Sexual Violence in Conflict:
A War Crime
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.On 12 March 2015 the House of Lords agreed in principle to appoint an ad hoc committee on sexual violence in conflict.1 The Committee was established on the recommendation of the Liaison Committee following a proposal by Baroness Helic.2
2.The Committee was appointed on 11 June 2015 with the remit “to consider the UK’s policy and practice of preventing sexual violence in conflict”.3
Legal and political background
3.Rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict are contrary to international law, recognised according to circumstances as a war crime, a crime against humanity and even genocide.
4.War rape was outlawed by the Lieber Code in 1863.4 Rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict are prohibited under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols.5 Today, these crimes are prohibited under international human rights law (IHRL),6 international humanitarian law (IHL) and are subject to prosecution under international criminal law (ICL).7
5.The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) describes sexual violence as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity”.8 Such crimes are designated as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
6.The first conviction for rape as a crime against humanity in an international criminal tribunal was secured in 1998.9 Since then, there have been further convictions at the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The first conviction at the ICC for sexual violence in conflict (including against men), was secured in March 2016, when former President and Commander-in-Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.10 Commenting on the conviction, Ms Angelina Jolie Pitt, Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “My thoughts and my admiration go out to the survivors and witnesses who bravely testified in this case and contributed to this landmark conviction. I hope it will serve as a warning to perpetrators of rape everywhere.”11
7.The United Nations (UN) Security Council has repeatedly condemned and called for an end to all forms of sexual violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict. Adopted in October 2000, UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 acknowledged that the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls required changes in the way the international community approached conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.12 UNSCR 1325 also emphasised states’ responsibility to end impunity and prosecute those responsible for such crimes. The Resolution established the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, with subsequent resolutions extending the UN’s reach in this area ( Appendix 5 for a full list of the relevant UNSCRs).13
8.The UK Government made the prevention of sexual violence in conflict a policy priority when the then Foreign Secretary, Lord Hague of Richmond, and Ms Jolie Pitt launched the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) in 2012.14 In conducting its inquiry the Committee has considered whether the prioritisation is appropriate, as well as the PSVI and wider Government programming on violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Causes, scale and effects
9.Sexual violence in conflict is not new. References to rape can be found in the earliest recorded histories and it continues to be used as a weapon of war and terror with each new permutation of warfare.15 A range of explanations are advanced as to its causes. In some conflicts it is used as a strategy of war (to ethnically cleanse, displace, terrorise and humiliate populations); as a means of creating cohesion between combatants; as a reward; as a means to destroy social and cultural cohesion; for economic ends; and as a means of extracting information.16 The position of women in society is crucial, as the subjugation of women leads to an increase in gender-based violence (GBV), which is a predisposing condition for sexual violence in conflict.17
10.There has been a lack of systematic recording of the incidence of sexual violence in conflict. Although it is accepted that these crimes have been committed in the vast majority of conflicts, precise figures are lacking ( Appendix 9). For instance, UN agencies estimate that between 100,000 and 250,000 women, were raped during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and that between 20,000 to 50,000 women were raped during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia.18 It is thought that the overwhelming majority of sexual violence in conflict is perpetrated against women and girls, although there are reports of sexual violence against men and boys in numerous conflicts. However, very little is known as to the numbers of men and boys who are victims of these crimes.19
11.Data is incomplete, but what can be said with certainty is that the problem is large and pervasive. We heard evidence on sexual violence committed by state forces and agents (for instance in prisons and other places of detention), violent non-state groups (VNSGs), civilians and peacekeepers. Acts of sexual violence in conflict are perpetrated by individuals and by groups,20 as well as combatants and non-combatants.21 Those affected include (but are not limited to), civilians in conflict-affected areas, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), prisoners and people living in post-conflict societies. Sexual violence remains prevalent during and after conflict.
12.The problem of sexual violence in conflict is a global one, as the map in Figure 1 illustrates ( Appendix 10 for the list of countries and sources). We received evidence of sexual violence committed in conflict-affected areas in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. As Madame Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict, said: “No single continent, culture, region or religion has a monopoly on this scourge”.22 The UN Secretary-General’s 2015 report on sexual violence in conflict covered 19 countries and included a cumulative list of 45 parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence.23 In March 2016 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) accused the South Sudanese government of being responsible “for the gross and systematic human rights violations” in a conflict where rape had become “an acceptable practice by SPLA [Sudanese People’s Liberation Army] soldiers and affiliated armed militias”.24 Today, we also the “catastrophic” new trend of extremist groups using sexual violence as a tactic of terror, in countries such as Iraq, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria.25
13.The manifestation of sexual violence varies between conflicts,26 but what remains constant is the suffering inflicted on the victims—women, girls, men and boys, their families and communities. The brutality of the crime is staggering. For the individual the effects are profound. Sexual violence in conflict can result in severe physical and psychological trauma, HIV infection (which in many cases is fatal) and sometimes death.27 Women and children are at particular risk of further harm through displacement, pregnancy, forced marriage or ‘honour killing’. These crimes remain shrouded in stigma. Survivors may be cast out by their families, they rarely receive justice and it is believed that most victims do not report attacks. Sexual violence in conflict destroys families and communities and lays those affected by it open to further harms.
