Udenrigsudvalget 2018-19 (1. samling)
URU Alm.del Bilag 115
Offentligt
Hearing in the Danish Parliament
Wednesday, January 30, at 9.30-12.30 pm
Landsting Hall at Christiansborg
Taking stock of GBV and SGBV in conflicts in DRC
Mr President
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to thank the organizing committee and honorable members of this august
Assembly for the time and the slot offered to me to speak about SGBV in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and contributions of the United Nations Population Fund to reduce the
suffering, touch, transform and save women’s and adolescent girls in DRC.
My name is Sennen Hounton, I am the Resident Representative of the United Nations
Population Fund since December 2017.
Ladies and Gentlemen, 10 days after I presented my credentials, I went on a tour of all our
UNFPA operations in the field including in the humanitarian hubs. It was during these field
visits that I met the legendary Denis Mukwege. I did not know I was meeting the future Nobel
Peace Prize, -
I would have taken more pictures
- but I could sense immediately I was in
front of someone very special. Being a physician myself and having worked in remote areas
and doing surgeries with little it is not the medical miracles that impressed me. It is not his
punctuality, or welcoming charm that impressed me. No, what impressed me are the humanity,
the sense of duty, the commitment despite several assassination attempts, the energy to keep
going, to keep fighting for women and girls. What impressed me is the holistic approach
developed for survivors (Foundation Panzi), the patience amid the price to pay (himself, his
family and his team). We all have seen horrors, we know or have learned about about child
marriage, gender based violence in all countries,
how do you process a six months old baby
raped by adults?, how do you process the destruction of women and girls genital after
rapes with knives, woods, bayonet as weapon of war? How do you process that?
These
are some of the atrocities women and girls face in conflicts affected areas on top of a prevailing
GBV
Mr President,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
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 URU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 115: Materiale fra høring om seksuel vold som krigsvåben den 30. januar 2019
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the size of Western Europe, one of the richest
countries in the world (in natural resources, mines, oil, land, forest, fertile soil) but which has
been in protracted humanitarian crises with acute hotspots for two decades. Crises include
military conflicts, inter-communal violence, epidemic outbreaks, natural disasters and refugee
influxes from neighboring countries. The population is predominantly poor, with 63 percent
living on less than one dollar a day, with fertility rate as high as 8 to children per woman in
several provinces. Births by adolescents between 15 to 19 years of age represent 10% of total
births, early marriage is high with 43% of women aged 25
–
49 married by the age of 18,
sexual violence has been experienced by one women aged more than 15 over 4 and intimate
partner violence in Congolese society can touch up to 52% of women at reproductive age. In
the DRC, girls face all kinds of economic and cultural pressures that push them into early
sexuality and 64% of adolescent girls undergo forced sexual initiation or have had their first
sexual encounter in a non-consensual manner. But it is women aged 20-29 who are the most
frequently abused. Indeed, 46% of women in union experienced physical violence and beating
from their partner.
This overall underline picture is similar to what we observe in many sub Saharan African
countries and in many parts of the world where the status of women is very low.
This is why, we at the
United Nations Population Fund
, are deeply appreciative and thankful
to Canada, many Nordic Countries including Denmark, and the European Union for the
support we receive for SRH, gender equality, women empowerment both at global level as
well as at country level such as in DRC.
So what have we been doing?
Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
For the last 10 years the picture and status of women has improved a lot in DRC, thanks to a
coalition of will, thanks to people like Dr Denis Mukwege and many women advocates and
champions, thanks to donors like you and organizations such as UNFPA, UNICEF, the peace
keeping mission (MONUSCO) and international NGOs such as Oxfam, MSF, Save the
Children…some of the progresses include:
I would like to talk briefly about Prevention,
Response and Coordination
Prevention
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 URU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 115: Materiale fra høring om seksuel vold som krigsvåben den 30. januar 2019
1. Breaking the silence on GBV
: In 2003, UNFPA supported the Congolese women and
later Panzi Hospital to break the silence on GBV advocating to the international
community that sexual violence is as a major violation of human rights. The
Government has prosecuted high level officials (Generals, Gouvernors, Mayors, etc.)
convicted of rapes on minors as a deterrent to impunity in armed forces
2. Establishing protection mechanisms such as special unit in the Police for women
and child protection
: which allow early reporting of incidents, increased engagement
of stakeholders, large advocacy and better self-protection. This has been possible with
multilevel and multi-dimensional partnership with communities, national authorities,
civil society, peacekeeping missions and humanitarian organizations.
