Hillary Clinton condemns impunity in eastern Congo

GOMA, DRC, August 11 (UNHCR) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called widespread sexual violence against women in eastern Congo "a crime against humanity" during a visit to the region Tuesday where she met with displaced civilians at a UNHCR-run camp.

Arriving at the Mugunga I camp, Clinton was greeted by representatives of some 19,000 displaced people sheltered there and the UN agencies working at the site.

More than half of the two million people displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are women and in an area where the use of rape and sexual violence are endemic, many of those forced from their homes have been victimized.

"The US condemns the perpetrators of sexual violence, and all those who abet such violence and permit impunity to continue," said Clinton. "These individuals are guilty of crimes against humanity. These individuals harm not only individuals, families, villages and regions, but shred the very fabric that weaves us together as human beings."

Cases of harassment, human right abuses, rape and intimidation against civilians are regularly reported by the local population in eastern DRC. Civilians live under the constant threat of armed men who systematically pillage, rape, burn houses and confiscate food rations.

"When I was in Kinshasa yesterday, I saw humanity at its best and at its worst. Today, I saw both again in Goma," said Clinton.

UNHCR is running a number of programmes in eastern DRC seeking to help victims of sexual violence. These include counselling and awareness raising projects. Skills training and literacy courses assist and empower women who are survivors of sexual violence, infected with HIV-AIDS, illiterate or otherwise excluded from the society.

"Secretary Clinton's visit to Goma underscores the importance that the US attributes to human rights abuses perpetrated in eastern DRC and the need to put an end to the impunity which has characterized the region for years," said Masti Notz, head of UNHCR's office in Goma.

The US government is the largest donor to the UN refugee agency and a strong partner in the global search for solutions for the millions of refugees and displaced people. In 2008 alone, the United States contributed more than half a billion dollars towards UNHCR budget totaling US$1.6 billion.

Clinton's visit to the camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) was part of a one day visit to Goma where she also met with the DRC's president and the prime minister.