Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Honourable members, thank you for your invitation to appear this afternoon.
Together with my colleagues from Foreign Affairs and CIDA, I welcome this opportunity to address questions you may have about issues related to sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But before we focus on the tragedy of sexual violence, it's useful, I think, to take a step back and look at the history of the DRC and the Great Lakes Region more broadly to provide some context.
The DRC has a history blighted by tragedy, first under colonial rule, then followed by the brutal regime of President Mobutu, who ruled for over 30 years. Regional wars, including the 1994 Rwandan genocide as well as the 1997-2003 first and second Congo wars, which involved armies from eight neighbouring countries, have undermined the social and political fabric of the region. Together these events resulted in approximately five million deaths from murder, famine, and disease. Millions were displaced, economies were devastated, governance structures collapsed, and armed groups became increasingly powerful. Corruption is a fact of life.
More recently there have been some improvements. Successive ceasefire agreements and extensive negotiations, along with the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, MONUSCO, partly restored peace and brought greater stability to the region. In 2006, DRC's first multi-party presidential elections raised hopes for a new era of democracy. Since then, the political situation in DRC has improved. However, the security situation remains of concern.
In the lead-up to the presidential and legislative elections on November 28, 2011, DRC is facing significant challenges. Difficulties in the electoral process include logistical delays, polarization of political parties, and the limited experience of the security forces in responding to political demonstrations.
While peace and stability have largely spread through much of the country, the situation remains volatile and unpredictable in certain areas, and insecurity continues to prevail in eastern DRC, where armed groups wage war against each other and against the population.
Peace negotiations have led the Congolese Armed Forces to amalgamate some 50 armed groups, from various ethnic backgrounds; however, a lack of discipline and unity has meant that members of the Congolese Armed Forces are frequent violators of human rights. Although the main conflict is currently between the Congolese Armed Forces and les Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, made up of Rwandan and other ethnic Hutus who oppose Tutsi influence in the region, other groups such as Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army exacerbate the humanitarian situation.
Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is plagued by a vast illicit flow of arms; illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources; limited access for humanitarian workers to conflict-affected populations; and a countrywide lack of infrastructure.
The DRC has approximately 1.7 million internally displaced people, mostly in the Kivu provinces, and 450,000 Congolese are refugees in neighbouring countries. The most common cause of this displacement is armed conflict. Moreover, widespread rape and sexual violence continue and have reached epic proportions in eastern DRC. More than 15,000 people were raped in 2009 alone.
Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by various armed groups, including Congolese forces. The consequences are devastating. Not only does the violence result in physical and psychological trauma, but victims are often marginalized within society. Following a rape, survivors are very often rejected and treated as outcasts by their families and are seen as objects of shame rather than victims. Sexual violence contributes to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The health impacts are especially serious for young girls. Victims often abandon their education. They may also be cast out of their villages and communities, with all the social and economic consequences that this entails.
Unfortunately, the Congolese state's capacity to put an end to this situation, to reform the security forces, and to enforce laws against sexual violence as well as gender inequity is limited.
Canada has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat sexual violence in eastern DRC. Canada addresses the issue by raising concerns publicly, by working through multilateral organizations such as the UN, and by providing very practical support for victims of sexual violence.
Former Governor General Michaëlle Jean, during a state visit in the DRC in April 2010, stated:
...that all forms of sexual violence to any person with the intention of destabilizing them, of breaking up a family or of making an entire people disappear are crimes against humanity and punishable by law.
...Canada condemns this violence, which it finds unacceptable, shameful and dehumanizing.
Canada is providing $15 million between 2006 and 2011 to assist the UN, the Congolese government, and the Congolese civil society to provide services to victims such as medical care and legal support, including support for assistance with judicial cases addressing acts of sexual violence against women.
Prime Minister Harper announced in 2010 a further $13.5 million to build the capacities of local organizations to support 11 women's collective groups involved in combatting violence against women and girls in Burundi, the DRC, and Rwanda. My CIDA colleague will provide further details about these important projects.
