UN panel to hear victims of sexual abuse in Congo

The visit follows the publication of a preliminary UN report after hundreds of civilians were raped in the North Kivu province two months ago. The visit to the troubled regions will involve over 100 hearings in around 10 days.

UN peacekeepers have come under criticism for failing to prevent the four-day campaign of rape in July.

Victims of sexual attacks will be asked to give their experience of the legal, medical or psychological services available to them. They will subsequently be heard by the panel, either alone or in small groups.

The panel includes the UN Deputy High Commissioner for human rights, Kyung-wha Kang, a member of the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims and a doctor who specialises in treating rape victims from the Panzi Hospital in South Kivu.

The aim of the hearings is to improve the treatment, support and compensation currently given to victims.

A UN spokesperson said that it was an opportunity to place victims of sexual abuse at the heart of discussions in order to better understand their actual needs.

Thousands of people are raped each year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where sexual violence is widely used as a weapon of war, but victims have little access to justice.