VZCZCXRO1419
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0615/01 1801350
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291350Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9801
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 KINSHASA 000615 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID FOR DCHA/DG, DCHA/OFDA, GH/PRH, AFR/DP, AFR/SD, AA/AFR, 
AFR/EA, and AFR/SD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KJUS KWMN KOCI AF CG
SUBJECT:    REQUEST FOR INCREASED ENGAGEMENT ON EFFORTS TO 
            CURB GENDER BASED VIOLENCE 
 
REF:      A. STATE 64939; 
  ¶B. KINSHASA 546 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Although a strategy to combat sexual violence in 
the DRC has been created, the GDRC has yet to implement it due to 
its extremely low level of capacity.  The USG helps fund activities 
to fight sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in North Kivu, 
South Kivu, Orientale, Maniema, and Katanga provinces.  The 
effectiveness of programs to combat SGBV is limited due to the 
challenging logistical, institutional and cultural environment in 
the DRC.  Justice for SGBV crimes is very low as the majority cases 
are never brought to trial.  Through its DIILS program, the USG is 
helping to equip military judges to hold members of the armed forces 
accountable for SGBV.  Women's empowerment centers exist and are 
supported by USAID in Maniema and Ituri District.  MONUC's Conduct 
and Discipline Unit directly trained 3,620 peacekeepers in 2008 on 
its zero tolerance policy regarding SGBV, with a total of 31,097 
receiving training through coordinated initiatives with MONUC 
partners.  Even though MONUC peacekeepers have no powers of arrest, 
they do have the power to detain and transfer perpetrators to the 
Congolese authorities.  The GDRC has not been active in engaging 
community leaders or responding at the community level to SGBV. 
Post has taken an active role in the international donors' Thematic 
Sub-Group on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which seeks to 
promote more effective coordination by bringing together the range 
of SGBV actors and stakeholders, particularly the Ministry of 
Gender, Family, and Children.  Efforts of greater concern and value 
need to include a generational approach to changing the attitudes of 
the DRC population to better understand the value and roles of women 
in society.  It is clear, however, that SGBV will stop only when 
perpetrators are actually held accountable for their violent crimes. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2.  Note:  Responses to the questions found in paragraph 4 of ref A 
can be found as follows:  the answer to 4a. is at paragraphs 3-4; 
answer to 4b. is at paragraphs 5-14; answer to 4c. is at paragraphs 
15-22; answer to 4d. is at paragraphs 23-24; answer to 4e. is at 
paragraph 25; answer to 4f. is at paragraphs 26-27; answer to 4g. is 
at paragraph 28; and answer to 4h. is at paragraphs 29-32.  End 
note. 
 
GDRC Efforts to Curb SGBV 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) SGBV is endemic throughout the DRC and has been further 
exacerbated by armed conflict in the eastern and northeastern parts 
of the country.  The capacity of the GRDC to combat SGBV is 
extremely low.  However, MONUC and the Ministry of Gender jointly 
announced April 1 the release of a comprehensive strategy to combat 
sexual violence in the DRC.  It is a four-part strategy that targets 
the fight against impunity, prevention and protection, security 
sector reform, and victim assistance.  The strategy has yet to be 
implemented due to a lack of resources and lack of capacity in the 
GDRC.  MONUC, UNHCR, and UNFPA have been tasked to help implement 
the strategy and to help build capacity in the GDRC. 
 
¶4.  (U) Congolese military courts have in the last few months 
convicted both Congolese army (FARDC) soldiers and Mai Mai rebels of 
rape in a couple of high profile trials (See ref b).  The successful 
prosecutions are laudable; however they were made possible thanks 
entirely to constant and direct logistical and technical assistance 
from MONUC.  In one of the trials, the military prosecutors received 
previous training through the USG-funded Defense Institute of 
International Legal Studies (DIILS). 
 
