Landmark ruling finally brings justice for survivors of wartime sexual violence in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Women’s rights advocates have welcomed a landmark decision by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights holding the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accountable for widespread sexual violence committed by its military forces.

The ruling is in response to Communication 686/18 (http://apo-opa.co/46ULvoC), a case seeking justice following atrocities committed by Congolese military personnel (http://apo-opa.co/4mJhfTv) on 1 January 2011 in Fizi Territory, South Kivu. That day, over 50 women were raped, tortured, and degraded in their homes and communities. Some were murdered. Houses were looted and destroyed.

For more than a decade, the women were denied justice. Military trials were repeatedly delayed, court members failed to show up, and authorities refused to hold mobile hearings in the victims’ locality, effectively excluding them from the judicial process.

The Association des Femmes Avocates Défenseurs des Droits Humains, Equality Now, and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) brought a case under Communication 686/18 to the African Commission, which has responded by issuing strong, time-bound directives to the DRC. These include ordering the State to prosecute and sanction those responsible for the atrocities within six months. The government must also identify and compensate survivors of rape and provide free and adequate medical and psychological care.

Wivine Kavira from Association des Femmes Avocates Défenseurs des Droits Humains emphasised, “We welcome this milestone as a recognition of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and of the power of legal mechanisms to secure truth, accountability, and change. This decision gives survivors what they have been denied for over a decade: recognition and a pathway to justice.”

“This is not only a legal victory; it is a moral and historic one. For the 53 Congolese women we represented, survivors of rape, sexual torture, and unimaginable violence committed by the national army, this ruling is a long-overdue recognition of the harms they suffered, and the State’s failure to act.”

A landmark legal precedent for women’s rights in conflict

In its findings, the African Commission confirmed that the DRC violated multiple articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, commonly known as the Maputo Protocol (http://apo-opa.co/4pWXoTC). These include the rights to life, dignity, health, protection from torture, and reproductive autonomy.

Crucially, the Commission acknowledged the gendered nature of the violence, recognising that the attacks were targeted and designed to degrade women specifically.

This decision demonstrates the real, transformative power of African legal instruments when they are enforced. The Maputo Protocol, which outlines comprehensive protections for women’s rights, served as a central pillar of the legal argument.

Through this case ruling, the Commission has not only affirmed the rights of the women of Fizi; it has set a broader legal precedent: States that fail to prevent, punish, and remedy gender-based violence, especially when perpetrated by state actors, are in breach of binding legal obligations.

The survivors are now entitled to compensation from the DRC’s government to address the physical, emotional, and economic harm they suffered. For women who lost homes, livelihoods, health, and family members as a result of the violence, reparations offer the chance to rebuild and move forward with their lives and regain trust in the justice system.

Esther Waweru, Senior Legal Advisor at Equality Now, explains, ”This is not only monumental for the survivors we represented, but it also sets a critical legal precedent for the African continent, especially with regard to the Maputo Protocol.”

A pattern of escalating sexual violence as a weapon of war

The Commission’s ruling comes amid a harrowing escalation in sexual violence across the DRC, where rape is being used as a deliberate tactic in conflict.

In early 2025, the rebel group M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, triggering a surge in attacks that targeted civilians, particularly women and girls, in chilling numbers. UNICEF reported that children accounted for 35% to 45% (http://apo-opa.co/4mTzl5f) of nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence just in January and February 2025, meaning that during the most intense phase of the fighting, a child was raped every half hour.

In this context, the Commission’s ruling is more than a condemnation of past atrocities; it is a direct challenge to ongoing patterns of abuse and silence. It exposes the failure of domestic systems and demands that the DRC’s government act with urgency and resolve.

Beyond compensation, remedies ordered by the African Commission

In the African Commission’s response to Communication 686/18, the DRC was ordered to issue a public apology in the affected region and integrate women’s rights into the training of military, police, and judiciary personnel. To ensure public transparency and accountability, the State is also required to publish the decision in an official national journal. Additionally, the Commission directed the DRC to submit a report to it within 180 days detailing how the State has implemented the decision.

These requirements transform the ruling from a closed legal process into a national reckoning, making it impossible for the DRC to quietly sidestep its obligations.

Collectively, these remedies form a comprehensive framework that centers survivors, confronts entrenched impunity, and begins charting a path toward genuine justice.

Dr Musa Kika, Executive Director at IHRDA, adds, “This decision affirms that African human rights bodies are not just symbolic, but effective accountability tools for gender-based crimes, especially those committed by state agents during conflict.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equality Now.

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Equality Now (www.EqualityNow.org) is a worldwide human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls. Since its inception in 1992, it has played a role in reforming 120 discriminatory laws globally, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls, their communities, and nations, both now and for generations to come.