3. Behavior change communication campaigns
: organized by the government and civil
society to end GBV, amplifying these initiatives and applying grassroots strategies in
its areas of intervention; using social media, male engagement and work with national
security entities,
4. High level advocacy led to adopting of many protection laws in the Parliament:
In
2006 Law against Sexual Violence promulgated; in 2015 Law on Women Rights; in
2016 a new family code adopted; in 2009 the government adopted a National Strategy
on Gender Based Violence; and in 2015 a National Action Plans on Early Marriage
(2015) and National Plan on Sexual Violence with the National Army (2015) and Police
(2015).
5.
Lastly, UNFPA supports the Office of Personal Representative of Head of State on
Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Child Soldier for policy dialogue, advocacy for
fighting against impunity and to monitor the engagements of the Army and the Police.
This has worked with the delisting of DRC in the use of children as militias and we hope
the same with GBV
Response
If we have made significant progress with prevention, the response is very timid given lack of
adequate resources and we need more Government leadership in humanitarian prepardness
and response, capacity building of civil society & local NGOs, more « One-Stop-Centers » as
holistic response model, and health commodities (dignity kits, emergency reproductive health
kits)
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 URU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 115: Materiale fra høring om seksuel vold som krigsvåben den 30. januar 2019
1.
In 2018, more than 26,000 cases of sexual violence accessed medical services with
support of UNFPA and others partners. In humanitarian settings, UNFPA provide also
women-friendly spaces that are safe spaces where women can organize various
psychosocial and advocacy activities, including individual and collective counselling.
2.
UNFPA support capacity building of service providers to provide medical care, psycho
social support, legal assistance and reintegration. The Integrated multi sectorial services
approach developed by Panzi Hospital has been scale up with support of UNFPA in 4
provinces of the country. UNFPA support the health system in providing post rape kits
for medical assistance
3.
According to the DRC’s humanitarian response plan (2017-2019),
for 2019 out of a
population of 12 million in need, 4,768,400 women and girls are at risk of multiple
forms of GBV, of whom 60,000 are at risk of sexual violence. According to the National
Health Information System (SNIS), in 2018, some 26,418 new incidents of rape have
been treated in the health facilities of the provinces affected by the humanitarian crisis.
4.
We work closely with UNDP, UNICEF and other partners to provide a holistic response.
We have launched a multi-donor impact evaluation of GBV programming in DRC since
2005 that will inform the revision of the new National GBV Strategy following the
evaluation
Coordination and leadership
1. GBV Sub Cluster: As
a full member of the IASC (Inter-Agency Standing
Committee)
and lead agency for the coordination of GBV in humanitarian setting
within the Protection Cluster as such
UNFPA leads in DRC the GBV sub cluster
decentralized in 7 provinces affected by crisis and composed of approximately by 45
members that represent civil society, UN, Government and the international NGO.
2.
Humanitarian Country team with a dedicated programme on protection against
sexual exploitation and abuses (PSEA) and accountability to affected populations
(AAP)
led by UNFPA with the humanitarian community.
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 URU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 115: Materiale fra høring om seksuel vold som krigsvåben den 30. januar 2019
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3.
Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) Task Force for victims assistance co-led
with
the United Nations peace keeping mission (MONUSCO) and UNICEF for services to
GBV survivors.
4.
National Database for GBV:
established by the Ministry of Gender with support of
UNFPA since 2010. UNFPA is now modernizing the database in partnership with a
telephone company, Vodacom, to have timely data while keeping the highest standards
of ethic in working with survivors. UNFPA is the reference for government on data for
accountability (National GBV Database).
5. Donor conference in Geneva in April 2018 for the humanitarian response in DRC,
UNFPA has pledged for 68.2 M of USD for GBV response in humanitarian hotspot.
Preliminary analysis shows than approximately 36% of the requested amount has been
dedicated to GBV response
Closing statement
Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
1. As I close, I would like you to take a look at the girl on the front page flyer we shared
with you.
Her name is MWAMINI BANYERE. She is only 19 years old, an orphan
by father, is a mother of two children (one the Children is attending primary school,
and a toddler) but not in union. She is living with her mother and is the bread winner
of her family. At 19, girls should be thinking or attending University. Her rights have
been violated, she was not a victim of SGBV in conflicts but a GBV survivor. With
our support through one of our projects in Kitchanga, Nord Kivu she is now
rebuilding her life. The smile on
MWAMINI’s
face, the smile of all survivors of GBV
or SGBV is our objective.
With your tax-payers contribution we will be able to bring
this smile on the face of thousands of girls and women and share the results with you.
[I can also direct the audience to the last page of the flyer and say something like I am
sure we will see very soon the Denmark flag listed next to all our UNFPA contributors
through co-financing in DRC if you think appropriate]
2.
I would like to finish by thanking you again for your attention and the opportunity to
share with you the situation of GBV and SGBV in DRC and the role and contribution
of the United Nations Population Fund, the lead UN agency for prevention and response
to GBV and SGBV in conflicts as illustrated by the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winners,
bot supported by UNFPA.
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