In response to the visit of Mrs. Hilary Clinton to DR Congo

By Father Justin Nkunzi

It is with regret that one student's question to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a public discussion at a town hall in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa - where she was visiting as part of her tour of Africa - about her husband's thoughts on a multi-billion dollar Chinese trade deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, only lead journalists to report on 'Clinton Versus Clinton' rather than on the issue of sexual violence, that she came there to discuss.

Mrs Clinton had arrived in a country where horrific sexual violence and torture have traumatised society in both North and South Kivu and we have long been suffering from this phenomenon, which has worsened due to military operations against the Rwandan Liberation Democratic Forces (FDLR) and the activities of other armed groups. The sexual violence against women and girls and increasingly men, is destroying families and communities. The perpetrators know that the most effective way of humiliating a man is to rape his wife and daughter(s), and so women and girls live in daily fear of rape. The population of South Kivu is estimated at 1.5million. In 2008 14,000 rapes were recorded, the actual figure is thought to be greater than this because many survivors do not tell, as they cannot face the stigma which for many means rejection by family and community.

We hope that Mrs Clinton will take back to Washington not her annoyance at a wrongly appropriated question but the words of the women she met who have suffered the ordeal of rape and other atrocities. We hope she will use her position to strongly call on our Congolese leaders and neighbours to sit down and pull together a lasting peace, which gives back security, livelihoods and dignity to our people.

The appalling reality is that the cruel use of rape as a weapon of war will continue as long as well-armed militia remain active, often competing with each other for access to mines which produce valuable minerals such as gold, casiterite and coltan, enabling militias to continue their illegal activities of personal enrichment and sexual brutality with impunity. There needs to be a serious commitment to disarming all militia and bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice. Yes, we are still in need of humanitarian aid; food and shelter, but this means very little if we cannot see justice being done,justice which gives back life to people who are suffering.

Whilst we continue to wait for justice, the work of Bukavu's Justice and Peace Commission will continue to support women through the network of 'listening rooms', places where women survivors of rape together with other members of their communities can come together to be comforted, to receive counselling and help to overcome the trauma of their ordeal.

The Congolese people deserve the compassion and support of the entire humanitarian community. We are a people who have the sheer will to survive and to hope for better lives. We do not believe that the situation we face is forever. We like anyone else have dreams of a future that is a just and peaceful one, a future where there is reconciliation and peoples living together with dignity.

Hillary Clinton, you can play a role in securing our future. Go back to Washington and start to lay the political and diplomatic foundations that would make for a future of true development and economic prosperity for all peoples of DR Congo.

Father Justin Nkunzi is director of CAFOD's partner: Bukavu Justice and Peace Commission.