GENEVA, Switzerland, July 22 (UPI) -- The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo must find ways to counter the systemic use of rape as a weapon of war, a U.N. official said.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said reports of sexual violence in the DRC are far too common. An investigation by the United Nations there found that from Dec. 31, 2010, to Jan. 1, 2011, more than 45 women were victims of sexual violence, including rape, in the DRC villages in North Kivu.
"Rape and sexual violence have, for too long, been systematically used as weapon of war by various armed elements in the DRC," she said in a statement. "The government must prioritize reinforcement of the capacity of the justice system, with the support of the international community."
The U.N. report noted it couldn't pinpoint who was behind the sexual violence though members of the Congolese armed forces were allegedly behind some of the acts. Military forces armed with machetes and rifles were accused of launching attacks on DRC villages on the grounds they were countering insurgent support.
DRC is set of elections in November. Local aid groups told the United Nations' humanitarian news agency IRIN that U.N. peacekeepers aren't trusted in the region and political neutrality in the military in the country is absent.
