NEW YORK – A Congolese surgeon who has treated tens of thousands of women who were gang-raped has received a prize honoring his courage.
Denis Mukwege accepted the 2013 Civil Courage Prize on Tuesday night for his work at the Panzi Hospital, which he founded in 1999 in the capital of the war-torn province of South Kivu.
The U.N. has said various armed groups are behind rapes in eastern Congo. The Congolese army and M23 rebels it fights also have been accused of raping civilians.
Last year, Mukwege in a speech at the United Nations, lashed out at the international community for its inaction on his country's civil war. He moved to Europe following an assassination attempt against him last October.
The Civil Courage Prize is awarded by the New York-based Train Foundation.
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