USG and Other Donor Programs 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) USAID/DRC implements programs in North and South Kivu, the 
special district of Ituri in Orientale Province, and Maniema 
Province through cooperative agreements to international NGOs that 
provide capacity-building to local NGOs and community-based 
organizations.  Local organizations then identify and deliver 
services to rape and abuse survivors.  USAID also assists hospitals 
to provide fistula repair services.  USAID programs provide care and 
treatment services for SGBV survivors, including access to medical 
care, counseling and family mediation, and social and economic 
reintegration support.  Community awareness activities educate and 
mobilize local communities, including traditional leaders and 
women's groups, to promote women's rights, acceptance of rape 
survivors, and protection of the whole community.  USAID 
implementing partners consult on a regular basis with local 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  002 OF 007 
 
 
authorities and activities promote awareness of SGBV among community 
leaders and other officials. 
 
¶6.  (U) In late FY 2009, USAID intends to award a new, $7 million, 
three-year program to prevent and respond to SGBV in North and South 
Kivu provinces in the DRC.  This program, which is expected to reach 
well over 10,000 survivors, emphasizes partnerships with national 
and local NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), and government 
institutions to provide services in an effort to increase and 
improve organizational and community capacity to respond effectively 
to SGBV and to facilitate the physical, psychological, and economic 
recovery of survivors.  Planned activities also include 
interventions that empower women to participate in community 
activities that promote women's ownership of local initiatives, 
particularly economic strengthening activities. 
 
¶7.  (U) USAID Democracy and Governance programs seek to fight 
impunity through legal reforms, advocacy, and legal services to 
survivors, including promotion of rights and access to mobile courts 
and legal aid clinics. 
 
¶8.  (U) Projects funded through USAID/DRC's Office of Foreign 
Disaster Assistance include emergency health projects in North Kivu 
that integrate medical services for Internally Displaced Persons 
(IDPs) and SGBV survivors in North Kivu province 
 
¶9.  (U) State Department funded programs via the Bureau for 
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and the Bureau for 
Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), have also helped the USG 
to take an active role in addressing SGBV in the DRC.  DRL supported 
projects promoted human rights, provided legal services to SGBV 
survivors, and helped build the capacity of local NGOs, justice 
sector and law enforcement personnel, and the media.  PRM funded 
activities are currently providing counseling support and medical 
care to returning refugees, many of whom are survivors of GBV, in 
Katanga and South Kivu Provinces.  In addition, PRM's contribution 
to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helps in part 
to fund activities that address SGBV in North and South Kivu.  ICRC 
officials engage with armed actors regarding SGBV issues, provide 
psycho-social training to local NGOs, and provide victim assistance 
through 38 temporary shelters ("maisons d'ecoute") in North and 
South Kivu.  Post's Public Diplomacy section has also sponsored a 
series of SGBV workshops and music recordings. 
 
¶10.  (U) Since 2004, international donors have supported a combined 
initiative to respond to Gender-Based Violence in the DRC.   The 
Joint Initiative against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence includes 
representatives of the DRC Government, NGOs and United Nations 
organizations.  The UN Fund for Population (UNFPA) is the lead 
United Nations (UN) agency, with UNICEF and the UN Joint Human 
Rights Office (UNJHRO) as "executing agencies."  Funding is provided 
by Belgium, Canada, UNFPA and the UN Development Program (UNDP). 
Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Germany contribute to NGOs that 
are part of the Joint Initiative.  The program has four components: 
medical and health care, psycho-social support and economic 
reintegration, legal assistance, and security and protection. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The Joint Initiative also advocates for inclusion of SGBV 
prevention in the political agenda of the country.  The Initiative 
works with the Congolese Ministries of Gender, Justice, Defense, and 
Interior, through training and information-sharing sessions for the 
police and the military.  UNFPA is charged with both a coordination 
role and a project management role.  Coordinating mechanisms exist 
at the national level and in the provinces.  Belgium has provided 
support to the Joint Initiative for SGBV response and prevention 
programs in Equateur, Orientale, and Maniema.  Canada has supported 
the Joint Initiative in North and South Kivu.  UNFPA, UNICEF, and 
UNJHRO support local partners who provide services to survivors. 
Funding is slated to end this year; it is unclear whether Belgium 
and Canada, the two main donors, will continue to support this 
initiative.  The government of the Netherlands has also contributed 
$11 million to support programs to prevent and respond to SGBV in 
Maniema and South Kivu provinces. 
 
