The Institute for Domestic and International Affairs, Inc.
United Nations Human Rights Commission Sexual Violence Against Women in Armed Conflict Director: Kyle Gruber
Š 2006 Institute for Domestic & International Affairs, Inc. (IDIA) This document is solely for use in preparation for Philadelphia Model United Nations 2007. Use for other purposes is not permitted without the express written consent of IDIA. For more information, please write us at idiainfo@idia.net
Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 1 Background _________________________________________________________________ 2 Sexual Violence in Domestic Relationships in Africa ____________________________________ 3 Rape in the 1990s _________________________________________________________________ 5 Implications of Sexual Assault in Armed Conflict_______________________________________ 5 Sexual Violence and the Rights of Refugees____________________________________________ 7 Potential Solutions ________________________________________________________________ 9 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda___________________________________________________10 International Criminal Court _______________________________________________________________11 Legislative Reform ______________________________________________________________________11
Current Status ______________________________________________________________ 12 Sexual Violence in Darfur _________________________________________________________ 13 Democratic Republic of Congo _____________________________________________________ 15 Impact of Sexual Violence on African States __________________________________________ 17
Bloc Positions_______________________________________________________________ 19 Africa __________________________________________________________________________ 20 Western Developed States _________________________________________________________ 20 Asia and the Middle East __________________________________________________________ 22
Summary___________________________________________________________________ 24 Discussion Questions _________________________________________________________ 25 Works Cited ________________________________________________________________ 26
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Introduction Sexual violence committed against any individual is a violation of basic human rights. Unfortunately, such violence is being used increasingly often as a weapon in the arsenal of warring groups. Government and military officials encourage the use of systematic rape and forced pregnancy as a means of both demoralizing the enemy and, in the most extreme cases, furthering the ethnic cleansing of an area. Sexual violence against women during armed conflict can fracture entire communities.
Rapes and
assaults often occur publicly in front of family and community members who bear witness to their humiliation and violation.
Women known to have been raped or
‘violated’ by the enemy are seen as dirty and are often alienated from their societies. Wartime rape and sexual violence have lasting repercussions for victims because such crimes erode entire communities. Often, because of rape and forced pregnancy, victims fall prey to diseases, such as AIDS, and additionally must carry the burden of an unwanted pregnancy. In many societies, despite the fact that these women are the victims, communities shun them for being ‘unclean.’ Furthermore, societies consider the children born from these rapes as tainted or impure, for they share blood with the enemy ethnicity. These children are viewed as outcasts in the community and experience prejudice throughout their lives. Victims of these situations are often involved in genocidal wars where at least one side demonstrates clear intentions of eradicating the opposing side. Tremendous refugee flows result from ethnic warfare, displacing millions of people to different regions of their home countries or into other countries.
Displacement can lead to even more
discrimination, persecution, and sexual violence, as refugees escaping ethnic conflict may move into an area inhabited by another ethnicity. In past conflicts, perpetrators have had certain impunity for the crimes that they have committed.
Although the international community has agreed to numerous
conventions, treaties, and declarations of rights for women, the majority of sexual violence criminals remain unpunished. Two reasons exist for this: one, the victims of
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sexual violence often demonstrate hesitancy to accuse victimizers publicly, as victims often fear repercussions for their accusations, either from the offenders themselves or from a backlash within their community; and second, states themselves have been reluctant to prosecute these criminals, often because these criminals are of the same ethnicity of the ruling government.
Background Sexual violence as a tool of war is becoming more prevalent. Throughout modern history rape has been used as a weapon, but only in the last 50 years has it been named a war crime prosecutable by international law.1
Subsequently, the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949 recognized rape as an attack on a women’s honor. Article 27 of the 1949 Geneva Convention states that “women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honor, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.” It further denounces these actions based on “nationality, race, religious beliefs, age, marital status or social condition.”2 Despite international recognition that rape and sexual violence is a war crime, these brutal acts continue. Women and children traditionally have the lowest social status of all people, leaving them at risk to be victimized by human rights abuses. Of late, war tactics have involved systematic rape and sexual assault against women and girls. In wartime, rape is a direct result of the imbalance of power between men and women; it is used as a military tactic, not as a satisfaction of sexual impulses.3 In patriarchal societies, women are considered the property of men. Therefore, during war and armed conflict in nations with patriarchal views, women become victims because they are seen as property.
For rapists, victims are symbolic of the enemy.
Such
symbolism hurts women because during war, the goal is to hurt and defeat the enemy by 1
“The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,” United Nations, http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/geninfo/index.htm, Accessed 5 March 2005 2 “Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War” UNCHR, http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm, Accessed 9 June 2005 3 Nikolić-Ristanović, Vesna, “Women, Violence, and War: Wartime Victimization of Refugees in the Balkans,” Budapest: Central European University Press, 1995, 47
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any means necessary.4 In instances of rape and sexual violence in war, the offenders objectify and dehumanize women. This inherently patriarchal view drives men toward domination over women. The simple nature of war, the domination and control over another nation or people, enforces patriarchal ideology.5
Sexual Violence in Domestic Relationships in Africa To properly analyze and address sexual violence in conflicts in Africa, one must understand the cultural and social views of sexual violence in general. Domestic violence occurs when a person inflicts physical or emotional injury to another person with whom they have a relationship. The most common type occurs between spouses, and is referred to as intimate partner violence.6 Domestic violence is a very common occurrence in Africa, particularly in Southern Africa.
