On June 19, 2023, for the International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the U.K. government imposed targeted sanctions on several individuals involved in conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The targeted sanctions, the Magnitsky sanctions, include freezing orders and travel bans. An asset freeze prevents any U.K. citizen, or any business in the U.K., from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. A travel ban means that the designated person is refused leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom. Among those sanctioned are two militia leaders in the DRC for violating international humanitarian law by commanding groups to carry out acts of sexual violence, Désiré Londroma Ndjukpa and William Yakutumba.
Désiré Londroma Ndjukpa has been involved in violations of international humanitarian law in the DRC, including rape, mass rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, through his role as a leader of the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo. William Yakutumba has been involved in the commission of violations of international humanitarian law in the DRC, including rape, mass rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, through his role as leader of the armed Mai-Mai Yakutumba rebel group. In December 2022, both individuals were also sanctioned by the European Union, among others individuals implicated in serious human rights violations in the DRC, with an asset freeze and a ban on entering European territory.
Imposing such sanctions on individuals involved in CRSV is a powerful tool, especially where other avenues for justice and accountability are not available or severely hampered, as in the DRC.
The use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in the DRC has a long history stemming from colonial occupation. After DRC gained its independence in 1960, sexual violence was included as a method of torture by the Mobutu government but was not prevalent. It is in the mid-1990s that rape became, again, a common occurrence and tool to torture. This wave of atrocities coincides with DRC seeing an influx of foreign, multi-ethnic génocidaires from Rwanda and Uganda, who brought their violent extremist ideology with them and spread crime across DRC, including killings, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual violence. However, while Hutu militants were responsible for some of these atrocities, the government military is not without blame. This violence continued despite the end of the two wars. This ongoing violence was perpetrated by several actors, including M23, a Tutsi-based rebel group supported by foreign governments.
CREDIT: Forbes
