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DE RUEHBS #0222/01 0561228
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE//SOCAFRICA JOC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000222 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MARR PREL PHUM EUN KWMN
SUBJECT: EU INCREASING ENGAGEMENT ON GENDER ISSUES, 
EMPHASIZING THE DRC 
 
REF: A. USEU BRUSSELS 109 
     ¶B. USEU BRUSSELS 81 
 
BRUSSELS 00000222  001.6 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.    (SBU)  Summary:  In meetings with EU and Belgian 
officials in January, Anita Botti, Deputy Director of the 
State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues: 
-- highlighted the need to implement existing UNSCRs on 
women, peace and security; 
-- encouraged an EU view of women as change agents who can 
enhance mediation efforts and post-conflict institutions; 
-- emphasized the importance of a comprehensive approach to 
combating sexual and gender-based violence, in the DRC and 
elsewhere; and 
-- stressed the need to coordinate our efforts. 
 
EU officials responded positively.  Specifically, they cited 
EU efforts to "mainstream" gender issues into EU operations 
by incorporating consideration of gender issues in all phases 
of EU operations,  from planning to execution (REF A).  In 
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the EU is increasing 
its efforts to employ the EU's police and military reform 
missions to combat sexual and gender-based violence. 
However, EU resources in the Congo are limited and 
participation by U.S. personnel in the EU missions (REF B) 
would be especially welcome.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  In a meeting with EU human rights officials and 
crisis management planners, Botti described the USG as 
focused on the implementation of existing UNSCRs rather than 
extensive consultations on the need for new resolutions.  She 
encouraged the EU to view women not as victims of conflict, 
but as change agents who can help make mediation efforts and 
post-conflict institutions more effective.  Speaking 
specifically about combating sexual and gender-based violence 
in the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Botti said the U.S. is taking a whole of government 
approach that will address such issues as health care 
shortfalls, impunity for perpetrators, and security sector 
reform. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Veronica Cody, Head of Unit for cross-cutting 
issues in the Crisis Management Planning Directorate, 
described EU efforts to "mainstream" gender in EU-led crisis 
management operations (REF A).  She said the EU is currently 
collecting lessons learned in a bid to incorporate gender 
issues into EU operations from planning to execution.  In the 
DRC, Cody said the EU's strategic assessment in 2009 called 
for an increased effort to combat sexual and gender-based 
violence, resulting in changes to the mandates of the EU's 
police and military reform missions.  She warned, however, 
that with two missions of roughly 50 personnel, the EU does 
not have the resources to solve the gender-based violence 
issue alone.  In that context, she welcomed the interest of 
the United States in seconding personnel to the EU's missions 
(REF B). 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Cody said the EU would welcome a readout of the 
ongoing U.S. assessment on sexual violence in the DRC.  The 
EU is also awaiting the final release of the results of the 
UN mapping exercise on sexual violence in the eastern Congo, 
which could lead to further efforts to address impunity in 
the judicial system.  (Comment:  Cody began discussing this 
mapping exercise with USEU last summer.  If the U.S. 
assessment proposes a way forward to address impunity, 
particularly in the judicial sector, we should encourage the 
EU to use our assessment as a point of departure for future 
action, rather than waiting for the UN to release its results 
-- a release that is clearly delayed by political concerns. 
End Comment.)  The European Commission's Davide Zaru said the 
fight against impunity is a focus of the Commission's 
development program in the Congo, which includes police and 
judicial capacity building and assistance to victims of 
sexual violence.  He called for the UN to coordinate donor 
programs in this area. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In a separate meeting with EU officials from the 
Council's Africa desk and from the office administering the 
EU police reform mission, Botti reemphasized the importance 
of a comprehensive approach to combating sexual and 
gender-based violence.  She also called for improved donor 
coordination; our participation in EUSEC and EUPOL would be 
one step towards this coordination.  EU officials agreed on 
the need for a comprehensive approach covering military, 
police, justice, and penitentiary reform.  They added that 
justice reform needs to take place across the DRC, not just 
 
BRUSSELS 00000222  002.4 OF 002 
 
 
in the east.  The EU is creating mobile interdisciplinary 
teams in the EUPOL mission to address gender-based violence 
in the context of police and judicial reform.  U.S. personnel 
to staff these teams would be welcome, in particular criminal 
justice experts and judiciary police trainers.  Since EUPOL 
is focused largely on police reform, few personnel are 
dedicated to justice and the rule of law.  The EU officials 
said the European Commission has funded prison construction 
and renovation in countries such as Georgia, but not in the 
DRC, despite the need.  EU officials universally lamented 
that even with sufficient resources, the Congolese 
authorities would not necessarily support widespread security 
sector reform. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Belgian officials Katelijn De Nijs and Veronique 
Joosten described ongoing work to prepare for the Belgian 
Presidency of the EU Council, which begins in July.  Since 
the Belgian Presidency will overlap with the tenth 
anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security, 
Belgium is planning events on 1325 in Geneva, New York and 
Brussels.  The events' themes will be "protection" (Geneva), 
"participation" (New York), and "prevention" (Brussels). 
They agreed with Botti that the focus should be on 
implementation and action, rather than discussion.  They 
commented that the new UN gender architecture remains 
unknown. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  De Nijs and Joosten said Sweden, during its 2009 
EU Presidency, had grappled with the issue of training EU 
troops on sexual violence and gender awareness.  The Swedish 
Presidency developed a training module to distribute to all 
EU member states for implementation in national training 
courses.  De Nijs said monitoring and punishing UN 
peacekeepers for violations could be more difficult than EU 
troops, since increasing the consequences for bad behavior 
could make some countries less willing to contribute troops 
to already understaffed UN operations. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Botti also met with the commander of the EU's 
defense reform mission in the DRC, French General Jean-Paul 
Michel.  Michel welcomed the possibility of U.S. 
participation in the mission to combat gender-based violence 
or help with other key Congolese shortcomings such as 
command-and-control issues. He underlined that EUSEC could be 
flexible in defining the role for U.S. participants and noted 
that the mission was currently twenty percent under-strength 
and needed additional personnel as it took on new missions. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Comment:  The EU is clearly aware of the need for 
a comprehensive, whole of government approach to combat 
sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic 
of Congo.  With the accession of Belgium to the EU Council 
Presidency this July, we will have a particularly engaged 
partner on this subject.  However, resources and personnel 
are lacking.  We can help by directing our contribution to 
the EU security sector reform missions to the rule of law and 
sexual violence issues.  In addition, by sharing the results 
of our ongoing assessment, we can provide the EU with a point 
of departure for even greater efforts, which should include 
additional capacity building programs funded 
by the European Commission.  More broadly, boosting the EU's 
efforts to improve the FARDC's command-and-control could help 
the Congolese keep control of its units in the field.  End 
Comment. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Office of Global Women's Issues Deputy Director 
Anita Botti cleared this cable. 
 
KENNARD 
.