Surveys done in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia
discovered that 26 per cent and 59 per cent of women respectively reported being forced to have sex by their partner.7 Domestic violence comes in many forms and there is a wide spectrum of severity, the worst being sexual violence and rape. Domestic violence puts many women in Africa at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. A study conducted in South Africa on sexual violence and HIV/AIDS revealed that 55 per cent of the women surveyed experienced physical or sexual abuse.8 Women who participated in the study underwent HIV tests, and results showed that victims of sexual abuse, or both sexual and physical abuse, were “significantly more likely to test positive.”9 Risky behaviors associated with HIV infection are commonplace among women affected by domestic violence. These risky behaviors include failure to use a condom and having multiple sexual partners. The aggressor in a forced sexual act 4
Ibid 48 Sajor, Indai Lourdes, “Common Grounds: Violence against women in war and armed conflict situations,” Asian Center for Women’s Human Rights, 1998, 3 6 “Domestic Violence”, American College of Emergency Physicians, http://www.acep.org/webportal/PatientsConsumers/HealthSubjectsByTopic/Violence/FactSheetDomesticViolence.h tm, accessed October 24th, 2006 7 Charlotte Watts, “Reproductive Health Services and Intimate Partner Violence: Shaping a Pragmatic Response in Sub-Saharan Africa,” International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 30, No. 4 (2004): 207 8 R. MacLean, “Partner Violence Elevates the Risk of HIV Infection for South African Women”, International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 30, No. 3. (2004): 148 9 Ibid 5
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is likely not to wear a condom, for if he is physically forcing his partner to have sex with him, the thought of protecting her from sexually transmitted diseases is probably far from his mind, despite the risks he is bringing to himself. Further compounding the problem, the vast majority of women that report sexual violence in Africa also report that physical abuse occurred in conjunction with it.10 To bolster this claim, in a survey of men conducted in South Africa, 80.9 per cent of men questioned who admitted to committing acts of sexual violence against their spouses also reported physical and emotional violence as well.11 This means that partners are both sexually and physically abusing women. If men are so willing to sexually abuse and forcibly rape their own wives in Africa in peaceful settings, the frequency of sexual violence by armed soldiers should come as no surprise. The culture at large has a serious issue with violence against women, and those already predisposed to violence, such as militia members or rebels, act out these tendencies in far worse ways. In addition to the actual act of domestic violence, the threat of such violence can greatly affect the mindset and decision making of women in Africa. The fear of physical abuse from their husbands leads women to fail to insist on the use of a condom while having sex, which greatly increases risks of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and of becoming pregnant. Some men also threaten to withhold economic support if their wives refuse to have sex without a condom, let alone refuse sex altogether.12 The psychological effects are far reaching. In the Eastern Cape of South Africa, 57 per cent of women believe that they could not refuse sex with their partner.13 Sexual violence in domestic partnerships is widespread and harmful to the physical and psychological health of women. Forced sex, high risk of contracting HIV, unwanted pregnancies, and physical abuse of women who stand up to their husbands are all detrimental to both the women’s health and the health of the family unit throughout Africa. 10
Ibid 149 Naeemah Abrahams, “Sexual violence against intimate partners in Cape Town: prevalence and risk factors reported by men”, World Health Organization, May 2004. 12 Charlotte Watts, “Reproductive Health Services and Intimate Partner Violence: Shaping a Pragmatic Response in Sub-Saharan Africa,” International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 30, No. 4 (2004): 208 13 Ibid 11
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Rape in the 1990s The 1994 Rwandan Genocide is one of the worst human rights disasters in history. In a period of just three months, approximately one million Rwandans were murdered. Sexual violence was also widely used in the Rwandan conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis where such violence against opposing sides was encouraged by army officials.
Rwanda
In some Rwandan
raids, almost every young girl, after surviving the initial attacks, was later raped.
Their families and
communities ostracized many of the girls that became pregnant.14 Some 500,000 women were raped during the genocide in 1994, two-thirds of which are believed to have contracted HIV.15 Besides
the
Rwandan
Genocide,
sexual
violence has been used in wars in the Balkans, as well as in Iran, Afghanistan, and Algeria. In the latter three states, Muslim fundamentalists have resorted to violence in order to make certain people to accept their version of Islam. In Algeria, extremists have committed acts of violence against women for failing to comply with their orders.16 Fundamentalists raid cities and kidnap women to take to their camps, often, forcing their captives to become sexual slaves.
Implications of Sexual Assault in Armed Conflict Psychologists have named rape as one of the worst and most traumatic human events. It has been used as a tool of war in many African armed conflicts such those in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, Haiti, Liberia, Somalia, Uganda, and many more.17 Groups in many ethnic conflicts view sexual violence as a viable war strategy. Military 14
Ibid “From a fact sheet on women and armed conflict,” International Peace Update, 6 December 2002. 16 Sajor, Indai Lourdes, “Common Grounds: Violence against women in war and armed conflict situations,” Asian Center for Women’s Human Rights, 1998, 7 17 “The State of the Worlds Children 1996: Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War,” UNICEF, http://www.unicef.org/sowc96pk/sexviol.htm, Accessed 5 March 2005. 15
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leaders use organized rape as a means of eradicating villages by destroying and humiliating the enemy.18 These types of wars have genocidal tendencies with clear intentions of wiping out the opposing side and have developed refugee crises at unprecedented levels. Refugees of genocidal wars are affected differently than any other types of war because they have witnessed the worst human rights atrocities known to man.19 Rape in ethnic cleansing presents a unique problem. Pregnancies from rape in ethnic cleansing wars are referred to as “forced pregnancies” and “race pollution.” In instances of race pollution, societies view the children as dirty, tainted, and contaminated, and thus shun these children for their perceived impurity.20 For example, during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s in Europe, Serb nationalists utilized forced pregnancies as a means to change the demographics of the region by repopulating it with Serb children. They used forced pregnancy to promote their nationalist ideology and to create more soldiers to protect the country. This caused Serb men to view the women as ‘incubators’ for future soldiers. Serbian men were encouraged to rape their own women as well as women of other nationalities.21 Resulting from the harsh realities of raising a child conceived from rape, some rape victims who become pregnant desire an abortion. Often societal and cultural norms prevent these women from pursuing this option. Communities consider pregnancies in times of war, when husbands and male partners are traditionally away from home, as a clear sign that the women were either raped or were unfaithful to their husbands; as a result, the community ostracizes such women.22 To avoid such repercussions, women often wish to have an abortion, but are faced with extreme adversity, most notably from cultural and religious norms. Catholic and Muslim nations take strong stances against 18
Barstow, Anne, “War’s Dirty Secret: Rape, Prostitution, and Other Crimes Against Women,” Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2000: 3 19 Ibid 20 Nikolić-Ristanović, Vesna, “Women, Violence, and War: Wartime Victimization of Refugees in the Balkans,” Budapest: Central European University Press, 1995, 69 21 Barstow, Anne, “War’s Dirty Secret: Rape, Prostitution, and Other Crimes Against Women,” Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2000: 3 22 From a fact sheet on women and armed conflict,” International Peace Update, 6 December 2002.
