May 31, 2011 | Parliament Bern, Switzerland

In light of the deeply disturbing, prevailing climate of impunity for sexual and gender based crimes in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), PGA's Swiss National Group, chaired by Ms Yvonne Gilli, MP, and in cooperation with the Swiss Parliamentary Groups on Human Rights and Cairo+, organized this Roundtable Discussion in the Parliament in Bern, together with Amnesty International, Swiss section and PLANeS (Swiss Foundation for Sexual and Reproductive Health).

Hon. Sabine Bintu, MP, DRC, reported first hand on the deplorable conditions in which women in her home region of Walikale in Nord-Kivu, are currently living. It is women and children, the most vulnerable segments of the population, that are the primary victims of the ongoing climate of insecurity in this region, with many different armed groups continuing to commit crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence. Hon. Bintu emphasized that an amelioration of the current situation can only be achieved by using a two-fold strategy: At the local level, by empowering women themselves, and the civilian population at-large, through programmes and policies that will properly involve them as stakeholders and beneficiaries, and at the international level, by providing the UN Peace-keeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, with the necessary resources, mandate and, above all, skills to effectively protect the civilian population and, as necessary, be able to conduct arrest-operations to ensure that those committing, or attempting to commit, crimes against humanity and war crimes are promptly brought to justice. To this effect, Hon. Bintu reiterated the commitment of the PGA DRC National Group to adopt legislation implementing the Rome Statute of the ICC into the domestic legal order, currently before the Committee on Legislation of the Chamber of Deputies of the DRC and being discussed on the basis of a comprehensive legislative proposal authored by Prof. Nyabirungu mwene Songa, MP and Adv. Crispin Mutumbe Mbuya, MP, both PGA members from the DRC.

Ms. Alanna Armitage, Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNEP), Geneva, gave a short overview of existing international resolutions in place to protect women in conflict situations. Even if much still needs to be done to achieve effective implementation of those resolutions, such as Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security, these resolutions at least recognize the importance of the matter and provide a concrete basis for an action plan.

The implementation of the recommendations contained in Resolution 1325 is also part of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs' goals, confirmed Ambassador Juerg Lindenmann, Deputy Director, Directorate for International Law, DFA. He approached the topic of sexual violence by outlining in particular how international criminal justice has tremendously advanced the standards of protection and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights, stressing the importance of the fight against impunity and the impact that the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigations and prosecutions are having in this endeavor, with specific reference to the DRC.

Hon. Bintu shared the opinion that the ICC is indeed having a truly positive impact in the DRC, but that more needs to be done. In this context, she mentioned the ongoing debate on the implementing legislation of the Rome Statute in the DRC - legislation which will consolidate the fight against impunity in the country with the new initiative on the so called Mixed Chambers.

In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Dick Marty, MP, who has travelled several times to the DRC and addressed PGA's International Parliamentary Conference on Justice and Peace in Kinshasa in December 2009 (www.pgaction.org/Kinshasa2009.html) added another dimension to the discussion - the ongoing exploitation of the country's natural resources in mines which are partly controlled by rebel groups - bringing about a continued climate of violence and insecurity. Both big multinational companies as well as the Congolese government urgently need to take action to end this unfortunate situation, which sustains and perpetuates conflict, violence and the impoverishment of the local populations in the region.

Mr. Geri Mueller, MP and Mr. Ricardo Lumengo, MP, intervened in the debate with questions on the need to end impunity for foreign co-perpetrators of alleged atrocities and to properly involve the local communities in justice and reconciliation efforts.