Press Release- UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, condemns the renewed offensive by the M23 with the support of the Rwandan Defence Force and expresses grave concern about the heightened risk and emerging reports of conflict-related sexual violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
New York, 3 February 2025: The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, expresses grave concerns over the attacks in Goma, North Kivu and South Kivu, by the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) with the support of the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF), which intensified on 23 January 2025. This renewed offensive with its current expansion to South Kivu has triggered an alarming deterioration of the security situation, with reports of attacks against civilians, including conflict-related sexual violence. “These brutal attacks are a horrific reminder of the extreme vulnerability of civilians caught amid armed conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and must cease immediately. All perpetrators of such acts must be held to account for their crimes.”