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abortion, believing it equivalent to murder. Even when following pleas of religious leaders to keep children from forced pregnancies, the husbands of these women and the communities as a whole ostracize them for bringing an impure child to term.23 Thus impregnated rape victims are paradoxically prevented access from terminating their pregnancies but then shunned for raising the “dirty” children they were forced to keep. The threat of rape is also an effective means of encouraging a specific ethnicity from a given area. Rape works in this manner because it is a threat to women, so many women decide to move because of what they see and hear happening to fellow women. Families move in order to protect their female children, as parents wish to protect the lives and honor of the girls.24
Armed conflicts and human rights violations have
displaced approximately 40 million people worldwide, and women and children comprise more than 80 per cent of that number.25
Sexual Violence and the Rights of Refugees Protecting the rights of women in Africa is difficult as is, but protecting the rights of female refugees is even more so. In 2002, the UN High Commission for Refugees estimated that there were 20 million refugees in Africa.26 Furthermore, women and children comprise more than 50 per cent of the world’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), meaning people that have fled their homes but relocated within the state they live in.27 In theory, who becomes a refugee is gender-neutral,
but
because
women
and
children are more likely to be civilians than
Internally Displaced Persons: A person who, as part of a mass movement, has been forced to flee his or her home or place of habitual residence suddenly or unexpected as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violation of human rights. fear of such violation, or natural or man-made disasters, and who has not crossed an internationally recognized State border.
men, they become refugees at a higher rate. International law establishes reproductive rights for all humans. Two treaties in 23
Nikolić-Ristanović, Vesna, “Women, Violence, and War: Wartime Victimization of Refugees in the Balkans,” Budapest: Central European University Press, 1995, 69 24 Ibid 25 “Colombian women: survival amidst war,” Women’s health Collection, January 2003, 7:99. 26 “Women and War,” Women’s Health Journal, 21 January 2003. 27 Francoise Girard, “Ensuring the Reproductive Rights of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Legal and Policy Issues”, International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 26, No. 4. (2000): 167
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particular, the Women’s Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, received immense worldwide support for their ratification, with 166 and 190 countries signing them, respectively.28 The Women’s Convention, for example, guarantees women the right of equal access to information on family planning and equal access to healthcare facilities. Refugees face a perilous road to finding safety, but the challenges facing female refugees are immensely higher. Border guards, soldiers, members of local populations, and even fellow male refugees can make the escape an even worse ordeal by inflicting sexual harm.29 After a woman is raped, if she becomes pregnant, it is often difficult to find proper medical care. The aforementioned treaties guarantees adequate health care facilities as a part of the basic reproductive rights of humans, but receiving these rights is difficult, especially in times of war.