Effectiveness of Programs 
------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) USAID programs providing support to SGBV survivors have 
resulted in more than 100,000 survivors receiving critical care and 
treatment services.  USAID's model is one of a holistic package of 
services, with built-in referral systems to ensure that an 
identified survivor has access to appropriate available services. 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  003 OF 007 
 
 
These care and treatment programs have been effective at reaching 
survivors where no care was previously available.  Longer term 
prevention efforts, including attacking impunity through judicial 
and security sector reforms have not yet proven to be effective. 
The network of service providers has been successful to the extent 
that providers and local NGOs can co-locate services.  Training 
community counselors to identify, refer, and provide case management 
to survivors has been another successful intervention. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Programmatic challenges in the field include: (1) 
continued lack of understanding and stigma around SGBV in local 
communities, resulting in poor acceptance of SGBV and a fear to come 
forward for care, treatment, and support; (2) the lack of medical 
facilities equipped with materials and trained personnel to treat 
SGBV survivors, particularly in remote areas; (3) the need for 
closer and longer term follow up and case management of survivors, 
particularly mental health care and economic assistance, once they 
have received care and treatment services; (4) the lack of a 
functioning judicial system causes fear of extra-judicial reprisals 
among survivors, which makes bringing legal cases forward 
problematic; (5) the need for standardization of care and treatment 
procedures in emergency settings; (6) populations that are difficult 
to access due to lack of infrastructure and insecurity; (7) the 
limited number of survivors who reach services (or are willing to 
come forward for treatment) within 72 hours, to be eligible to 
receive Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) kits. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) In terms of improving programs to respond to SGBV and 
facilitate the recovery of survivors, some interventions that would 
make programs more effective include the following: 
 
-- (1) Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and retooling 
current interventions, particularly in the area of counseling and 
psychological assistance, to ensure the programs are supporting 
survivors in the most effective way to recover from their trauma; 
 
-- (2) Continue to refine the network and referral system of 
providers to ensure that services are accessible to the most remote 
populations, with an eye on bringing specialized medical and 
psychological services closer to survivors, to reduce the physical 
and financial burden of travelling to existing facilities; 
 
-- (3) Implement communications strategies to try to address 
underlying root causes of violence, at the community level and to 
bring about a public dialogue nationally on SGBV-for example, 
engaging political leadership to publicly denounce SGBV and take 
action against perpetrators; 
 
-- (4) Ensure better physical protection and survivor support 
setting in emergency settings, particularly IDP camps; 
 
-- (5) Continue to strengthen the legal system; 
 
-- (6) Create a more sustainable intervention to assist in the 
socio-economic recovery of survivors, through viable income 
generating activities, self-help groups, and women's empowerment 
activities. 
 
Justice for SGBV Crimes 
----------------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) The percent of perpetrators of SGBV brought to justice is 
minimal.  To the extent that statistics exist, they are fragmentary 
and collected by several UN agencies.  To date, a central database 
to record instances of SGBV has yet to be created.   Although there 
have been recent prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing of 
government soldiers and illegal armed group members in SGBV cases, 
these proceedings represent a small percentage of the incidents of 
GBV. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) The 2007 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) points to 
alarming data about rape and sexual violence in the DRC.  The DHS 
reported that nearly 75 percent of women throughout the country have 
suffered from spousal or partner abuse, whether physical, emotional, 
or sexual.  Nearly two-thirds of women reported suffering from 
physical violence since age 15, and nearly half of women suffered 
violence during the past 12 months, with married women reporting 
higher levels of violence.  Sixteen percent of women have been 
forced to have intercourse against their will at some point in their 
lives.  The legal system provides little protection to women who 
experience such violence, and support networks or advocacy 
organizations to address this fundamental gender inequality are 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  004 OF 007 
 
 
minimal at best.  This perceived gender inequity and the related 
violence against girls and women provides a backdrop for the 
persistence of different forms of SGBV in the DRC. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) The human and material capacity of the DRC civilian and 
military justice system is almost nonexistent, and those facilities 
and personnel that do operate are in need of repair, retraining, and 
additional financial resources.  Years of administrative and 
budgetary neglect have resulted in a system based on non-official 
payments for the provision of judicial services. 
 
