Healthcare providers in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) treated more than 17,000 victims of sexual violence in just five months last year, according to a newly released United Nations report. The disturbing figures, contained in UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence, highlight the alarming scale of abuse in the region as fighting between Congolese forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group escalated.
The report reveals that the cases were registered between January and May 2024 in North Kivu province, one of the areas hardest hit by the ongoing conflict. Survivors reported suffering from violent sexual assaults, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, and penetration with objects, often carried out by multiple perpetrators. Many of the victims required urgent medical care and psychosocial support to address both the physical and psychological trauma inflicted by these brutal attacks.
The ongoing war in eastern DRC has exacted a devastating toll on civilians, with thousands of people killed and millions displaced over the past year. Despite a Qatar-mediated agreement reached between the Congolese government and M23 rebels in late 2024—intended to pave the way for a ceasefire—the violence has persisted. The peace efforts, which run parallel to United States-brokered negotiations between Kinshasa and Kigali, have so far failed to halt the hostilities or stem the wave of sexual violence engulfing the region.
International human rights organizations and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in the DRC’s decades-long conflict, with women, girls, and sometimes men targeted in systematic attacks aimed at terrorizing communities. The UN’s findings underscore the urgent need for stronger protection measures, accountability for perpetrators, and sustained peace efforts to address both the immediate humanitarian crisis and the root causes of the conflict.
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