Adequate healthcare facilities are vital to a
successful pregnancy. In this sense, successful is describing a pregnancy in which the mother does not die and the child survives. African states have high maternal death rates; for example, Sierra Leone experiences 1,800 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and Eritrea sees 1,000 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births.30
Some of these
maternal deaths are in wanted pregnancies that went awry, while others were unwanted pregnancies brought on by sexual violence. When families flee their homes, they often relocate to refugee camps. Despite good intentions, refugee camps often make women vulnerable. During armed conflict and other humanitarian disasters, women either seek refuge in nearby countries or become IDPs within their own country. Due to their nature, refugee camps often lack proper medical care, food, clean water, or shelter. Having already escaped perilous conditions, women become victims in the camps they turned to for safety. Women and girls living in refugee camps are six times more likely to contract HIV than living
28
Ibid 169. Ibid 184. 30 Sandra K. Krause , “Programmatic Responses to Refugees' Reproductive Health Needs”, International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 26, No. 4. (2000): 182. 29
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elsewhere, due in large part to the threat of sexual violence.31 There is a serious risk of falling victim to sexual assault or rape while living in the camps themselves. The culprits could be local warring parties or even the security forces themselves. Women are vulnerable to sexual violence because they cannot support themselves, or their children, financially, and instead depend upon the camps to do so, leaving them susceptible to engaging in sexual acts in exchange for basic aid and food.32 Women who are victims of rape are often reluctant to report crimes committed against them, fearing repercussions from their families and communities. Victims often suppress any knowledge of a rape or sexual assault to avoid emotional stress, community detachment, and revenge from assailants.33
Potential Solutions Conflicts such as that in Rwanda have led to international attention and concern. International support, however, has been inadequate to ameliorate this situation. The issues facing women in Africa need reevaluation by the world community as a whole. Widespread rape is outlined as a crime against humanity in many international conventions, which acknowledge rape or sexual assault as “grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions (article 2), violations of the Laws or Customs of War (Article 3), and as genocide (Article 4).”34 Aside from these pieces of legislation, the Fourth World Conference on Women’s Beijing Platform for Action contains a section on women and armed conflict which is very comprehensive in outlining how to protect women. This particular section defines rape as a war crime and states that those guilty of such a crime “must be punished.” The Platform further outlines how governments and international organizations can help prevent such violence.35 31
The problem is that despite these
From a fact sheet on women and armed conflict,” International Peace Update, 6 December 2002. “Violence against women in armed conflict: A fact sheet” Amnesty USA, http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/pdf/armedconflict.pdf, accessed 22 October 2006. 33 Ibid 34 Nikolić-Ristanović, Vesna, “Women, Violence, and War: Wartime Victimization of Refugees in the Balkans,” Budapest: Central European University Press, 1995, 69. 35 “FWCW Platform for Action: Women and Armed Conflict,” United Nations, http://www.un.org/womenwatch.daw/beijing/platform/armed.htm, accessed 3 March 2005. 32
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10 Moreover,
international law fails to recognize forced pregnancies as a human rights violation, and therefore criminal charges cannot be brought against those committing these acts, leaving victims of forced pregnancy with no legal recourse. When trying war criminals for sexual violence crimes, prosecutors are charging them with violations to a woman’s honor and reputation. International organizations have yet to recognize the deprivations of life as well as pain and torture inflicted on victims as being in need of protection.36 Sexual attacks most certainly shame a woman’s honor and result in her exclusion from her community, and attacks also damage a victim’s reputation beyond repair. That said, inherent to the term, sexual attacks are physical attacks on a human being of a sexual nature. Severe physical and psychological damage directly results from sexual violence, and with the prevalence of HIV/AIDS on the African continent, long-term life expectancy decreases sharply if victims contract the virus from rape. The process of justice discontents many victims of sexual assault because of this weak interpretation of international law. Even though the international community is trying its best to secure the rights of victims of sexual violence in armed conflict, many of the victims have their own sense of justice. International organizations make many decisions for female victims, and these victims feel the organizations impose improper decisions upon them. The victims themselves need special attention in order to find the best way to help address their individual situations.37
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda In 1994, Security Council Resolution 995 established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Its purpose is to “render justice, aid reconciliation, and establish the truth of what happened in Rwanda.”38 The ICTR is unique in that it is the 36
Sajor, Indai Lourdes, “Common Grounds: Violence against women in war and armed conflict situations,” Asian Center for Women’s Human Rights, 1998, 11 37 Ibid. 38 “The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,” accessed 5 March 2005.
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first international criminal tribunal to accuse and convict officials who used rape as a tool of war. Only after significant pressure from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) did the international community consider sexual violence as a prosecutable offense.39 Unfortunately, the ICTR lacks resources to enforce its rulings, which compromises efforts to establish international norms against wartime rape and sexual violence. Future generations must take into account the accomplishments and failures of the ICTR when deciding how to deal with similar crimes against humanity.
International Criminal Court The Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) entered into force on 17 July 1998.
Its purpose is to prosecute people who have
committed crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICC has a different purpose than the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Whereas the ICJ focuses on the prosecution of state governments, the ICC exists to pursue charges against individuals. The ICC is especially important because it is a permanent institution, unlike the ICTR, created solely for the Rwandan incident. The ICTR possessed neither the ability nor the jurisdiction to establish precedent in these cases. The ICC, however, by its very design can handle all future cases of sexual violence crimes. The ICC has the ability act more quickly than an ad hoc tribunal and, because it is permanent and produces meaningful judicial decisions that will have a lasting effect in the future. Thus the ICC has the potential to set a worldwide precedent against sexual violence as a tool of war, but the Court has not gone to such lengths.40
Legislative Reform States are slowly recognizing the implications of wartime rape and subsequent forced pregnancies. By acknowledging the special circumstance resulting form wartime sexual violence, some states are changing laws regarding abortion. On 12 April 1998, 39
“A women scorned for the ‘least condemned’ war crime: precedent and problems with prosecuting rape as a serious war crime in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.” Colombia Journal of Gender & Law, December 2004: 2. 40 “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” United Nations, http://www.un.org/law/icc/statue/iccq&a.htm, accessed 4 March 2005.
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Algeria’s Islamic Supreme Council set an edict that allows impregnated victims of rape by Islamic extremists to have abortions.41 Despite progress in many states, governments still allow crimes involving sexual violence against women to go unnoticed.
Such
disregard perpetuates throughout the community, sending a message that others are immune to repercussions of violence against women.42 Aside from legislation and governmental prevention and provisions, measures must be taken to protect and help women if and when wartime sexual violence occurs. Medical provisions for victims of wartime rape and sexual violence in refugee camps are extremely important.
Many host refugee countries have difficulty supporting the
onslaught of refugees, resulting in a shortage of medical and food supplies.43 International assistance is necessary to ensure that hospitals and medical centers have proper equipment and supplies to handle the medical problems associated with wartime sexual violence.
