on the DRC in its report focusing on events between 26 July and 9 November 2018 on four territories in the North and South Kivu Provinces concluded that

“Masudi Alimasi Kokodikoko, leader of a Raia Mutomboki faction in Shabunda territory, was a lead perpetrator of the gang rapes of at least 17 women in September 2018. The Group documented that his group, as well as other Raia Mutomboki factions, profit from the

430 See UNOCHA, APERÇU DES BESOINS HUMANITAIRES 2018, October 2018, p. 11 [unofficial translation provided by a COI researcher]

431 UN Secretary General, Conflict-related sexual violence, Report of the Secretary-General, 29 March 2019, III. Sexual violence in conflict-affected settings, Democratic Republic of the Congo, para. 47. See also UN Secretary-General, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 7 March 2019, II. Major developments, F. Sexual violence, para. 41

432 UN Secretary-General, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Report of the Secretary-General, 2 July 2018, II. Major developments, E. Human rights situation, including sexual violence and child protection, para. 72

exploitation and trade of natural resources”.

The UN Group also found that the armed group committed “serious sexual crimes amounting to torture and sexual slavery”.

Six rape victims “cited the presence of child soldiers, referring to ‘Kadogo’ or small boys, in charge of Kokodikoko’s escort and/or involved in the attack and abductions in Lubila. Some of the boys also committed rapes”.

Moreover, the UN Group of Experts “established that other gang rapes and the recruitment and use of child soldiers by various Raia Mutomboki factions had taken place (*…+ but could not confirm, based on its methodology, the involvement of the Kokodikoko faction *…+ In October 2018, the [UN] Group received information that people assisting rape victims were being threatened by unidentified individuals. In particular, the Group saw text messages containing explicit and targeted death threats sent between 14 and 16 September 2018 to one such person”.

During the reporting period 2 October to 31 December 2018 on the activities of MONUSCO the UN Secretary-General noted that:

In South Kivu, Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki elements continued to perpetrate sexual violence, maintaining a worrying trend of mass rapes by certain factions in northern Shabunda *…+

Five girls survived rape and other forms of sexual violence in North Kivu (four cases) and South Kivu (one case). The rapes, and other forms of sexual violence, were committed by FARDC (three girls), unidentified armed elements (one girl) and Mai-Mai Mazembe (one girl).⁴³⁷

The UN Secretary-General report on MONUSCO’s activities covering the period from 4 January to 8 March 2019 noted that “In Shabunda and Mwenga territories in South Kivu Province, Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki factions targeted villages in gold mining areas and perpetrated mass rapes. In Haut-Uélé Province, the upsurge in the activities of suspected elements of the Lord ’s Resistance Army was accompanied by rapes and abductions of women”.

7.2.3. Non-conflict related SGBV

Speaking to Agence France Presse and reported by The East African, “gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his work with gang rape victims from the conflicts that have ravaged his homeland” noted that “the profile of rapists has changed.

‘Now the majority of sexual violence in South Kivu is committed by civilians and no longer by

433 UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 December 2018, Summary

434 UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 December 2018, V. Shabunda territory, A.

Conflict-related sexual violence and use of child soldiers in Shabunda territory, para. 72

435 UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 December 2018, V. Shabunda territory, A.

Conflict-related sexual violence and use of child soldiers in Shabunda territory, para. 80

436 UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 December 2018, V. Shabunda territory, A.

Conflict-related sexual violence and use of child soldiers in Shabunda territory, paras. 82 and 83

437 UN Secretary-General, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 4 January 2019, II. Major developments, F. Sexual violence, para. 50 and G.

Child protection, para. 51

438 UN Secretary-General, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 7 March 2019, II. Major developments, F. Sexual violence, para. 41

security forces and armed groups,’ he said. However, many of the civilians were former rebels, the Panzi Foundation said”.

7.2.4. State protection availability

During the reporting period 2 October to 31 December 2018 on the activities of MONUSCO the UN Secretary-General reported that “the verdict in the Kavumu *South Kivu+ child rape case was upheld on appeal. However, despite his conviction in November [2018] for acts of rape constituting crimes against humanity, Lieutenant Colonel Mabiala Ngoma is still at large. Moreover, victims have not yet received the reparations awarded by the military court”.

In November the UN Secretary-General reported that “On 29 November [2018], a military court in South Kivu found FARDC Major Mabiala Ngoma guilty of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture, and sentenced him to life in prison in relation to the serious crimes perpetrated by FARDC battalions in Mirenzo, South Kivu, in June 2003”

The UN Group of Experts report covering the period November 2018 to 18 April 2019 reported that:

In its midterm report of December 2018, the [UN] Group reported that the Kokodikoko faction of Raia Mutomboki, led by Masudi Alimasi Kokodikoko, had committed conflict-related sexual violence and used child soldiers in Shabunda territory, South Kivu, in September 2018 and had recommended that the perpetrators of those crimes be investigated and prosecuted *…+ Kokodikoko, who was injured during combat, surrendered to the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) on 26 March 2019, and 28 of his elements surrendered or were captured by FARDC on that day and in the following days. The Group was further informed that the Congolese military judicial authorities had initiated an investigation against Kokodikoko and his deputy for murder, rape, torture and looting. The Group welcomes this positive development.⁴⁴²

On 4

April 2019 Al Jazeera reported that Masudi Alimsai Kokdiko, leader of the Raia

Mutmboki armed group, and “accussed [sic] of orchestrating mass rapes and other

atrocities” has been arrested.