U.N. Highlights Rape as a War Weapon in Ukraine.
Image Featured: Photo by Melanie Wasser, Unsplash
Pramila Patten, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on sexual violence in times of conflict reported mid-October 2022 that rape is increasingly used in the armed conflict in Ukraine as a weapon to humiliate and discourage the populations. Therefore, there had been an earlier 27 September report to the High Commissioner for Human Rights setting out many of the same facts and calling for international action.
Patterns of systematic rape become part of International Humanitarian Law.
In the past, sexual violence had often been dismissed as acts of individual soldiers, rape being one of the spoils of war for whom rape of women was an entitlement. However, with the 2001 trials of war crimes in former Yugoslavia by the International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia, the first convictions of rape as a crime against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war were handed down against Bosnian Serb soldiers. Bosnian Serb fighters were charged with mass rape and forced prostitution involving dozens of Muslim women and girls some only 12 years old. The case had taken five years of investigations and more than 30 witnesses for the prosecution. The three soldiers being tried were given a sentence of 12 years imprisonment.
Since then, we have seen patterns of systematic rape become part of International Humanitarian Law, and since 2002 one of the crimes that can be prosecuted within the International Criminal Court. (1)
Rape as a war weapon.
There have been reports of systematic rape in Ukraine since 2014 with the creation of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Louhansk by both Ukrainian and separatist soldiers. However, little international attention was given to these reports. It is only with the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 that international attention has focused on reports of rape especially in areas that were for a time under the control of the Russian military or the militias of the two People’s Republics. (2)
Unfortunately, it would seem that the armed conflict in Ukraine will drag on. There are few signs of a willingness for a negotiated settlement. International Humanitarian Law moves slowly. Rape as a war weapon is used in other armed conflicts, such as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Sudan, and Syria. Strong non-governmental pressure is needed to keep governmental and United Nations efforts going.
Vital Autonomy for the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk. The Way Ahead.
Notes:
1) For a good overview of both specific armed conflicts and the slow but steady international response see Carol Rittner and John K. Roth (Eds) “Rape: Weapon of War and Genocide” (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2012)
2) See Amnesty International “Ukraine 2021” www. amnesty.org Secretaru General’s Report, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. www.osce.org
Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens.
President, Association of World Citizens (AWC).
Estudied International relations in The University of Chicago.
Estudied Special Program in European Civilization en Princeton University
Here are other publications that may be of interest to you.
Burma’s Crumbling Junta
February first marked the anniversary of the military coup which overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. She was in practice the leader of the government but…
Preventing the Expansion of the Gaza Conflict: Are Peace Brigades a Possibility?
Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, has been again in the Middle East working to prevent the violence of the Gaza Strip of spreading to much of the area. …
World Citizens Call for an Inmediate End to Hostilities between Israel and Hamas, and for a Genuine Peacebuilding Effort in the Middle East.
Featured image: The impact of the Israeli bombing on a civilian building in Gaza (2021). By Osama Eid, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The AWC, a Nongovernmental Organization…
World Humanitarian Day: A Need for Common Actions.
Featured Image: Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash. The United Nations General Assembly has designated 19 August as “World Humanitarian Day” to pay tribute to aid workers in humanitarian service…
Peace Planners: Awake!.
Featured Image: Photo by Eddie Kopp, Unsplash. The recent NATO Summit in Vilnius is an indication that the war planning community is busy at work in the spirit of Von…
Track Two Efforts Needed to Reduce China-India Frontier Tensions.
Featured Image: Arunachal Pradesh – India. Photo by Unexplored Northeast, Unsplash. There has been a constant buildup of military forces by the governments of both India and China along their common frontiers. …
Democratic Republic of Congo: Sky Getting Darker.
Photo by jorono, Pixabay. The armed conflict in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) on the frontier with Rwanda seems to be growing worse and is…
World Refugee Day.
June 20 is the United Nations (UN)-designated World Refugee Day; marking the signing in 1951 of the Convention on Refugees. The condition of refugees and migrants has become a “hot”…
4 June: Memories of Tiananmen Square.
4 June makes the security forces in China somewhat uneasy, especially in Hong Kong where, in the past, there were large memorial meetings tp remind people of 4 June 1989…
International Day of the Oceans.
Featured Image: Photo by Marek Okon, Unsplash. Progress on Asian Maritime Delimitations Needed. 8 June has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day of the Oceans to…