Current Status The international community has responded in positive ways to the sexual violence that has occurred throughout the world in the past decade. The conflicts in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, among others, drew attention to the plight of women in conflict. Governments and NGOs have developed better responses to victims of sexual violence by stressing the need for improvement in refugee areas. Those in charge of the safety of vulnerable female refugees have given greater attention to the women within their camps. With the inclusion of sexual violence as a war crime, scholars are looking at the role of these crimes in armed conflict and are providing concrete theories and evidence that will have an impact in the future.44 Violence against women occurs throughout the continent of Africa in areas torn 41
Chelala, Cesar, “Algerian abortion controversy highlights rape of war victims,” Lancelot, 9 May 1998, Vol. 351, Issue 9113: 1413. 42 “From a fact sheet on women and armed conflict,” International Peace Update, 6 December 2002 43 “Meeting the Health Needs of Women Survivors of the Balkan Conflict [Part 3 of 15],” Center for Reproductive Law and Policy,” 13-24, 1993. 44 Pilche, Frances T., “Sexual violence during armed conflict: Institutional and Judicial Responses,” Summer 2002, http://www.ssrc.org/programs/gsc/gsc_quarterly/newsletter5/content/pilch.page, Accessed 29 March 2005.
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apart by warfare as well as those known for their calm and stability. Two regions in particular, the Darfur region of the Sudan and the Eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have crises beyond those found elsewhere in the continent. Other problematic areas, including Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have ebbed, but may rekindle. Sexual assaults and rapes have occurred on an enormous scale in those and other regions within the past decade, and the problems persists, but have not escalated to the magnitude of Darfur or the Congo. The following case studies will provide insight into the significant issues of the present not just in these two conflicts alone, but throughout Africa as a whole.
Sexual Violence in Darfur Within the horrific ethnic warfare occurring in the Darfur region of the Sudan is The Sudan
the targeting of women specifically for acts of sexual violence. The Janjaweed milita, at least tacitly supported by the Sudanese government, move into villages, and target the males for execution. Militias then either rape the women immediately, or abduct them and turn them into sex slaves.45 These groups utilize rape in Darfur as a method of humiliating the non-Arab Africans against whom they are waging war. These rapes take place in public, in front of the communities from which the women come, with the victim’s
family and husband serving as the audience.46 To this end, rape becomes a weapon of fear, not only for the women, but also for the entire population. The Janjaweed use rape to demonstrate power over their victims and to scare them into complying with any demands they may make. 45
“Sudan: Darfur: Rape as a weapon of war: sexual violence and its consequences”, Amnesty International, 19 July 2004, http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr540762004, Accessed 29 October 2006. 46 Ibid
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Sexual attacks on women have steadily increased as the Darfur crisis has persisted. Two groups are behind this rise: the Janjaweed and the security forces. The Janjaweed are using rape as a method of achieving ethnic cleansing. Ethnic cleansing is the “the expulsion of an ‘undesirable’ population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic discrimination, political, strategic or ideological considerations, or a combination of these.”47 The Arab militias rape the nonArab women so they will give birth to Arab offspring. Emily Wax, a reporter for the Washington Post, described the mass rape of over 400 women by militiamen as proof that
Select Examples of Ethnic Cleansing Year(s) Targeted Population 1914-1922 Armenian Genocide 1944 Kalmyks (Kalmyk, Russia) 1966 Igbos (Nigeria) 1990 Lhotshampas (Bhutan) 1991-1999 Bosniaks (Balkan Wars) Present Non-Arab Muslims (Darfur, Sudan)
“they [the militiamen] want more Arab babies [by Darfur's African women] to take the land.”48 One attack, in March 2004, resulted in 100 women being raped, 75 men killed, and 150 women and 200 children abducted. Mukesh Kapila described the attack as “more than just a conflict. It is an organized attempt to do away with a group of people.”49 Perhaps even more disturbing is that Sudanese security guards, policemen, and soldiers in the Sudanese National Army also rape women and teenage girls in Darfur. These men are supposed to serve as protectors of the villages in Darfur, and yet they too commit heinous acts against women. Indeed, in addition to warring factions like the Janjaweed seeking to humiliate the non-Arab Africans, civilians commit rapes with no regard to international law standards.50 These attacks go largely unreported, due in large part to the disparity of power between the victim and the security forces, and the necessity the victims have for these security forces. The army and police officers protect the villages the best they can from Janjaweed attacks, so the villagers desperately need
47
Andrew Bell-Fialkoff, "A Brief History of Ethnic Cleansing", Foreign Affairs 72 (3): 110, Summer 1993. Stephanie Nieuwoudt , “No Justice for Darfur Rape Victims”, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=324842&apc_state=henpacr, 25 October 2006, accessed 27 October 2006 49 “Mass rape atrocity in West Sudan”, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3549325.stm, 19 March 2004, accessed 27 October 2006 50 Ibid. 48
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them.51 The Sudanese security forces take advantage of their power over these communities when UN peacekeeping forces are not present; when peacekeeping forces are in the area, the rate of rape is far lower.52
Democratic Republic of Congo Since 2003, officials estimate that tens of thousands of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been raped, but only a few hundred women received proper treatment for any injuries resulting from the attacks.53
Democratic Republic of the Congo
A 2002 Human Rights Watch report
specifically mentioned the Eastern Region of the DRC saying that, “within the larger war in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the warring parties carry out another war: that of sexual violence against women and girls.”54 Volunteers from the NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) have treated more than 550 women for injuries resulting from sexual violence. The number of victimized women is difficult to estimate due in large part to the long distances required to reach support camps and the unwillingness of victims to admit they have been raped. Sexual violence on behalf of the warring parties in the DRC is a military strategy. Government and military officials have engaged the use of widespread sexual violence as a war tactic in order to dehumanize their enemies. The combatants of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (Congolese Rally for Democracy RCD), Mai-Mai, armed 51
“Violence against women in armed conflict: A fact sheet” Amnesty USA, http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/pdf/armedconflict.pdf, accessed 22 October 2006. 52 Stephanie Nieuwoudt , “No Justice for Darfur Rape Victims”, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=324842&apc_state=henpacr, 25 October 2006, accessed 27 October 2006. 53 “D.R. Congo: Tens of Thousands Raped, Few Prosecuted,” Human Rights Watch, 7 March 2005, http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/07/congo10258.htm, Accessed 28 March 2005. 54 “Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War: MSF Report Eastern DRC” Medecins Sans Frontieres, 4 January 2004, http://www.msf.org/countries/page.cfm?articleid=3F9E5E6C-3D1E-4CC9-8BF6841CFF695248, Accessed 28 March 2004.