¶18.  (SBU) International community and USG efforts to build 
awareness within the DRC government to the seriousness of the SGBV 
problem are undertaken primarily within the context of security 
sector reform coordination.  The involvement of the national 
security services, primarily the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), but 
including the national police (PNC) and other agencies as well, in 
incidents of SGBV is well documented.   There is a strong need to 
create a unified, professional army to protect the territorial 
integrity of the DRC from internal and external threats.  However, 
the will and capacity of the international community to support and 
work alongside the DRC security services is compromised due to 
recurrent SGBV being perpetrated by the GDRC's own forces. 
 
 
¶19.  (SBU) In 2006, USAID supported efforts to draft and pass the 
seminal Law Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, enabling the 
judiciary to prosecute these cases. The new law raised the age of 
consent to 18 and outlined specific punishments for varying levels 
of SGBV for perpetrators.  To date, a limited number of cases has 
been brought to court; the majority of these cases have been treated 
in military courts as they involve either military personnel or were 
perpetrated with a weapon.  Cases in South Kivu that have been tried 
through the civilian court system have mainly involved child 
survivors, while those in the military courts have involved women 
survivors.  The main constraint continues to be cultural perceptions 
around gender equality and attitudes toward SGBV.  For example, 
women are unable to appear in court without the consent of a male 
head of household, and the legal age of marriage, 14, is below the 
age of consent to sexual relations.  In addition, the stigma 
associated with rape has resulted in shame and humiliation among 
women and men alike, making men unwilling and ashamed to address 
this issue publicly.  Most cases of SGBV, if reported to the 
authorities at all, are settled between individuals by traditional 
chiefs, outside of the formal legal and law enforcement system. 
 
¶20.  (SBU) USG-funded programs support the strengthening of both the 
military and civilian judicial systems.  USAID Democracy and 
Governance programs seek to fight impunity through judicial 
strengthening activities, legal reforms, advocacy, and legal 
services to SGBV survivors, including promotion of rights and access 
to mobile courts.  Since April 2008, USAID has been supporting the 
NGO Global Rights to promote the Law against Sexual and Gender-Based 
Violence and to continue advocacy for justice reforms through 
capacity building to local human rights NGOs.  The program 
implements activities at the local level in South Kivu to gain more 
understanding of community knowledge, attitudes, and practice around 
SGBV.  USAID has also supported immediate access to legal services 
for disadvantaged populations, including SGBV survivors, previously 
through mobile courts.  Current USAID funding includes support for 
legal aid clinics, bar associations and local community leaders to 
monitor court proceedings in remote areas of Equateur, Maniema, and 
South Kivu provinces. 
 
¶21.  (U) USAID's new, $20 million, five-year, rule of law program 
focuses on longer term institutional and human capacity building, 
while still providing much needed immediate access to judicial 
services.  This program, awarded in late FY 2008, is supporting the 
establishment of new judicial institutions, strengthening management 
skills among magistrates and judicial personnel, improving the 
transparency, accessibility and effectiveness of court operations in 
pilot jurisdictions, with an eye on increasing access to justice. 
 
¶22.  (U) The USG-funded military justice program targets the 
technical aspects of sex crimes investigation, and has recently 
expanded to provide command responsibility training, including 
prevention of SGBV, in training modules.  Six FARDC personnel who 
received USG-funded training recently participated in a military 
tribunal that tried and sentenced five irregular militia members to 
prison sentences and fines for acts of GBV.  The technical expertise 
these individuals bring to legal proceedings is effective in raising 
the professional standards of the trials as a punitive measure for 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  005 OF 007 
 
 
SGBV.  However, the effectiveness of the technical, legal 
contributions of these personnel in this and future cases as a 
preventative measure is much more difficult, if not impossible, to 
ascertain at the present time. 
 