Our approach
14.The Committee’s report examines UK Government policy and practice. We have not attempted a comprehensive academic or geographical exploration of the topic. We hope nevertheless that the breadth and range of witnesses that have generously provided evidence to the inquiry makes this a valuable assessment of the topic.
Figure 1: Map of sexual violence in conflict-affected countries
15.The following principles underpin our analysis:
(a)Sexual violence in conflict is a human rights abuse and contrary to international law;
(b)It is a war crime that is perpetrated against women, girls, men and boys;
(c)Ending sexual violence in conflict requires long-term engagement and partnerships with international organisations, governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society;
(d)It cannot be considered in isolation from women’s perceived status in society and cultural attitudes towards women; and
(e)Increased and urgent effort is needed to outlaw sexual violence in conflict in all its forms, which, despite being contrary to international law, has yet to be subject to universal political and popular condemnation.
The Committee’s inquiry
16.As this Committee was an ad hoc appointment, it ceased to exist on the production of this report. We were set a tight timetable to complete our report by 23 March 2016.
17.We issued our call for evidence ( Appendix 3) in July 2015 and took oral evidence from 41 witnesses during 21 sessions, held between September and December 2015. We received 66 pieces of written evidence. We are grateful for the written and oral evidence that was submitted to the inquiry. The witnesses who provided it are listed in Appendix 2. Our inquiry has been evidence-led and this report reflects the balance of the evidence we received.28 All of this evidence is published online.29
18.The membership of the Committee is listed in Appendix 1, together with their declared interests. Members of the Committee also met survivors of sexual violence in conflict ( Chapter 8). We are particularly grateful to the survivors who exhibited great courage and bravery in sharing their experiences with us. The Committee visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in November 2015 ( Appendix 6). We extend our gratitude to the UK Ambassador to the DRC, Mr Graham Zebedee, and the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda, Mr William Gelling OBE, and their colleagues for facilitating this visit and to everyone who met the delegation. We are also grateful to Professor Christine Chinkin, our Specialist Adviser, for her assistance.
19.Within our remit of considering the UK’s policy and practice of preventing sexual violence in conflict, this report focuses on:
- Policy and legal framework: UK Government policy; and the international legal framework (Chapter 2);
- Prevention: the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; behavioural and attitudinal change; research and evaluation; military training and good practice; violent non-state groups; human rights defenders; and early warning systems (Chapter 3);
- Women’s participation: the Women, Peace and Security Agenda; and peace processes (Chapter 4);
- Responding to victims and survivors: prioritising the needs of the victim and survivor; vulnerability to further harms; humanitarian crises; the role of local organisations; and UK domestic policies (Chapter 5);
- Accountability and justice: documentation and evidence gathering; truth and reconciliation commissions; capacity building for national judicial systems; violent non-state groups; and remedy and reparation (Chapter 6); and
- Sexual violence by peacekeepers: accountability; preventative measures; and the UK’s approach (Chapter 7).
2 Liaison Committee, Review of select committee activity and proposals for new committee activity (2nd Report, Session 2014–15, HL Paper 127)
4 International Committee of the Red Cross, Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field (Liber Code), 24 April 1863, Section II, Article 44: https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=B1CE1E21A4237EE6C12563CD00514C6C [accessed 14 March 2016]
5 Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols of 1977: Rape is expressly prohibited in international and non-international armed conflict under the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols. Other forms of serious sexual assault are also explicitly or implicitly prohibited. Geneva Convention IV, Article 27 and Additional Protocol I, Article 76 (related to international armed conflict); and Geneva Convention Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II, Article 4 (related to non-international armed conflict).
6 When committed by a state agent (such as the military forces of the state, prison officers or police), rape and sexual violence constitute torture or cruel and inhuman treatment and as such is prohibited under IHRL. The leading cases under European human rights law are: Aydin v Turkey (Application No. 23178/94), 25 September 1997 (state forces); and M.C. v Bulgaria (Application No. 39272/98), 4 December 2003 (non-state actor).
7 The system of international criminal law is implemented through international ad hoc tribunals, hybrid courts and the ICC, as well as national courts (military and civilian).
8 International Criminal Court, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (January 2002), Article 7, para 2: http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/ea9aeff7-5752-4f84-be94-0a655eb30e16/0/rome_statute_english.pdf [accessed 14 March 2016]
9 Prosecutor v Akayesu, ICTR-96-4-T, Judgement, 2 September 1998. This case was also the first judicial recognition that rape could constitute genocide.
