''The Testimony '' is a 2015 American

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about the "Minova Trial", conducted in 2014 by the army of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

to prosecute government troops' rapes and atrocities committed against women in

Minova Minova is a town in the Kalehe Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is an important business center for farm-fishery products. It is very close to Idjwi Island, Masisi Territory, Lake Kivu on its North Western shore and is only 45 km ...

in 2012. It was the largest rape trial in DRC history. The film is directed and shot by Vanessa Block and produced by Block, Steve Tisch, Mitchell Block and Michael Sarnoski. ''The Testimony '' was shortlisted with ten other documentaries from 74 entries submitted to the 88th Academy Awards in Documentary Short Subject category.

Plot

Following the Second Congo War, hostilities soon broke out again in 2004 in the eastern part of the country. Tutsi-allied rebels fought against government troops and UN forces. The warfare in the

has involved troops and insurgents from numerous countries and resulted in more deaths than any other war since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In November 2012, the

M23 rebellion The M23 rebellion was an armed conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that occurred between the March 23 Movement and government forces. The rebellion was part of continued fighting in the region after the formal end of ...

drove the Congolese Army out of the eastern city of

Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...

. After retreating to

, the humiliated government soldiers systematically raped hundreds of civilian women for the next three days. There were reports that officers encouraged the men to attack the women. The atrocity drew international outrage, and the "UN condemned the atrocity as “horrifying” in its scale and systematic nature." The global community promised intervention. William Hague, then foreign secretary in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and the film star Angelina Jolie, a UN special envoy for refugees, visited a refugee camp and later pledged "to eradicate sexual violence in war zones, with its lead focus on eastern Congo." This attention galvanized the DRC Army, which began to organize prosecution of the rapes. The documentary chronicles what became known as the Minova Trial of 2014, the largest rape trial conducted in Congo's history. It is focused on the women of Minova. Fifty-six women testified, with their heads covered by hoods to preserve their anonymity.

Reception

The film was widely praised for revealing the strength of the human spirit among the women. It was shortlisted for an Academy Award for Short Documentary.

Aftermath

''The Guardian'' has since revealed military and governmental efforts to limit prosecution in the trial, and no senior officers were prosecuted. "Of the 39 Congolese soldiers who eventually appeared in court, only two junior soldiers were convicted of rape." The UN recorded 126 women and girls had been raped, but the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

's office in Goma listed 1,014 victims. A London global summit took place later in 2014, with some 1700 attendees, but none of the women from Minova nor their representatives were invited. Mark Townsend, "Revealed: how the world turned its back on rape victims of Congo"
''The Guardian'', 13 June 2015; accessed 15 November 2017

Accolades

References

External links