The Senate Foreign Relations Committee just opened a hearing on Capitol Hill titled, "Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones, Spotlight: DRC and Sudan." The senators will hear testimony from two panels of experts, including Enough co-Founder John Prendergast. The witnesses include:
Panel 1
The Honorable Melanne Verveer
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Department of State
Washington, D.C.
The Honorable Esther Brimmer
Assistant Secretary of State for
International Organization Affairs
Department of State
Washington, D.C.
Phil Carter
Acting Assistant Secretary
of the Bureau of African Affairs
Department of State
Washington, D.C.
Panel 2
Eve Ensler
Founder
V-Day
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu
Journalist
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Robert Warwick
Country Director of Southern Sudan
International Rescue Committee
Southern Sudan
Neimat Ahmadi
Darfuri Liason Officer
Save Darfur Coalition
Washington, D.C.
John Prendergast
Co-Founder
The Enough Project
Washington, D.C.
Key quotes from Prendergast’s testimony:
How revolutionary would it be to deal with the causes rather than the symptoms? Why can’t we focus our policy on ENDING these wars rather than simply dealing with their consequences? From our meeting with President Obama a few weeks ago at the White House, he clearly understands the importance of such a strategic objective. But will his administration organize structures, personnel and assets to achieve these objectives, or will the pursuit of lasting solutions remain largely rhetorical? And will Congress support a sustained interagency effort to end these wars, or will the resources needed to ramp up diplomatic efforts be siphoned off for other ends?
We at the Enough Project believe that the game changer, to use the president’s favorite term, would be a commitment by the Obama administration to make the strategic objective of U.S. policy the resolution of the wars that cause this scourge of gender-based violence.
A comprehensive strategy for protecting women and girls would include the following elements:
Protection: Reorient efforts of peacekeeping forces in Congo and Sudan—MONUC, UNMIS and UNAMID—to focus on protecting women/girls where they are most vulnerable: camps for internally displaced persons, firewood collection routes, major water points, check points, etc.
Accountability: Support efforts to prosecute rape as a war crime in both Congo and Sudan. This includes support for police and judicial reform, access to justice programs, and legal training. At the international level, investigations should be intensified into the chain of command that either encourages or allows rape to be utilized as a war strategy.
Treatment: Expend additional resources on supporting the efforts of Congolese, Sudanese, and international organizations that are supporting the survivors of sexual violence.
Peace: Over the long term, the United States and other concerned countries must work to change the calculus of the armed groups committing crimes against women and girls and re-invest in diplomacy to help bring these conflicts to an end.
Read Prendergast’s full testimony here. Enough will be live at the hearing, so follow the play-by-play on Twitter.