Making the FARDC aware of SGBV 
------------------------------ 
 
¶23.  (SBU) USG efforts to create awareness of SGBV within the FARDC 
include DIILS' programs on human rights and sex crimes.  DIILS 
instructors provide three to four days of training for FARDC 
students attending the PKO funded Cadres en Formation Continue (FCC) 
and will provide an expanded version of that training to the Force 
Rapid Reaction (RRF) battalion, now in their second week of 
training.  Additional activities will include the use of NGOs that 
focus on GBV and related issues in our training activities at 
Kisangani.  Each USG-GDRC military-to-military engagement will 
include language that stresses proper soldier behavior toward 
non-combatants. 
 
¶24.  (SBU) Through AFRICOM's Civil Affairs department, Embassy 
Kinshasa's Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) has requested 
long-term engagement (up to 24 months) using Medical Capacity 
(MEDCap) building teams to execute contact missions throughout the 
DRC to identify survivors of GBV and begin the medical and mental 
health treatment process.  Ideally these teams would provide initial 
contact with survivors of SGBV, triage, prioritize, and identify 
survivors for more intensive care only available at regional 
treatment facilities.  These MEDCap teams would consist of physician 
practitioners with specialties in OB/GYN, mental health, and other 
necessary skills.  They would be able to provide initial treatment 
and recommend for further care.  While DoD can execute the MEDCap, 
these elements cannot/cannot onward move identified survivors to 
treatment centers.  Other agencies need to be coordinated into this 
effort to provide movement and treatment at regional medical 
centers. 
 
Women's Empowerment 
------------------- 
 
¶25.  (SBU) Women's empowerment centers exist and are supported by 
USAID in Maniema and Ituri District.  Care centers, or "listening 
houses" ("maisons d'ecoute") are supported by different actors, 
particularly in the emergency settings of North and South Kivu. 
Education of girls is being promoted through USAID education 
programs and through the Basic Education in Eastern DRC project, 
which provides emergency education in vulnerable, displaced, and 
returnee populations.  USAID emergency health programs all have 
components to treat SGBV survivors.  These programs are supported by 
international NGOs and UN agencies, with little support from or 
participation by the Government of the DRC.  Protection, as well as 
care and treatment for SGBV survivors, is woven into USAID and other 
donor-supported humanitarian assistance programs, but the current 
capacity level of the GDRC does not permit its full engagement in 
the protection and care for these vulnerable populations. 
 
MONUC Works with Troop-Contributing Countries 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶26.  (SBU) MONUC's Conduct and Discipline Unit 
(CDU) directly trained 3,620 peacekeepers in 2008, with a total of 
31,097 receiving training through coordinated initiatives with MONUC 
partners.  The CDU regularly makes visits to the field to conduct 
assessments.  The MONUC SEA Focal Point network continues to assist 
the CDU and senior management in training.  In summer 2008 the SRSG 
established a Conduct and Discipline Advisory Committee, comprising 
a multi-division effort, to reinforce MONUC's commitment to fight 
sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). 
 
MONUC's SGBV Rules of Engagement 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶27.  (U) In accordance with its current UNSC mandate for protection 
of civilians, MONUC peacekeepers are charged with helping to prevent 
and respond to cases of sexual violence.  However, MONUC has no 
powers of arrest.  It does, however, have the power to detain and 
transfer perpetrators to the Congolese authorities.  MONUC is 
authorized to use all force necessary to protect all civilians who 
are being physically threatened or who are in imminent danger. 
MONUC peacekeepers also have a role of deterrence through joint 
security patrols and training with the Congolese military and police 
(FARDC and PNC respectively).  MONUC defers to the FARDC and PNC for 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  006 OF 007 
 
 
formal arrest procedures. 
 