Acts of sexual violence are often committed in a climate of impunity that does not deter perpetrators. Canada encourages recent efforts made to prosecute those responsible for such crimes. We've welcomed the first military court conviction in February 2011 of high-ranking officers of the Congolese forces accused of mass rape. We believe this conviction constitutes a major step in efforts to address sexual violence in the DRC.
To this end, Canada's commitments include funding military justice projects aimed at putting an end to the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The military justice sector has been identified as an area where Canadian expertise can provide value added. Through the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force, or START, Canada is funding a project of nearly $3 million over two years for the creation of support cells for judicial and military prosecutions in order to reinforce the ability of Congolese authorities to bring those responsible for sexual violence to justice.
As part of Canada's whole-of-government engagement on security sector reform in the DRC, another START project aims to support judiciary and penitentiary institutions in eastern provinces of the DRC. This $2.6 million project reinforces the organizational and functional capacities of judicial institutions, including four peace courts. Other projects provide needed training tools to assist the Congolese police to respect human rights and combat sexual violence.
Canada is also engaged within the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC, or MONUSCO. We deployed up to 12 military officers, as well as up to 6 civilian police officers. They contribute to advancing key areas of the mission's mandated work, such as strengthening the capacity of the DRC national military, judicial and correctional systems. Earlier this year, former Foreign Affairs Minister Cannon met with the special representative of the UN Secretary General Head of MONUSCO, Roger Meece, where the minister underlined that Canada deplores the ongoing sexual violence in eastern DRC, and noted our support for MONUSCO's work.
As part of Canada's priority to address all forms of violence against women, we've been a strong supporter of the international women, peace, and security agenda, including the fight against sexual violence. The Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN chairs and coordinates the work of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace, and Security. In October 2010 the government announced a national action plan for the full implementation of the UNSC resolutions on women, peace, and security. Also former director general of the stabilization task force, Elissa Golberg, along with departmental colleagues, made a presentation in front of this subcommittee in December 2010 to discuss the specifics of Canada's action plan.
Canada has been a leader as well on the issue of children and armed conflict since the late 1990s. Canada established and currently chairs the Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict, which advocates for the United Nations Security Council to take stronger measures aimed at those who commit grave violations, including sexual violence against children in conflict situations. Canada also participates in a first-of-its-kind, in-country Group of Friends on Children in Armed Conflict in the DRC.
At a regional level, Canada, as co-chair of the Group of Special Envoys and Friends, supports the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in seeking solutions for regional stability, including the prevention of sexual violence against women, men, and children.
During my visit to Kenya earlier this year, I had an opportunity to meet with Kenya's national coordinator of the ICGLR, who expressed her appreciation for all of Canada's efforts and encouraged us to maintain our active role in combatting sexual violence. I also had the opportunity to meet with a number of NGOs that are active in promoting human rights in the Great Lakes Region. All of these NGOs underscored how developments in the region are interlinked—as are conflicts, the illegal exploitation of minerals, and sexual violence.
Canada is also addressing the causes and drivers of instability in the DRC such as conflicts over land and the illegal exploitation of minerals. For example, Canada supports mediation to help the return and reintegration of internally displaced persons and refugees. Since 2010 Canada has financed a $1.5 million Canadian project through UN-HABITAT for a project to support land conflict mediation in eastern DRC. The project is helping to prevent local conflicts by reducing the number of cases linked to the return of IDPs and refugees. Through this contribution, Canada is now a leader among international donors in developing local mediation programs.
Canada is engaged in projects to prevent armed groups from benefiting from illegal taxation and smuggling of natural resources. Since 2009 Canada has contributed $3 million for the fight against conflict minerals and for more transparency in the mining sector in eastern DRC through support to the International Conference on the Great Lakes regional certification mechanism, the OECD'S due diligence guidelines for responsible supply chain and natural resources management, the registration of artisanal miners, and the building of supervised trading centres.
Although the DRC and the region of the Great Lakes have made notable progress in terms of peace and stability in the past 10 years, a lot remains to be done. In spite of the challenges described earlier, we hope that the future electoral process will be a success leading to sustainable peace and stability, which implies protection of women's rights in the DRC and the area as a whole. Canada will continue to bring its support in order that those issues be resolved.
My colleagues and I look forward to taking your questions. Thank you.
