Clinton Challenges Congo to Stop Sexual Violence

By the Associated Press

Posted Aug 11, 2009 6:51 AM CDT

(AP) – Hillary Clinton traveled to war-ravaged eastern Congo today, where the nation's top diplomat demanded an end to the sexual violence that has claimed at least 200,000 victims. Clinton came to Goma aboard a UN plane over the objections of some top aides who were concerned about security and logistics for the visit. She is the first secretary of state to visit the city.

"We have to speak out against the impunity of those in positions of authority who either commit these crimes or condone it," Clinton told a group of university students. She urged the youth of Congo to mount nationwide protests against the "astonishing and horrible" sexual violence. Although fighting has eased since a 2003 peace deal, the army and rebel groups, vying over eastern Congo's vast mineral wealth, are still attacking villages, killing civilians, and committing brutal atrocities.

Elizabeth Kabaya, 20, lies in Rutshuru hospital north of Goma, eastern Congo, Nov. 3 2008. More than 200,000 women and girls have been raped in the long-running conflict. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Congolese women demonstrate in Goma, eastern Congo, Friday Nov. 14, 2008, against violence in the northern Kivu province. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Hillary Clinton is greeted by members of the government on arrival at the airport in Kinshasa, Congo Monday, Aug. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Etienne Kokolo)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Fox Pundit: No Surprise Women in Military Get Raped

And Liz Trotta is not happy with how much money we're spending on the issue

(NEWSER) - The military's easing of the ban on women in combat came just a few weeks after news that sexual violence in the military has risen sharply —and in a recent segment on Fox News, contributor Liz Trotta (who has seen her share of gaffes in the past) found a way to combine the two news items in quite possibly the most controversial way possible. "Women once more, the feminists, [want] to be warriors and victims at the same time," she said in a clip picked up by Media Matters . Noting the 64% increase in violent sexual assaults since 2006, she asked, "Now, what did they expect? These people are in close contact." More»

Ben Affleck Lends Star Power on African Atrocities

He and 'Washington Post' columnist hear tales of LRA brutalities

(NEWSER) - Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army have been terrorizing central Africa for years, "but the net around him tightens," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . Gerson accompanied Ben Affleck, who founded the Eastern Congo Initiative , to the region to hear first-hand the tales of atrocities from those lucky enough to have escaped. (See a photo gallery here .) Followers think Kony "is a supernatural being," says one teen who escaped his soldiers after years of captivity. "He has a power over them.” More»

Libyan Rape Accuser Moves to US

Iman al-Obeidi gets asylum; told media Gadhafi forces assaulted her

(NEWSER) - The woman who burst into a media breakfast to say she’d been gang-raped by Moammar Gadhafi’s forces has arrived in the US, where she’s been granted asylum, CNN reports. Iman al-Obeidi flew into New York following 54 days in a UN refugee camp in Romania ; she then took another flight to her new US home. Saying she was excited to be here, al-Obedi thanked the government and Hillary Clinton and said she hoped someday to meet the secretary of state. More»

Congo's Rape Crisis Isn't What You Think

Weapon of war? That's not the full picture: Laura Seay

(NEWSER) - News that 48 women are raped in the Congo every hour has led to understandable condemnation of how rape has become a weapon of war, writes Laura Seay in the Atlantic . The problem is that "a growing body of literature suggests that the prevailing journalistic and activist accounts of the nature of rape in the Congo are often incomplete, and, in many cases, simply wrong." It's true, for instance that soldiers are raping women (and men), but studies suggest that civilians far from the war account for a significant percentage of the assaults. More»

In Congo, 48 Women Raped Every Hour

New survey finds numbers even worse than thought

(NEWSER) - Reports of mass rape as a weapon of war have been common in Congo for years, but a new survey shows the problem to be far worse than thought. An estimated 1,152 women are raped every day, or 48 per hour, according to a study to appear in the American Journal of Public Health. That's 26 times higher than a previous UN estimate. "The numbers are astounding," says a Johns Hopkins expert. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Clinton Challenges Congo to Stop Sexual Violence

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Hillary Clinton • Africa • rape • civil war • Democratic Republic of Congo • sexual violence • Goma • women's issues

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Fox Pundit: No Surprise Women in Military Get Raped

And Liz Trotta is not happy with how much money we're spending on the issue

Ben Affleck Lends Star Power on African Atrocities

He and 'Washington Post' columnist hear tales of LRA brutalities

Libyan Rape Accuser Moves to US

Iman al-Obeidi gets asylum; told media Gadhafi forces assaulted her

Congo's Rape Crisis Isn't What You Think

Weapon of war? That's not the full picture: Laura Seay

In Congo, 48 Women Raped Every Hour

New survey finds numbers even worse than thought

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Clinton Challenges Congo to Stop Sexual Violence

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Hillary Clinton • Africa • rape • civil war • Democratic Republic of Congo • sexual violence • Goma • women's issues

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Fox Pundit: No Surprise Women in Military Get Raped

And Liz Trotta is not happy with how much money we're spending on the issue

Ben Affleck Lends Star Power on African Atrocities

He and 'Washington Post' columnist hear tales of LRA brutalities

Libyan Rape Accuser Moves to US

Iman al-Obeidi gets asylum; told media Gadhafi forces assaulted her

Congo's Rape Crisis Isn't What You Think

Weapon of war? That's not the full picture: Laura Seay

In Congo, 48 Women Raped Every Hour

New survey finds numbers even worse than thought

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?