Staying in New York to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the First Lady of the DRC, Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, took the opportunity to meet the United Nations undersecretary in charge of sexual violence related to conflicts, Pramila Patten. During this meeting, the Management of the National Fund for Reparation of Victims of Sexual Violence in Conflicts and Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Humanity (FONAREV) was represented by Lucien Lundula Lolatui, its Director General.
This meeting was an opportunity for FONAREV to present its actions and its roadmap to Ms. Patten. There was also discussion of collaborating with the office of the Undersecretary to benefit from its expertise and to share good practices observed in other countries.
Pramila Patten assured the Congolese delegation that her office was ready to support FONAREV in its actions to repair and combat sexual violence. She also suggested setting up collaborations between FONAREV experts and those who worked on reparations in Iraq, Kosovo and Guinea.
Among the actions already undertaken by FONAREV, we can cite the commemoration of Genocost on August 2, 2023, as well as a recent tour in five provinces of the DRC, where the team was able to meet the victims and work in collaboration with personalities committed, like Dr Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize winner.
This meeting between the First Lady of the DRC and Pramila Patten marks an important step in the fight against sexual violence in the DRC and underlines FONAREV’s commitment to providing reparation to victims. Collaboration with the United Nations will allow the exchange of knowledge and experiences to improve reparation actions in the country.
It is encouraging to see that concrete measures are being taken to combat sexual violence in the DRC. Let us hope that this collaboration with the United Nations will improve the situation and provide significant support to the victims of these heinous crimes.