News
Photo Story: Congo Program Takes Holistic Approach to Combating Gender-Based Violence
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) has operated programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2008. With nine programs currently in operation, ABA ROLI supports a wide array of justice sector initiatives, from providing pro bono legal, psychological aid and vocational aid to survivors of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) to training justice sector professionals and facilitating mobile courts that bring justice to remote areas. For a glimpse into our diverse initiatives based in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, click through the slideshow »»
Individual Donor Provides Scholarships to Female Congolese Law Students
Thanks to the support of an individual donor, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) began a scholarship program for female Congolese law students in October 2011. After viewing the mini-documentary about ABA ROLI’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the donor was moved to give to ABA ROLI, with the express intent of providing scholarships to female law students. Read more »»
In The News: Mobile Courts in Congo
ABA ROLI’s mobile court program in the Democratic Republic of Congo was covered in several media outlets in November. In “On Rape’s Front Line,” the Times Live (South Africa) discusses our Open Society Institute for Southern Africa-funded access to justice program and how it combats impunity for rape crimes and offers counseling to rape survivors. The Economist cites that our mobile gender courts are both effective and a good value for the money in its November 26 piece, “Cosy club or sword of righteousness?”
Programs
- Criminal Law Reform
and Anti-Human
Trafficking - Legal Education
Reform and
Civic Education - Legal
Profession
Reform - Women's
Rights
Training DRC’s Legal Community
ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) partners with non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies to develop and implement training seminars and interactive workshops for lawyers, police, prosecutors and judges, with the goal of more effective investigation, prosecution and adjudication of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases. To support the ongoing application of these techniques, ABA ROLI has also developed bench books and other reference materials.
The trainings seek to build technical expertise, develop awareness around the collective and individual roles of each actor in law enforcement and ensure that each of these actors understands their vital role in protecting citizens from rape. The trainings’ approach includes discussion groups that explore the cultural and social biases that may prevent full protection and recognition of rape and sexual violence as a crime punishable by law.
Building Local Capacity to Utilize Forensic Evidence
Recognizing the need for greater capacity in forensics techniques, especially related to cases of rape and mass graves, ABA ROLI is implementing a new program in partnership with a Peruvian non-governmental organization (NGO), Equipo Peruano de Antropologia Forense. The program will develop the capacity of Congolese police and community leaders to investigate cases of mass violence and rape using low-cost and sustainable forensic techniques, such as uncovering, analyzing and cataloging forensic evidence.
ABA ROLI also provides legal and psychological counseling for SGBV survivors and relatives of mass violence victims. A key outcome will be the creation of a central database that includes data on mass graves and SGBV cases in North Kivu. The program will also form a working group comprised of representatives from Congolese and international NGOs, the United Nations Mission in the DRC, community representatives and justice sector officials. A grant from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor supports the two-year-long program.
Legal Education Reform and Civic Education
ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) organizes seminars and outreach events for the general public in the towns and provinces where it operates. These efforts primarily educate the public about DRC’s 2006 law on sexual violence and other relevant international treaties, but they also inform citizens about the free legal aid available at ABA ROLI clinics.
Supporting Local Bar Associations
ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is committed to sustainability and long-term institution building in the DRC. We work with local and national bar associations to broaden the pool of legal professionals committed to—and trained to–enforce criminal penalties in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases.
ABA ROLI currently works with local bar associations in North Kivu and Maniema provinces to provide effective representation to SGBV survivors. In North Kivu, ABA ROLI trained all members of the local bar on DRC’s code of criminal procedure, which they will use to investigate and prosecute sexual violence.
ABA ROLI also created a reference manual, which includes every training module developed over the past year. This manual was distributed to all North Kivu Bar Association members, and it has been used to conduct trainings for members of the Maniema Bar Association. In Maniema, ABA ROLI is assisting the local bar in its efforts to open a physical office in Kindu.
