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By the sheer volume of reports by the defenders of human
rights, it has become clear that all groups involved in
armed conflicts have used sexual violence as a weapon of
war.
In a report submitted to the UN Security Council,
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged governments to
combat impunity for sexual crimes committed against
civilians during and after conflicts. Mr. Ban called on
States and other parties to commit to concrete actions,
such as sending clear and forceful instructions and
regular messages on the categorical prohibition of
sexual violence, and to demonstrate that breaches will
be punished.
Legal Systems and Political Will
Ban Ki-moon noted that it must address the weaknesses of
formal and informal legal systems and ensure that
amnesties and immunities exclude those who have
committed such crimes, which are now according to the
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
a form of genocide, who recognize that sexual violence
is a step in the process of group destruction – the
“destruction of the spirit, of the will to live, and of
life itself.”
The secretary said that prevention is essential, and
that civilian and military leaders must demonstrate
commitment and political will to address this problem.
The lack of action conveys the message that sexual
violence is tolerated. He stressed that victims of
gross violations must, according to international laws,
be compensated and given adequate medical and
psychological treatments.
“We can not expect to have peace without justice,
without recognition or repair a sustainable development
without power, those who have suffered or are at risk”,
he says in his report.
Some Cases
In Latin America, Colombia is the country most
enlightened in such practices, but only in recent years
has it known the extent of sexual violence in the
conflict between troops and guerrillas. Until now,
there have been no court cases, despite the fact that
the Constitutional Court in April 2008 recognized that
“Sexual violence is common, widespread, systematic and
invisible in the context of armed conflict, as are
exploitation and sexual abuse”.
In January 2009 the Office of the Constitutional Court
submitted a report outlining 183 cases of sexual
violence occurring in the midst of armed conflict from
1993 to 2008. Of the reported cases, most are
attributed to paramilitaries (106), police and military
(43) and groups of guerrillas (15). The report states
that in the cases reported, there were instances of
rape, sexual slavery, torture, arbitrary detention and
prostitution.
International Tribunals
At the international level are the Yugoslav and Rwandan
tribunals, which have precedents in international law
for prosecution of sexual violence in armed conflict.
A UN report estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000
women were raped in the conflict in Bosnia, in Rwanda
the number of victims was between an incomprehensible
250,000 and 500,000.
The mandate of the Tribunal for Rwanda concerning sexual
violence is to prosecute those responsible for acts and
their superiors who failed to take measures to prevent
such attacks. It was this Court in its 1998 landmark
ruling in the case of Jean Paul Akayesu, the first to
condemn rape as an act of genocide and crimes against
humanity.
Swisslatin /adapted by Stephen Hinch
(29.07.2009) |
