Rapes, assaults by Congo army largely unpunished - HRW

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who rape and assault civilians often go unpunished because the justice system is too weak to hold the perpetrators to account, a rights group said on Thursday.

Few senior army officers in the war-torn Central African country have been prosecuted for committing or allowing sexual violence against women and girls. Commanders often protect their soldiers and may even obstruct the course of justice, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released in Brussels.

"Prosecutions are likely only to be effective as a deterrent to combat sexual violence when high-ranking commanders are held to account," the U.S.-based rights group said.

"The Congolese government, the U.N. and others have done a lot to support the victims of sexual violence but less to end the permissive atmosphere that causes it," HRW researcher Juliane Kippenberg said in a statement accompanying the report.

Although the 1998-2003 war has officially ended, the vast nation's eastern provinces remain plagued by lingering fighting between the army, foreign rebels and home-grown insurgents.

Aid workers estimate 5.4 million Congolese have died from hunger, disease and violence in the last 11 years.

Only a small fraction of sexual crimes committed by soldiers has been prosecuted to date, HRW said.

Many army commanders turn a blind eye to rapes by their troops, deeming it "something that boys do in war", HRW's researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg said by telephone.

The group also proposed measures to combat the crimes.

It called on the government to consider setting up a "mixed chamber" staffed by Congolese and international judges and prosecutors to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual crimes.

The government should also create a vetting mechanism to remove abusive officers from the army, establish a strict chain of command, improve living conditions and salaries for soldiers, and strengthen the military justice system.