Following recent brutal attacks on women by suspected FDLR rebels in South Kivu, DRC, Christian Aid is calling for more to be done to accelerate the voluntary demobilisation of armed groups in the vast central African nation.

Of the fifteen women, all mothers, who were abducted and raped by the armed assailants - five were brutally tortured and then beheaded, three survived and were taken to Panzi Hospital in Bukavu for emergency medical care, and the remaining seven are still missing, presumed dead.

The attacks took place in February, less than two weeks before UK Foreign Office Minister Baroness Kinnock’s visit to rape survivors at Panzi hospital. Since then the baroness has made commitments to addressing the crisis of impunity surrounding rape in the DRC.

Christian Aid welcomes this renewed commitment and urges Baroness Kinnock to work with the DRC and Rwandan governments and with the UN to address the underlying causes of insecurity in the Great Lakes region.

This must include increasing political will and material support for the voluntary demobilisation and repatriation of Rwandan FDLR armed groups and refugees, many of whom have been in the DRC since the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

“With the continued presence of various armed groups, women throughout the region are more vulnerable than ever to reprisals and systematic rape,” explained Shuna Keen, Christian Aid’s Great Lakes analyst.

“Innocent women and young girls continue to be raped by both the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the Rwandan FDLR and, as a result, many of these women and their subsequent children are HIV positive – the social and psychological effects are devastating and long-term."

UNOCHA last year reported that a substantial proportion of the sexual violence in DRC is committed by men in uniform. Most cases of rape in insecure remote areas go unreported, the survivors unable to get treatment.

Christian Aid said the recent attack in South Kivu was not an isolated incident, but part of an "ongoing, horrifying trend".

More than six million civilian lives have been lost in war and genocide in DRC and Rwanda since the early 1990s, with the conflict now the most deadly since the Second World War.

Keen added: “More can and must be done to encourage voluntary demobilisation and repatriation by FDLR rebels and Rwandan refugees through effective accompaniment, sensitisation and confidence-building measures. The non-military options have not been given enough of a chance."

More than 15 years since the Rwandan genocide, it is estimated that there are still around 90,000 Rwandan refugees living in the volatile region of eastern DRC, as well as many thousands of armed FDLR rebel combatants.

Christian Aid said the voluntary repatriation of refugees was crucial for building lasting peace in the region, as is the voluntary demobilisation and repatriation of the FDLR.

The ongoing insecurity in the North and South Kivu regions of DRC which gives rise to systematic sexual violence is itself the result of deep long-term political crisis in the wider African Great Lakes region.

Christian Aid is calling on the UK to use its influence as a major diplomatic actor and number one bilateral donor to both DRC and Rwanda to help secure a peaceful resolution to the crisis and safeguard human rights.

On International Women’s Day 2010 last Monday, Christian Aid urged Baroness Kinnock to draw inspiration from her recent visit to DRC and lead international efforts to accelerate voluntary demobilisation of armed groups and to address the illegal militarised mining and trade, a major cause of insecurity in the region.