UNITED NATIONS, September 7, updated -- On the Congo rape scandal, the UN's deputy chief of peacekeeping Atul Khare on Tuesday afternoon delivered a self-serving speech about how the UN Mission MONUSCO could not have stopped the 242 rapes in North Kivu between July 30 and August 2.
Khare said that on “30 July OCHA received unconfirmed information about possible attacks by FDLR on Mpofi... An unconfirmed case of rape in Mpofi was also reported... message was transmitted to humanitarian workers and NGOs by OCHA” in Goma.
Inner City Press has obtained this July 30 e-mail, including the list of UN and NGO individuals to which it was addressed. Each has been asked a series of questions by Inner City Press:
“Upon receipt of the e-mail, what did you do? To whom did you pass the information? What was done in response? What is the policy of your organization on such reports of rape or other war crimes?”
Some responses have arrived, others are awaited, and will be reported soon -- including those who did not respond.
Meanwhile, Khare's briefing mentioned ten rapes by the FARDC -- the Congolese Army -- in Uvira on August 17, which he said the Security Council had asked him to look into, during the Council's August 26 session.
This is troubling not only because Congo's own army is involved.
While Khare and DPKO are accused of withholding information from the Council, some now argue that the Council withheld from the public information about rapes by its partner, the Congolese Army.
Margot Wallstrom, in her testimony, talked about partnering with the Congolese government. On her way in, Inner City Press asked, Did MONUSCU have your cell phone number?
In the UN, everyone has each others numbers, she answered, apparently meaning that the landline of her (unoccupied) office was available to MONUSCO. For shame. Watch this site.
Update of 4:41 pm -- just after Khare's presention, the UN Spokesperson's Office belatedly confirmed the text of the July 30 e-mail, which Inner City Press published word for word last week. Why now?
Update of 4:47 pm -- here's why the UN finally confirmed July 30 email(s) -- Khare called the information uncomfirmed, but the OCHA email, obtained by Inner City Press and published last week, refers without qualification to the rape:
“Message urgent pour les humanitaires -- Selon l’ANR Walikale, la localité de Mpofi 52km de Walikale vient de tomber aux mains des FDLR. Une femme y a été violée. Les humanitaires sont priés de na pas emprunter cette route pour le moment.”
[“Urgent message for the humanitarians - According to ANR Walikali, the locality of Mpofi, 52 kilometers from Walikali, has fallen into the hands of the FDLR. A woman there has been raped. Humanitarians are asked not to use that route for the moment.”]
Now, the UN releases what is says was the underlying DSS email, which refers to "one woman was reportedly raped." Note: that's not what OCHA said.
Update of 5:37 pm -- a source in the consultations says Khare apologized again behind closed doors. The French have proposed a Presidential Statement. There will be a follow-up Council meeting on lessons learned. UN accountability? Not shown.
Update of 6:27 pm-- "elements to the press" on DRC have been agreed to, and will be read out once the Council finishes an "any other business" session on Darfur. Who will pay for the cell phone repeaters? No one knows. Much talk of sacntions on the rapists. But the DRC Permanent Representative told Inner City Press to the side of the stakeout that those responsible have no assets outside of the forest...
Update of 7:42 pm -- finally, the Turkish Ambassador came out and read a statement. Inner City Press asked him about the 10 rapes by the Congolese Army. It is a very serious issue, he said.
Susan Rice said that the follow up meeting is at the US' request. Inner City Press asked about the 10 rapes by FARDC (and about Darfur). Ambassador Rice said that the US took seriously the clean up of the Congolese Army, that five names were given to the government. Inner City Press asked if Bosco Ntaganda, indicted by the ICC, isn't still with the Congolese Army. Not to my knowledge, Ambassador Rice answered.
Finally Atul Khare came to the microphone. On this issue, Inner City Press asked about Ntaganda, who former UN official Patrick Cammaert says walks freely around Goma, and about Colonel Zimulinda / Zimurinda. Khare mentioned officials he had met with, said that the 10 rapes will be prosecuted, but did not answer about Ntagana or Mr. Z.
Inner City Press asked about the July 30 email, since Khare has said that even one rape is "a little bit too much." Khare said that in response to the email, about Mpofi, a patrol went out, and managed to get through to speak to the FARDC. Khare, to his credit, stayed and answered questions about Darfur, to be reported on this site later today.
Update of 8:40 pm -- from the US Mission transcript:
Inner City Press: The, Mr. Khare mentioned at least 10 rapes by the FARDC, by the Congolese Army in Uvira in South Kivu, I wonder if that, since MONUSCO works with the Government, is it easier to make sure that these perpetrators are in fact prosecuted and what steps is the Council going to take?
Ambassador Rice: With respect to the FARDC, this has been an issue that the Council has been seized with for years and during our visit to Congo in 2009 we, the Council and the United States and others, focused on particular commanders who have been identified as perpetrators of violence against civilians. And we have been pressing the Government of Congo to take them out of command and hold them accountable, with some mixed results. Some of the five have been removed, some of them held, some of them under house arrest, and others have escaped. Focusing on the FARDC is not new, and indeed the conditions that the Secretariat and the Security Council have put on cooperation by MONUSCO and previously MONUC with the FARDC are designed to ensure that any units that have engaged in violence against civilians are not the beneficiaries of support and cooperation from MONUSCO.
Inner City Press: Bosco Ntganda is still a part of the government, of the Government? He was one of the names indicted by the ICC.
Ambassador Rice: No, not to my knowledge.