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groups of Rwandan Hutu, Burundian rebels of the Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (Forces for the Defence of Democracy, FDD) and the Front pour la Libération Nationale (Front of National Liberation, FNL) have all been documented as using sexual violence.55 These crimes have largely gone unpunished, as none of the judicial institutions within the country are compelled to pursue charges against the military. In addition, not only have the leaders of these various armed factions not punished or condemned the actions of their soldiers, they have instead promoted them.56 Military leaders view rape and other forms of sexual violence as effective ways to terrorize local populations, and thus encourage their soldiers to ravage, rape and enslave women to further their war efforts. Perhaps the most interesting of the three warring groups is the estimated 10,000 Hutu who established bases in the Congo after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Fully armed, this militia moved to a country comprised of differing ethnicities from their own and terrorized the indigenous people. Some of these Hutu are even veterans of the Rwandan Genocide.57 For example, Mwachishafuka is a woman who lives in the small town of Walungu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hutu rebels took her and her daughter, along with ten other families, from their homes at night and demanded an exorbitant amount of money as ransom, which Mwachishafuka and her daughter did not have. Unable to produce the ransom fee, the rebels raped her daughter and other young women they kidnapped. Describing her daughter, Mwachishafuka cried, “She was no longer like a human being.”58 This story is one of the countless tragedies that occur on a daily basis in Africa. The fact that the perpetrators in this instance are Hutu rebels, whose hands remain forever stained in the blood of the 800,000 Tutsi that died in the Rwandan Genocide, demonstrates how these criminals continue to go unpunished for their actions. 55
Ibid. “Seeking Justice: The Prosecution of Sexual Violence in the Congo War”, HRW, http://hrw.org/reports/2005/drc0305/4.htm#_Toc96844248, Accessed 20 November 2006. 57 Robert Walker, “DR Congo’s towns besieged by rapists”, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4121688.stm, accessed 20 November 2006. 58 Ibid. 56
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Further crimes against humanity in the DR Congo have surfaced only recently. The Congolese government has charged Uganda and Rwanda with purposely using HIV positive rebels to rape Congolese women, alleging, “About 2,000 AIDS-suffering or HIV-positive Ugandan soldiers were sent to the front in the eastern province of Congo with the mission of raping girls and women so as to propagate an AIDS pandemic among the local population and, thereby, decimate it.”59 As repeatedly stated, rape is used as a weapon of war in many different conflicts throughout the African conflict. This specific case, if investigations and inquiries substantiate these claims, would be the first documented use of spreading AIDS via raping women to kill entire populations of people.60 A disturbing and shameful first in the history of war crimes, this signifies the severity of the physical damage that large-scale sexual violence can cause.
Impact of Sexual Violence on African States Despite its increased attention by the international community, warring factions still use sexual violence as a weapon in their arsenal. Many states, including Liberia, the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, and the Central African Republic have reported the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war.61 Women in these states fear the possibility of falling victim to sexual assault or rape. Elsewhere, victims of sexual violence anxiously wait for society to bring perpetrators to justice. Sexual violence ranks as one of the most heinous violations of human rights one can commit against an individual. Rape is a life-altering event, not only because of the emotional scarring it causes, but because of the social effects implications, as rape places a permanent ‘scarlet letter’ on victims. On 16 February 2005, Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for urgent measures to end violence in the Darfur region of the Sudan and reported the findings of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to 59
Rick Westhead, “Virus a weapon in Congo War”, The Toronto Star, accessed 20 November 2006, Lexis-Nexis, final edition. 60 Ibid. 61 “Stop Violence Against Women,” Amnesty International, http://www.amnestyusa.org/stopviolence/news.do, Accessed 28 March 2005.
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the Security Council. The Commission concluded that the government of the Sudan had not committed acts of genocide, but had committed large-scale war crimes and crimes against humanity.62 Crimes of murder, torture, rape, and forced displacement continue against the people of Darfur from both Sudanese government officials and Janjaweed Militia members. The Commission’s report referred the situation to the ICC to stop current violations and prevent futures incidents.
The Sudanese judicial system is
unwilling to deal with the problems in Darfur, and this cultivates an air of total ‘impunity’ for human rights violators in Darfur.63 With the Rwandan genocide in mind, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan established a five-point plan for the UN to use to stop future genocides. Addressing the first point in his Action Plan to Prevent Genocide, Annan proclaimed, “we must attack the roots of violence and genocide: hatred, intolerance, racism, tyranny, and the dehumanizing public discourses that denies whole groups of people their dignity and their rights.”64 With evidence that sexual violence is a common occurrence in Africa in everyday life in peaceful regions in addition to an oft-used weapon of war, Annan’s plan calls for the changing of societal norms. Changing ideologies requires transforming elementary education and even governmental powers. The remaining four steps of this plan involve specifically protecting civilians during wartime, ending impunity for those committing war crimes, establishing an early warning detection system for potential genocides, and “swift and decisive action” in response to warnings of genocide.65 Since genocide and sexual violence are closely related, the Action Plan to Prevent Genocide could help prevent future situations in which warring factions use sexual violence to wage war. Kofi Annan unveiled his plan in 2004, a year in which a majority of the world became aware of the atrocities taking place in the Darfur region of the Sudan. In 62
“Press Release SC/8313,” United Nations, 16 February 2005, http://www.un.org/News/Press/Docs/2005/sc8313.doc.htm, Accessed 8 March 2005. 63 Ibid. 64 “10 years after Rwanda genocide, Annan unveils plan to stop future massacres,” United Nations, 7 April 2004, http://www.un.org/apps/news/storyAr.asp?NewsID=10337&Cr=Rwanda&Cr1=Genocide, Accessed 8 March 2005. 65 Ibid.
