11.08.09 Interview by Jaldeep Katwala of Radio Okapi
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well,
there is no doubt that the ongoing conflict makes the problem worse.
Unfortunately, we have seen in the late 20th century and now in this
century a terrible trend of using sexual and gender-based violence as a
tool of war to intimidate and demoralize populations and to force them
to flee their homes.
And I think this is going to take a
concerted effort from the Congolese Government as well as other
governments in the region who have interests in the DRC. It’s going to
take NGOs and civil society. It has to start with making sure that the
military of the DRC does not engage in any sexual and gender-based
violence, and there has to be no impunity for anyone who does, and
there has to be an effort to cut off the funding for the militias and
resolve the underlying political tensions in the east.
But
sexual violence is a problem across the country, as it is in many
countries, and there have to be stronger laws against domestic
violence, against criminal rape that happens on the street of Kinshasa
or any other city. There has to be strong prosecution and law
enforcement and judiciary actions to make it clear that this is
unacceptable, that there is no excuse for it. And that’s what I hope we
will see.
QUESTION: And what in practical terms can the government of the United States do to help this problem?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well,
we are trying to do several things. We’re working, of course, with the
United Nations and we’re the largest supporter of the United Nations
peacekeeping forces in eastern Congo. And there was a report that just
came out which said that the problems that might have existed before in
terms of gender and sexual-based violence among UN troops has been
cleaned up. We are working with President Kabila’s government and the
Congolese military to try to train and imbue human rights and respect
for the rights of women in the military. And of course, we are
providing healing and health services to those women who are victims.
QUESTION: But in terms of the human rights record of the Congolese Government, how would you asses that?
SECRETARY CLINTON: It’s
in desperate need of improvement. The Congolese Government, of course,
came out of many years of war, and that is very destabilizing to
societies and very often human rights are considered a luxury during a
wartime. But there are no excuses any longer, and there has to be more
expected from the government here. The United States and other
countries, as well as the United Nations, stand ready to assist the
government in taking actions to both promote human rights, including
women’s rights, and to punish violators of human rights and women’s
rights. But there needs to be much more action and a greater commitment
from the government.
QUESTION: When people look at this
country, they look at Chinese development here, they look at the roads
that are being built, the hospitals that are being built as well. What
in practical, concrete terms can the United States do on the ground
that people here will recognize as being a contribution by the United
States?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it’s interesting because
I’m aware of the commitment that China has made, and I think that
building roads is a very important development goal for this country.
But so is good governance. So is protecting and promoting human rights.
So is building an independent judiciary, a free press, the institutions
of democracy that will hold up over time. It’s important to build a
free market, to stand against corruption, to ask for more transparency,
and the United States has been working to achieve those goals.
It’s
not either/or, and I’m aware that sometimes people can see the road
more than they can see the protection for human rights. But you can
have a country with roads that still deprives its people of human
rights, that still has no economic development, so that there are no
goods and services going down those roads that will actually help the
people. So I think it has to be a comprehensive effort, and I believe
the United States, with our help in education and health, is playing a
very important role. And we are here to determine what else we could do.
QUESTION: What will you be saying to President Kabila tomorrow?
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, I’ll be saying pretty much what I have said both at the town hall
and in this interview, that President Obama would like to forge a new
chapter in the relationship between the Congolese people and the
American people, that I’m here to explore ways that we could work
together, but that we believe strongly there must be an end to
impunity, an end to corruption, more transparency and accountability;
that the mineral and other natural resource riches of this country
should be used for the benefit of the Congolese people, not for a very
small group that have historically benefitted, not just for outside
corporations or countries that extract the riches and leave with them
without really putting back the commensurate investment in the country.
And we think there’s a lot of areas where we could be helpful, and
we’re going to explore whether that’s possible.