A/HRC/41/31 conflict, including the emergence of the Bana Mura and Écurie Mbembe militias as of January 201719 and the crimes of persecution to which that led.20 36. Secondly, although there are some investigations into sexual crimes, the team of international experts notes that the strategy does not adequately reflect the massive scale or the fundamentally sexist nature of these crimes. The previous team of international experts emphasized in its report that women and children were the main victims of violence in Kasai between 2016 and 2017, especially sexual violence. 21 This sexual violence took many forms: although most cases involved rape, there were also cases of sexual slavery, sexual mutilation, forced exposure of private parts and forced witnessing of relatives being subjected to rape and sexual violence. All parties engaged in such acts, including the defence and security forces, even though their main task is to protect the population.22 A robust response from the criminal justice system is therefore necessary in order to condemn such acts in the strongest possible terms and prevent repeat offences. An investigation and prosecution strategy to combat sexual violence as a whole would also give a voice to victims who are prevented from speaking out by the taboos and social stigma attached to sexual violence. 23 Lastly, a strategy that addresses sexual crimes in a comprehensive manner would pave the way for public recognition of the sexist nature of these crimes, which may facilitate the social rehabilitation of victims. 37. The problem of the recruitment and use of child soldiers also reached alarming proportions during the conflict, with the forcible recruitment of young persons (or even very young persons)24 by the militias, who took advantage of their vulnerability in order to make them commit crimes. The senior military prosecutor’s office of the former Province of Kasai Occidental affirms that it is investigating cases of this kind but the strategy, in its current form, certainly does not convey the scale of the problem. 38. The systematic and widespread nature of the violence in Kasai is also evident from the extensive use of beheading as a means of killing people or mutilating dead bodies and the burning down of public buildings and houses. 25 While the team of international experts recognizes that such crimes are being investigated, it feels that the strategy should comprehensively address the systematic and widespread nature of these crimes so as to better reflect the wave of violence as a whole. 39. The team of international experts believes that an investigation and prosecution strategy that fails to incorporate the aspects mentioned above may lead to greater impunity and, consequently, undermine victims’ trust in the justice system, which is essential for reconciliation. The team therefore calls on the military justice authorities to improve their strategy with respect to the crimes committed in the Provinces of Kasai and Kasai Central and to increase the involvement of civil society, especially associations that work with victims. The Congolese Criminal Code, which has been amended to include definitions of international crimes, provides a legal basis for the prosecution of all perpetrators. 26 The military justice authorities must also step up the pace, for some crimes date back almost three years and the passage of time works against the criminal justice system by weakening 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 GE.19-07485 A/HRC/38/31, paras. 54 ff. Ibid., paras. 97–98. Ibid., paras. 93 and 95. Members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo even went so far as to exploit the vulnerability of women who were fleeing the violence (ibid., para. 83). Ibid., para. 95. See, for example, A/HRC/38/31, para. 62. Ibid., paras. 97–98. Ibid., paras. 14 and 111 (b). Moreover, the recent decision of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court, in which it refused to exclude violence against members of the armed forces from the scope of war crimes, gives the Congolese military justice authorities the legal means to expand the scope of their investigations into sexual crimes committed against child soldiers. See The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, Judgment on the appeal of Mr. Ntaganda against the “Second decision on the Defence’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of Counts 6 and 9”, 15 June 2017, ICC-01/04-02/06-1962. 9