10 Prosecutor v Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, ICC-01/05-01/08, Judgement, 21 March 2016: Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was convicted of three counts of war crimes (murder, rape and pillaging) and two crimes against humanity (murder and rape) committed by MLC soldiers in the Central African Republic in 2002–2003. In addition to being the first conviction at the ICC for sexual violence in conflict, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was the first person to have been charged at the ICC with command responsibility under article 28 of the Rome Statute.
11 Foreign & Commonwealth Office, ‘Baroness Anelay and Angelina Jolie Pitt statement on ICC verdict’, 21 March 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/baroness-anelay-and-angelina-jolie-pitt-statement-on-icc-verdict [accessed 23 March 2016]
12 UN Women, Women and Peace and Security: Guidelines for National Implementation (2015): http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Media/Publications/en/02BPlanonWomenandPeaceandSecurity.pdf [accessed 14 March 2016]
13 Respectively, UNSCRs: 1325, 31 October 2000; 1820, 19 June 2008; 1888, 30 September 2009; 1889, 5 October 2009; 1960, 16 December 2010; 2106, 24 June 2013; 2122, 18 October 2013; and 2242, 13 October 2015.
14 Foreign & Commonwealth Office, ‘Foreign Secretary launches new Government initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflict’, 29 May 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/foreign-secretary-launches-new-government-initiative-to-prevent-sexual-violence-in-conflict [accessed 14 March 2016]
15 Janie L. Leatherman, Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011), p 1. also Susan Brownmiller, Against our will: Men, Women and Rape (New York: Ballatine Books, 1993)
16 Nobel Women’s Initiative, War on Women: Time for action to end sexual violence in conflict (May 2011): http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/war-on-women-web.pdf [accessed 14 March 2016]
17 Janie L. Leatherman, Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011)
18 UN Women, In Brief: Peace and Security (2013): http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2013/12/un%20women%20briefthematicpsuswebrev3%20pdf.ashx [accessed 14 March 2016]
19 Sandesh Sivakumaran, ‘Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict’, The European Journal of International Law, vol. 18 no. 2 (2007), pp 253–276: http://ejil.org/pdfs/18/2/224.pdf [accessed 14 March 2016]
20 Elisabeth J. Wood, ‘Armed Groups and Sexual Violence: When Is Wartime Rape Rare?’, Politics and Society, vol. 37 no. 1 (March 2009), pp 131–161: http://pas.sagepub.com/content/37/1/131.abstract [accessed 14 March 2016]
21 Human Security Report Project, Sexual Violence, Education, and War: Beyond the Mainstream Narrative (2012): http://www.hsrgroup.org/docs/Publications/HSR2012/2012HumanSecurityReport-Overview.pdf: [accessed 14 March 2016] “The mainstream narrative systematically neglects domestic sexual violence in war-affected countries, even though it is far more pervasive.”
22 Remarks of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, “Sexual Violence in Conflict: A Global Security Threat”, 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace & Security, Georgetown University, 22 February 2016
23 UN Security Council, Conflict-related sexual violence: Report of the Secretary-General, S/2015/203 (23 March 2015): http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2015_203.pdf [accessed 14 March 2016]
24 UN Human Rights Council, Assessment mission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to improve human rights, accountability, reconciliation and capacity in South Sudan: detailed findings, A/HRC/31/CRP6 (10 March 2016): http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session31/Documents/A-HRC-31-49_en.doc [accessed 16 March 2016]
25 UN, ‘Fight against Sexual Violence in Conflict Reaches “New Juncture”, Security Council Told’ (15 April 2015): http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11862.doc.htm [accessed 14 March 2016]
26 Elisabeth J. Wood, ‘Variation in Sexual Violence During War’, Politics and Society, vol. 34 no. 3, (September 2006), pp 307–341: http://home.iscte-iul.pt/~apad/MSV/text%20violencia/sexo%20e%20guerra.pdf. [accessed 14 March 2016] “In some conflicts, sexual violence takes the form of slavery, whereby women are abducted to serve as servants and sexual partners of combatants for extended periods; in others, it takes the form of torture in detention. In some wars, women belonging to particular groups are targeted; in others, the violence is indiscriminate. In some wars, only women and girls are targeted; in others, men are as well. Some acts of wartime sexual violence are committed by individuals; many committed by groups. Some acts occur in private settings; others are public, in front of family or community members. In some conflicts, the pattern of sexual violence is symmetric with all parties to the war engaging in sexual violence to roughly the same extent; in other conflicts, it is very asymmetric.”
27 International Committee of the Red Cross, ‘Sexual violence in armed conflict: questions and answers’, 10 November 2013: https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/faq/sexual-violence-questions-and-answers.htm [accessed 14 March 2016]
28 In common with all House of Lords reports, our work is evidence-based, albeit untested in a court of law. With the plethora of other recent or current investigations into this issue, we have occasionally drawn on other, reliable sources as referenced.
29 Evidence published online is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/svc-committee