Women's Rights
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| At a legal aid center in Kindu, the mother of a rape victim, left, discusses her daughter’s case with an ABA ROLI staff attorney, center, and an ABA ROLI psychologist, right. |
In eastern DRC, ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) operates several programs to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Starting with our first program in January 2008, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Human Rights, Democracy and Labor (DRL), ABA ROLI has worked to increase the number of rape prosecutions and to combat the culture of impunity that has fueled the rape epidemic in the DRC. From January 2008–March 2010, ABA ROLI has provided legal assistance to nearly 1,100 SGBV survivors and filed roughly 550 cases with police, resulting thus far in 118 trials and 72 convictions.
At our first legal aid clinic in Goma, ABA ROLI provided pro bono legal assistance to rape survivors and conducted trainings for police, prosecutors, judges and lawyers to promote effective investigation and prosecution of SGBV cases. A key component of this initial program was a multi-disciplinary approach that included the hiring of a full-time psychologist and partnering with a local hospital, Heal Africa, to provide medical care to SGBV survivors.
The success of the DRL program allowed ABA ROLI to dramatically expand its work in the DRC. Today, ABA ROLI’s programs span eight cities—Goma, Butembo, Bukavu, Kindu, Kalima, Kampene, Kasongo and Punia—in three provinces—North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema.
Our work in Maniema. ABA ROLI is also implementing a comprehensive, needs-based training and infrastructure support program in Maniema Province. This three-year, $5.2 million program, a partnership with HEAL Africa, is funded by the Dutch government. The program addresses every level of the provincial criminal justice system, from traditional community leaders to the highest court. The program features five pro bono legal aid clinics, training and material support to the courts, mobile courts to increase access to justice in rural areas, a prison rehabilitation, and scholarship program aimed at increasing the number of women law students, as well as internships at ABA ROLI’s legal aid clinics that increase the number of women in the legal profession committed to combating SGBV.
Our work in North Kivu. In October 2009, ABA ROLI began implementing a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) that allows ABA ROLI to continue its rape prosecution work in Goma through 2011. Through this program, ABA ROLI continues to provide legal representation to SGBV survivors and to build the capacity of justice sector officials to fairly adjudicate SGBV cases.
ABA ROLI’s MacArthur Foundation-funded program provides training to local justice sector officials and pro bono legal representation to SGBV survivors in Butembo, North Kivu.
Our work in South Kivu. Most recently, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa awarded ABA ROLI a grant to implement a year-long mobile court program in Bukavu, South Kivu. This effort will increase access to justice for SGBV survivors by deploying mobile courts to rural communities that have limited or no access to functioning courts.
Video
Combating Sexual Violence in the DRC
Background
The incidence of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in eastern DRC is among the highest anywhere in the world. The United Nations conservatively estimates that there have been more than 500,000 cases of rape and sexual violence in eastern DRC since 1996, when conflict erupted.
As is now well-known, the conflict in the DRC is an outgrowth of the genocide in neighboring Rwanda in 1994. The world has been slow to grasp the gravity of this civil conflict, which has thus far claimed the lives of 5.4 million people—making it the deadliest conflict since World War II. Despite a January 2008 peace accord, armed conflict in the DRC continues today.
Throughout this conflict, members of armed groups, government security forces and, increasingly, civilians have been responsible for alarming rates of rape and sexual abuse against women and girls. Especially troubling is that the age of rape and sexual violence survivors appears to be declining, with rapes of girls aged 8–14 becoming commonplace.
In response to the DRC’s worsening rape crisis and the increased incidence of SGBV generally, the government passed a national law in 2006 on sexual violence that clearly defines rape and provides expedited judicial proceedings for rape cases and greater protection for survivors. Nevertheless, impunity for perpetrators of SGBV is widespread.
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s programs in the DRC seek to combat this impunity by providing free legal and psychological counseling, by training justice sector professionals, by educating communities on the 2006 national law, and by supporting local bar associations, human rights groups and women’s organizations.
