Rule of Law for Whom: Strengthening the Rule of Law as a Solution to Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
This article suggests that programs designed to strengthen the rule of law in general are unlikely to be effective against the widespread problem of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I argue that while weak rule of law perpetuates sexual violence, only rule of law programs designed specifically with respect to the needs, risks, and cultural norms pertaining to Congolese women can help curb this problem. The article begins with a brief history of conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa to provide context for a discussion of the scope of sexual violence in the eastern provinces of the DR Congo. It then introduces the notion of "rule of law" before evaluating the ways in which weak rule of law in the eastern DR Congo contributes to the problem of sexual violence. Finally, the article makes four arguments to support the central claim that strengthening the rule of law will be effective against sexual violence only if specifically tailored in the ways noted above. INTRODUCTION 140 I.A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONFLICT IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION 141 II.THE CRISIS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE 145 A. Scope of the Crisis 145 B. Socio-cultural Implications of Sexual Violence ........ ........ 147 J.D. Candidate, 2011 University of California, Berkeley School of Law; M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School; A.B., University of Missouri. I would like to thank Professor Kate Jastram for valuable guidance and consistent encouragement on this project. My colleagues in the Global Migration Seminar at Berkeley were excellent discussion partners and offered helpful feedback. Kerry Gough, Elizabeth Hawkins Lincoln, Stephen Rosenbaum and Ernesto Verdeja each put a critical eye to various drafts of this paper. Finally, thanks to Alison Mollman and the excellent staff of the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice for their keen editing. I welcome comments, questions, corrections and other correspondence about the subject of this article; I can be reached at ryanlincoln@post.harvard.edu. BERKELEY JOURNAL OF GENDER, LAW & JUSTICE 139 BERKELEY JOURNAL OF GENDER, LAW & JUSTICE III.RULE OF LAW IN THE DR CONGO. ...... 149 A. Defining the Rule of Law ...... 149 B. Rule of Law Programs in the DR Congo 151 C. Sexual Violence and the Rule of Law in the DR Congo 153 1. Government Bound by Law......... 154 2. Equality Before the Law 155 3. Law and Order 156 4. Predictable and Efficient Justice 156 5. State Violation of Human Rights 157 6. Rule of Law Institutions ........ 158 IV.CREATING A VIABLE RULE OF LAW SOLUTION 158 A. Limitations of Armed Conflict and Political Efficacy on the Rule of Law ...... 159 B. Rule of Law as Evaluative / Rule of Law as Creative .... ...... 160 C. Gender Issues and the Rule of Law 161 D. Rule of Law Must Take Norms Into Account 164 CONCLUSION 167
Treating sexual violence as a “business”: Reflections on national and international responses to sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Abstract 
Purpose 
This chapter aims to question the ways in which sexual and gender-based violence have been framed in international discourse and policy and thus to examine some of the causes of the perceived failure of international responses to this violence. 
 
 
Methodology 
The chapter is based on qualitative research carried out through key informant interviews and focus groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 
 
 
Findings 
The research highlights the ways in which limited understandings of sexual and gender-based violence lead to interventions which have unintended and sometimes negative consequences for gender relations in the DRC. 
 
 
Social implications 
The chapter calls on researchers, policy makers, and aid practitioners to rethink their approaches to tackling sexual and gender-based violence and to incorporate these into a more coherent overall approach to gender inequality.
Update on the DRC Transition: The Case of the Kivu Provinces
1 Over the past two years the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen the transition from a situation of all-out war, through political and security deadlock and internationally sponsored negotiations, to a transitional period that should lead the country to its first democratic elections. The population of the DRC, however, particularly in the Kivu provinces, has benefited only to a very limited extent from the political settlement negotiated in South Africa.