Awareness Campaigns Targeting Male Leaders 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶28.  (U) The GDRC has not been active in engaging community leaders 
or responding to SGBV at the community level; in certain regions 
there is no state presence or authority at all.  However, USAID/DRC 
programs include interventions that promote discussion about the 
collective and individual impact of SGBV and a sense of 
responsibility to protect individuals, at the community level.  New 
programs are giving particular attention to the mobilization of men, 
religious, and community leaders to speak out against SGBV, with 
specific communications strategies that encourage boys and men to 
question and change social expectations and gender roles around male 
behavior with respect to sexuality, violence, and dominance. 
 
Donor Coordination 
------------------ 
 
¶29.  (SBU) Post has taken an active role in the Thematic Sub-Group 
on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which seeks to raise awareness 
within the Government of the DRC (GDRC) and donor community through 
advocacy activities and promote more effective coordination by 
bringing together the range of SGBV actors and stakeholders, 
particularly the Ministry of Gender, Family, and Children.  This 
Thematic Group brings together UN agencies that are administering 
and implementing the Joint Initiative, civil society, bilateral and 
multilateral donors, and the host government. 
 
¶30.  (U) In 2009, the United Nations released the "Comprehensive 
Strategy on Combating Sexual Violence in the DRC," a document 
developed in consultation with relevant UN agencies, international 
NGOs, and GDRC counterparts, such as the Ministries of Justice, 
Defense, Interior, Gender and Health.  The aim of the strategy is to 
create a common framework and platform for action for all those 
involved in combating sexual violence in DRC in line with successive 
United Nations Security Council resolutions.  The Ministry of 
Gender, Family, and Children has been closely involved with the UN's 
effort to develop a strategy and has adopted it as a national 
strategy. 
 
¶31.  (U) The Joint Initiative on Sexual Violence in the DRC provides 
support to the GDRC, in particular the Ministry of Gender, Family, 
and Children, to increase capacity to advocate for and coordinate 
prevention and response efforts. 
 
¶32.  (SBU) Although these mechanisms exist to coordinate GBV 
strategic direction and interventions in the DRC, across the range 
of many actors at the national level and in the field, coordination 
among donors and implementers is often perceived as challenging and 
poorly executed.  The problem seems especially acute in North and 
South Kivu, according to UNFPA and implementing partners, especially 
in the most insecure and emergency contexts.  At the national level, 
donor-government coordination has been somewhat improved over the 
last year by the creation of the Thematic Group. 
 
¶33.  (SBU) Comment:  Future anti-SGBV efforts of greater concern and 
value should include a generational approach to changing the 
attitudes of the DRC population to better understand the value and 
roles of women in society.  Without addressing this fundamental 
cultural discrepancy, women will continue to be viewed as property. 
The issue also must be addressed in the educational system of the 
country and will require decades to change individual and community 
behavior in this society. 
 
¶34.  (SBU) Comment continued:  The requirements to respond 
effectively and to prevent SGBV in the DRC are seemingly endless. 
This problem is not only acute in the insecure and conflict-ridden 
provinces of eastern Congo; it is prevalent country wide. 
Strategically, however, the USG has focused its resources over the 
years in addressing the SGBV epidemic in eastern DRC, in an effort 
to respond to a crisis situation and to demonstrate USG action in 
the areas that are most covered by the international media. 
Additional resources to address SGBV in the DRC are welcomed; with 
$10 million per year, programs to treat survivors can be sustained 
and expanded, and longer term prevention efforts can be initiated. 
 
¶35.  (SBU) Comment continued:  It is clear, however, that SGBV will 
stop only when perpetrators are actually held accountable for their 
violent crimes.  Ending conflict in eastern DRC will not put a stop 
to SGBV in the country.  In fact, in more stable areas, statistics 
 
KINSHASA 00000615  007 OF 007 
 
 
point to a rise in the number of rapes and assaults committed by 
civilians rather than by armed groups. 
 
¶36.  (SBU) The USG may want to use as leverage the increase or 
reduction of financial aid to the DRC when discussing SGBV with 
host-country officials.  At the present time it is unclear whether 
there is political will within the GDRC to seriously address and 
combat SGBV.  End comment. 
 
BROCK