“Torture a weapon of war against unarmed civilians” - Amnesty

During the past three years, thousands of unarmed civilians have been tortured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said Amnesty International on Tuesday in its latest report “Torture: a weapon of war against unarmed civilians”. In a conflict involving troops from at least six governments and at least as many armed political groups, many forces use torture against unarmed civilians they suspect or know to be opposed to the armed conflict, the government or the armed group to which they belong. According to the report, torture is committed by armed forces of the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda, as well as by armed opposition groups allied to them, such as the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie - Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML), the Congolese Mayi-Mayi and DRC-based Rwandese Hutu armed groups. When asked by Amnesty about reports of torture by their forces, authorities have repeatedly denied that they have ordered or condone the abuses. Rape of girls and women of all ages has been extensively used by all forces. “Many women have been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence by members of the security forces,” the Amnesty report said. However, rape is seriously under-reported because of the social stigma that victims must endure. Journalists have been targeted for torture to intimidate and prevent them from criticising the government, and human rights activists investigating and denouncing human rights abuses have also been tortured, the report noted. Although DRC President Joseph Kabila announced on 8 March 2001 the closure of all unofficial detention centres not supervised by the judiciary, such centres continue to be used to hold criminal suspects and government opponents, according to Amnesty. The detention system is reputed for harsh, cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions. As a result of congestion in prisons, many detainees become seriously ill with little or no access to medical attention or treatment, leading to high rates of mortality. “It is primarily the responsibility of governments to prevent acts of torture and other human rights abuses and to bring alleged perpetrators to justice. Armed political groups too have a duty to prevent their forces from carrying out these abuses, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the report stated. [ For further details, see http://www.amnesty.org.uk/cgi-bin/eatsoup.cgi?id=Ozh08tRDxIcAAEUVHgI]