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Genital mutilation

MONUC: DDRRR, DDR, military and rule of law reform - reducing violence against women (Recommendations for change)

Towards the reduction of violence against women in the post-conflict context of the DRC

Authors: ; Actionaid
Publisher: ActionAid International, 2006

Full text of document

This Action Aid paper makes five key recommendations for changes to the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). In addition it sets out further recommendations under each area of Disarmament, Demobilisation, Repatriation, Reinsertion, and Reintegration (DDRRR), Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), and military, police and judicial reform. The paper links these areas with the issue of violence against women.

Key Recommendations for change in MONUC mandate include:

  • establish a task force on the rule of law, to be lead by MONUC, to coordinate donors’ efforts in the judicial sector. This should be a forum where all donors and Congolese are represented
  • strengthen MONUC’s Rule of Law unit to enhance national capacity-building and mentoring in the judicial sector
  • increase the number of individual UN civilian police officers to be deployed at more police stations in the provinces
  • urge the new government to conduct a vetting process of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and offer to assist and train vetting teams to achieve this aim. The continued violence conducted by FARDC forces suggests that there is an urgent need to address the issue of vetting
  • keep the existing number of UN military troops in the DRC for a minimum period of a year because of the current prevailing insecurity in many parts of the country, particularly in the East

Further recommendations are:

  • support a process of transitional justice by promoting ‘internationalised’ courts or accompaniment of domestic judges – agreed to by relevant stakeholders – thereby ensuring accountability and enhancing security and stability
  • increase the number of international correctional officers
  • encourage donors to support prison reform and ensure donor commitments, particularly to building separate military and civilian prisons and separate prisons for men, women and juveniles as to minimise abuse