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reviewing the situation in Sudan, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur made many suggestions on how to help the situation.
The commission first
recommended the establishment of a Compensation Commission to give reparations for the victims of the crimes, regardless of whether or not the authorities could find the perpetrator. The commission also called on the government of the Sudan to take serious measures in improving its judicial system by ending impunity, and to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to aid in helping the victims in Darfur.66 Other states experiencing similar problems with sexual violence can adapt these ideas in order to alleviate their own situations.
The Sudanese government
condemns the armed militias genocidal actions in Darfur, which includes widespread sexual violence against women, yet the Sudanese government has proven reluctant or slow to act thus far. It is one thing to state on paper an opposition to acts of sexual violence or to write out plans of action to rectify such acts, but without implementation and enforcement of such plans, no real progress can be made.
Bloc Positions One would assume that the use of rape as a means of aggression would draw the ire of the international community. Virtually every state in the world, regardless the status of women in its society, has legal protections for women from sexual violence. These same states have drafted, signed, and ratified numerous international treaties condemning sexual violence, outlawing rape, and promising to punish those who commit such atrocities, yet the problem persists. The issue is quite often not at the governmental level, but is on an individual basis. Governments will frequently denounce and ban the use of sexual intimidation in times of armed conflict, however they often admit an inability to control the individual soldier on the field. Sometimes the government does lack the ability to control its own troops, yet other times, such as in the Sudan, the government simply does not put forth the necessary effort to end the suffering of women at the hands of monsters abusing their power. 66
“Press Release SC/8313,� Accessed 8 March 2008.
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Africa Some African nations like Guinea find it difficult to implement the Beijing Platform for Action due to their influx of refugees from surrounding war-torn states (in Guinea’s case, from Sierra Leone). State governments have to reconcile the humanitarian and idealist mission of providing for refugees with the basic needs of their own people.67 African states believe that a worldwide effort must take place in order to prevent the future use of widespread sexual violence.
The international community taking the
initiative to combat sexual violence would certainly prove beneficial for the more dire situations in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but this is not an excuse or pass by any means on the African states themselves to solve the issue. African governments who prove reluctant, slow, or unwilling to end sexual violence and pursue justice must receive condemnation or punishment for their exacerbating the human suffering within their borders. In 2003, the African Union reaffirmed the fundamental rights that all women are entitled to when they issued the Protocol on the Rights of Women. Thoroughly detailing both women’s rights and methods to protect those rights, the Protocol demonstrates a philosophical agreement among AU member states to uphold and safeguard women’s rights.68
Addressing the rights of women in armed conflict, the AU proclaimed that
states must strive to protect women “against all forms of violence, rape, and other forms of sexual exploitation, and to ensure that such acts are considered war crimes.”69 Whether these individual states choose to honor the Protocol to the best of their ability, or instead merely pay lip service to it, is unknown.
Western Developed States These nations and their citizens are appalled by past and present instances of 67
“Press Release WOM/1189: Tackling violence against women must be top priority,” United Nations, 6 March 2000, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000306.wom1189.doc.html, Accessed 18 April 2005. 68 “Protocol on the Rights of Women”, African Union, http://www.africaunion.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/Text/Protocol per cent20on per cent20the per cent20Rights per cent20of per cent20Women.pdf, Accessed 20 November 2006. 69 Ibid.
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wartime sexual violence against women and believe that justice must be brought to the perpetrators of past crimes in order to curb future crimes.70 States must work together to combat the trend of impunity. The European Union (EU) recognizes that sexual violence during armed conflict is a serious problem and urges all nations to incorporate plans to end such violence.71 The EU and United States also recognize how important it is that all nations do their best to implement human rights protections for their populations and to increase cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Commission.72
The
Coalition on Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations has been very active in helping to protect witnesses of sexual violence during armed conflict. This NGO’s efforts are trying to end the trend of impunity for perpetrators.73 In June 2006, representatives of state governments across the globe convened in Brussels, Belgium for the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond. The meeting took place with the basic yet vital agenda of discussing the impact of sexual violence on the individual and the development of states as well as how to put an end to the suffering.74 The EU sent a sizable delegation to the symposium, consisting of EU parliament representatives, European Commission representatives, and representatives of individual European governments.
Culminating the two-day
symposium was a call to action for “zero tolerance for acts of sexual and gender-based violence, and zero tolerance for complacency by governments and other institutions responsible for the safety and well-being of women, men, and children affected by
70
“Press Release SC/835: Security Council refers situation in Darfur, Sudan, to prosecutor of International Criminal Court,” United Nations, 31 March 2003, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8351.doc.htm, Accessed 20 April 2005. 71 “Press Release GA/EF/3042: Delegates underscore importance of empowering women, migrants as second committee takes up sustainable development, international cooperation,” United Nations, 14 October 2003, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/gaef3042.doc.htm, Accessed 19 April 2005. 72 “Press Release GA/SHC/3557: Social committee urges steps to prevent abuse of street children, protect welfare of children in armed conflict situations,” United Nations, 11 November 1999, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19991111.gashc3557.doc.html, Accessed 20 April 2005. 73 Pilch, Francis T., Sexual Violence During Armed Conflict: Institutional And Judicial Responses,” Summer 2002, http://www.ssrc.org/programs/gsc/gsc_quarterly/newsletter5/content/pilch.page, Accessed 9 June 2005. 74 “International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond”, United Nations, http://www.unfpa.org/emergencies/symposium06/index.htm, Accessed 20 November 2006.
