On the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Development Cooperation Minister Charles Michel is calling for an immediate end to the humanitarian drama that is currently affecting people in eastern Congo, where the warring factions are using sexual violence as a weapon of war. Every day, women are being raped, kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.
Belgium is playing a pioneering role in the fight against sexual violence. Minister Michel has made combating this tragedy a political priority. He is also calling for stronger action to be taken in the form of a global approach and making a great effort to ensure that this problematic issue is included on the international agenda.
In June, when he addressed the UN Security Council on Belgium's behalf he called for a UN Special Envoy appointed by the UN Secretary-general to systematically collect information and gather material already available in the field, either in the course of peacekeeping operations, via UN agencies or through other actors in the field. He also highlighted the importance of ensuring that victims are given proper access to the ICC.
The actions taken against sexual violence by Belgian Development Cooperation rest on three main pillars: the provision of medical assistance to victims, reintegration and the fight against impunity. At the start of the year, Minister Michel decided to support the joint programme in the DRC by UNICEF, the UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2008 and 2011. At the same time, Belgium is also supporting the REJUSCO programme to fight against impunity.
Back in September Minister Michel also signed up to the "Say no to violence against women" campaign run by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), sponsored by the actress Nicole Kidman. That campaign set out to put an end to violence perpetrated against women.