DR Congo crisis: Children subjected to deliberate, systemic sexual violence

ONU - 11/04
Sexual violence against children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached staggering proportions, with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reporting thousands of new cases in just two months – evidence that it’s being used as a systemic weapon of war and deliberate terror tactic.

Spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva via video link from Goma that children could account for up to 45 per cent of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence documented in January and February, amid heightened tensions between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Government forces across the mineral-rich region, where dozens of armed groups are active...
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