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conflict.”75 With backing from African states struggling to combat sexual violence, the developed Western states, including the US and members of the EU, as well as a multitude of NGOs, the symposium signaled that the international community acknowledges sexual violence as a problem plaguing Africa and that the world vows to defeat it.
Asia and the Middle East Asian states deplore the use of sexual violence as a war tactic and favor a strict adherence to humanitarian law during periods of armed conflict. These states believe that perpetrators must be brought to justice by the means of their own government because it is more effective than relying upon international organizations.
In addition, the
international community must make more of an effort to protect civilians in areas of armed conflict. China feels that it is important to increase the protection provided to civilians during armed conflict and that international agencies must work together in order to make this occur.76 On the status of women, many Asian and Middle Eastern states share similar cultural and societal norms with African states; mainly, society in all three regions places an emphasis on the purity and honor of women.77 Thus if a woman were to fall prey to sexual assault, society in Asia and the Middle East tends to create an unofficial, extralegal punishment for the victim. As in Africa, victims of sexual abuse or rape in these societies are viewed as unclean or impure, and are faced with admonishment from their families and ostracism from their communities. In some cases, victims are actually faced with criminal prosecution under adultery laws.78 Thus Asian and Middle Eastern states often experience some of the same basic underlying problems to sexual violence that Africa does. The notable difference is that far fewer conflicts are ongoing in these
75
Ibid Ibid 77 “Regional Overview of Women’s Rights in Asia”, Human Rights Watch, http://hrw.org/women/overviewasia.html, Accessed 20 November 2006 78 Ibid 76
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two regions as compared with Africa, and thus sexual violence occurs in isolated incidents rather than in a systematic fashion.
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Summary The systematic use of sexual violence as a tool of war is a serious problem. Victims of wartime sexual violence are deprived of many of their fundamental human rights and exposed to some of the most traumatic acts a human can experience. The inherent patriarchal view that gives women a lower value in society is the source of sexual violence. This patriarchal nature that exists in some societies objectifies women. Viewing women as objects or property, warring groups seek to damage, destroy, or steal this property to hurt their enemies.
Systematic rapes and forced pregnancies are
becoming trends in the ethnic conflicts taking place in Africa, with the genocides in Rwanda, the DRC, and Darfur demonstrating the worst of these conflicts. Military officials use widespread sexual violence because it dehumanizes the enemy and erodes the fabric of communities. Rapes sometimes take place in public to demoralize the community and humiliate the individual.
The victims of rape then
experience a dramatic shift in their social standing, as they become pariahs within their communities. Women are further ostracized if they conceive a child as a result of rape. The mother and child, despite being the victims of horrendous acts of violence, must then cope with persecution from society for the acts they were victimized by. Victims must live with the repercussions of their assault for the rest of their lives. They may be forced to move because of the disapproval of their community or they may contract a life-threatening disease such as HIV/AIDS. There are existing treaties that seek to prevent and discourage the use of systematic sexual violence as a tool of war, but many nations fail to meet the promises they made when signing on to these international agreements.
The international community must ensure that such states be held
accountable for their actions. In addition, improvements in the conditions of refugee camps and health infrastructure are critical to reducing the rate of sexual violence. Creating environments where refugees who escaped violence can live in safety, rather than fear for their well-being from security guards who should protect them, will greatly reduce sexual violence.
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Discussion Questions • The international community agrees that rape is a horrific and morally repugnant act. Conferences held and treaties signed outlawing the act have done little, as rape still occurs quite frequently during times of armed conflict. What methods exist to reduce this? • The advent of rape as a viable war strategy in many conflicts is alarming. Beyond intervention into the conflict, what can be done to end systematic rape used as a weapon in warfare? • Punishing those who commit sexual violence is a complex issue. Should those accused of committing sexual violence stand trial while the conflict is still occurring? Should criminal proceedings wait until after the conflict is resolved? What judicial body should handle such cases, the judiciary of the state where the crime took place, or an international judicial body? • Perhaps most disturbing is sexual violence perpetrated by peacekeepers, security forces, and other armed forces designated to protect refugees and other victims of warfare. How can the United Nations handle these cases? • Children born from forced pregnancies or rape often become outcasts, as their community shuns them for perceived impurities. These children are victims of the crime committed against their mother, yet receive treatment from their community that a criminal would deserve. Ideally, the goal is to teach tolerance and respect for all people, but is this possible? Is this feasible? • Refugees are in an extraordinarily vulnerable position when it comes to sexual violence. Forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in overcrowded, underfunded, and poorly protected camps. Here, women are often left with no choice but to comply with those who run the camps in order to obtain food and water for themselves and their children, if they have any. Is there a feasible way to protect the women in these camps? • What role does the culture in Africa play in sexual violence that occurs in armed conflict? As it stands, sexual violence, rape, and physical violence against women is commonplace all over Africa, in both peaceful regions and warring areas. Armed conflict just presents those already predisposed to violence, thus the reason they carry weapons and fight, with an opportunity to abuse the power they possess in an even worse way. How can this culture that permits sexual violence be changed?
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