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Viewing cable 06KINSHASA1098, LANDMARK SEXUAL VIOLENCE LAW ADOPTED BY NATIONAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06KINSHASA1098 2006-07-07 15:15 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Kinshasa
VZCZCXRO2211
PP RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR
DE RUEHKI #1098/01 1881515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071515Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4336
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001098 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM KWMN CG
SUBJECT: LANDMARK SEXUAL VIOLENCE LAW ADOPTED BY NATIONAL 
ASSEMBLY 
 
 
1.  (U)  Summary:  The National Assembly of the DRC passed 
landmark sexual and gender-based violence legislation on June 
22.  The legislation, which was drafted by a coalition of 
human rights groups, women's rights groups, and lawyers with 
USG assistance, contains unprecedented measures against 
trafficking and prostitution of women and children, sexual 
slavery, forced marriage, and criminalizes rape.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  A coalition of women's rights groups, human rights 
activists, and lawyers convened and supported by the 
international NGO Global Rights (Note: The Global Rights 
program is designed, managed, and funded by USAID.  End note) 
drafted and pushed the legislation, which languished on the 
Transitional Government agenda for more than a year.  The 
resultant law came in response to epidemic levels of rape and 
sexual servitude perpetrated by DRC armed groups against 
noncombatants.  Sexual violence has been particularly 
prevalent in the eastern provinces of South Kivu, Maniema, 
North Kivu, and Katanga where, according to a recent report, 
over 40,000 cases of rape were documented between 1998 and 
2005.  (Note:  This number severely understates the scope of 
the problem, as the societal stigma against rape in DRC 
prevents many, if not most, reports of the crime.  End note.) 
 
Penalties for Rape 
------------------ 
3.  (U)  The new law redefines rape to include any forced 
penetration, including with foreign objects, by any person of 
any age.  It also includes anyone who forces a third party to 
rape a woman (or man, or child).  The newly introduced 
penalty is 5-20 years incarceration and not less than a 
100,000 Congolese franc fine (about 225 USD).  Rape leading 
to death produces an automatic life sentence.  These 
penalties are doubled if the person committing the rape meets 
any of the following criteria -- is related to the victim, is 
in a position of authority, is the victim's teacher or 
servant, is a public official or medical personnel, is aided 
by others (i.e. gang rape), is holding the victim captive at 
the time of the rape, commits the rape in public, severely 
harms the victim physically or psychologically, or rapes a 
person with a disability. 
 
4.  (U)  Sexual mutilation (Note:  Often practiced by 
militia.  End note) of victims is specifically proscribed as 
well and earns the perpetrator 2-5 years in prison (if 
causing death 10-20 years in prison) and a 200,000 Congolese 
franc fine (about 450 USD).  Also, if the perpetrator 
deliberately infects the victim with an incurable sexually 
transmitted disease, the punishment is 5-15 years and a 
200,000 Congolese franc fine.  Finally, forced pregnancy, 
with a punishment of 5 years imprisonment, and forced 
sterilization, with a punishment of 5-15 years imprisonment, 
address variations of the sexual violence often inflicted 
upon Congolese women. 
 
Trafficking, Prostitution, and Other Crimes 
------------------------------------------- 
5.  (U)  The law also addresses related crimes of sexual 
violence.  Pimping, or procuring prostitutes for others, is 
punishable by 3 months to 5 years of imprisonment and a 
50,000 to 100,000 Congolese franc fine (110-225 USD) when the 
prostitute is 18 or older, and includes running a house of 
prostitution.  The penalty for prostituting children is 5-20 
years incarceration and a 200,000 Congolese franc fine and 
specifically includes transferring (trafficking) children 
with the intent of sexual exploitation.  Child pornography is 
also prohibited; punishment is 3 months to 5 years 
imprisonment and 150,000 Congolese franc fine (about 325 USD). 
 
6.  (U)  In addition to rape and prostitution, sexual 
harassment and forced marriage are proscribed by the new law. 
 Sexual harassment, characterized as an abuse of authority 
with a view to seeking sexual favors, is punishable by 1-12 
months in prison or a fine of 50,000 Congolese francs. 
Forced marriage, by a person in a position of parental 
authority, carries a 1-12 month sentence and 100,000 
Congolese franc fine.  The penalties are doubled when the 
person being forced to marry is under 18 years of age. 
 
An End to Impunity 
------------------ 
7.  (U)  Given that the majority of perpetrators of sexual 
violence in the DRC in recent years have been military or 
official personnel, the law specifically states that "the 
 
KINSHASA 00001098  002 OF 002 
 
 
official status of the perpetrator of sexual violence does 
not exonerate him from criminal responsibility or constitute 
a cause for reduction of the penalty."  Similarly, the next 
article adds that "the fact that person who commits an act of 
sexual violence does so in the execution of a civil or 
military order does not exonerate him from criminal 
responsibility." 
 
Procedural Improvements to Aid Victims 
-------------------------------------- 
8.  (U)  Victims' rights are also addressed in the new law. 
The police officer receiving the sexual violence complaint 
has 24 hours to report it to judicial authorities, and a 
limit of one month is imposed for the length of the inquest 
and judgment in sexual violence cases.  The law requires the 
victim be provided the assistance of council as well any 
medical or psychological help needed.  The victim's security 
and physical and psychological well-being must be protected, 
and confidentiality must be maintained through the use of 
close-circuit cameras and pseudonyms when necessary. 
 
9.  (U)  Regarding measures of proof, the law also forbids 
future or past sexual activities of the victim or witnesses 
from being used as evidence or to discredit them. 
Furthermore, consent is specifically defined -- it cannot be 
given by inference from the words or actions of the victim 
unable to give proper consent, nor can it be inference by 
silence or lack of resistance, nor can it be considered 
freely given when force, threat, or constraint has been used. 
 
10.  (U)  Comment:  This ambitious law  is the result of 
ground-breaking lobby efforts spearheaded by USAID and its 
partners and brings DRC's prohibitions against sexual 
violence in line with Western progressive legal systems and 
represents the first specific legislation against child and 
adult trafficking and prostitution.  It also has a series of 
"unfunded mandates," such as psychological counseling, victim 
anonymity, and prompt court hearings for which, even if funds 
were provided, the infrastructure simply does not exist. 
Nevertheless, the establishment of severe punishments for the 
most commonly committed crime against women in the DRC, rape, 
allows the fledgling justice sector to fight against impunity 
on its most abused front. 
MEECE