UN envoy urges probe into alleged rapes during expulsions from Angola to DR Congo

Following reports of alleged rapes of women deported from Angola to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a senior United Nations official has called on both countries to investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“It is important not only to get an accurate picture of what has happened, but also to clarify who has perpetrated the suspected human rights violations, and that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” Margot Wallström, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, said in a statement issued yesterday.

The UN humanitarian arm said earlier this week that, according to unconfirmed but reliable reports, more than 150 Congolese arrived in the Tembo area of Bandundu province in western DRC, alleging to have been expelled by Angolan authorities.

Local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reported that they were told that two men had been killed and that 30 women were raped multiple times in the course of the expulsion, added the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Ms. Wallström urged the Governments of both Angola and DRC to “do their utmost to protect their populations, particularly women and children.”

Wallstrom