Measures to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations

In Somaliland, Somalia, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) operates in Hargeisa, as a ‘one-stop’ location, where victims of SGBV can receive medical care, counselling, free legal advice and representation. The victims are also given the opportunity to report the assault to the police. In Puntland, in Somalia, the Puntland Elders Network has been established in line with the State Conference for Traditional Leaders of Puntland Declaration, according to which the elders are committed, inter alia, to refer cases of rape to the formal justice system. Hide

In Sierra Leone, UNDP provided grants to 6 civil society organisations to provide support services to SGBV victims, including legal aid, primarily in Bo and Makeni. The referral mechanism for SGBV cases has been enhanced across communities and several perpetrators have been convicted. Services provided by civil society organisations to victims of SGBV has also led to the conviction of several perpetrators. UNDP also supported legal aid clinics in the Kivus area, located in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in the conviction of several perpetrators of SGBV. UNDP is supporting the Family Support Units in the Police, both in Sierra Leone and DRC, by developing guidelines on SGBV case management and by ensuring the necessary equipment for their implementation. Hide

In DRC, the MONUSCO Sexual Violence Unit (Office of the DSRSG-Ro) created an inter-section forum on data collection and sharing with the aim to find a solution with respect to the collection of reliable data on sexual violence. Led by the UN Joint Human Rights Office, a common MONUSCO database was developed, in order to provide more accurate data on sexual violence cases, collected by the Mission’s Military and Civilian Sections. Another project, aimed at increasing and better managing available information on perpetrators of serious human rights violations, is the Profiling Exercise of MONUSCO Human Rights Division, jointly carried out by MONUSCO, UNDP and OHCHR. The project focuses on members of the Congolese security services, especially those in the upper echelons or ranks, with a special focus on their human rights records. The Profiling Team has created a database which will link commanders to serious human rights violations (including sexual violence but not exclusively), clarify current and former command structures of security services and armed groups and serve as the basis for creating detailed profiles of such individuals. This database is still being developed and data is being entered. The database will be fully operational in February 2011. OHCHR is carrying out a mapping of major violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including sexual violence, committed in the DRC from 1993 to 2003. OHCHR’s Mapping Report will be released on 1 October with the objective to enable the Government of the DRC to identify appropriate transitional justice mechanisms to deal with the legacy of these violations. Hide