Sexual Crimes in Conflict Database

A collection of relevant literature and case law

Showing 1 to 10 of 11 results.

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    DRC Military Operational Court – Sheka Case

    Country
    Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
    Keywords
    Mass Rape Sexual Slavery Sexual Violence against Girls Child Soldiers

    Reference link
    http://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/29/dr-congo-mass-rape-trial-crucial-justice
    Type of mechanism
    Military Tribunal
    Name of accused
    Ntabo Ntaberi “Sheka”
    Charges
    Crimes against humanity, war crimes, terrorism
    Status
    2778

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    High Court of Uganda (International Crimes Division) - Thomas Kwoyelo

    Country
    Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
    Keywords
    Lord's Resistance Army Child Soldiers

    Reference link
    http://www.ijmonitor.org/2018/09/thomas-kwoyelos-trial-commences-in-uganda/
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    High Court of Uganda (International Crimes Division)
    Name of accused
    Thomas Kwoyelo
    Charges
    On 30 August 2018 the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda confirmed 93 charges against Thomas Kwoyelo. Amongst the charges are: murder, rape, defilement, destruction of crops and property, recruitment of children as soldiers and other crimes against humanity.
    Status
    2778

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    ICC - Bosco Ntaganda

    Issues
    Definitions/Elements of Sexual Violence Crimes Sexual Violence against Children Sexual Violence against Men
    Country
    Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
    Keywords
    Child Soldiers Children in Armed Conflict Coercion Active Participation in Hostilities Right of Ownership

    Reference link
    https://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation%20icc%200104/related%20cases/icc%200104%200206/Pages/icc%200104%200206.aspx
    Type of mechanism
    International Criminal Tribunal/Court
    Name of mechanism
    International Criminal Court
    Name of accused
    Bosco Ntaganda
    Charges
    Initially Ntaganda did not face charges of sexual violence and was only charged with his alleged responsibility for the war crimes of conscripting, enlisting children under the age of fifteen and using them to participate actively in hostilities, despite widespread documentation of sexual violence committed by the UPC by several international, national and local NGOs as well as UN agencies. In the Prosecution’s second warrant of arrest of 14 May 2012, which was issued by Pre-Trial Chamber II on 13 July 2012, additional charges against Ntaganda were added and included sexual violence.Ntaganda surrendered to the ICC’s custody voluntary on 22 March 2013. On 9 June 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber II unanimously confirmed charges against Ntaganda allegedly committed in 2002-2003 in the Ituri Province of the DRC, including: - Rape as a war crime (Article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Statute); - Sexual slavery of civilians as war crimes (Article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Statute); - Rape and sexual slavery of child soldiers as war crimes (Article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Statute); - Rape as a crime against humanity; - Sexual slavery as a crime against humanity (see paras. 49-52; 53-57; 76-82). Ntaganda bears individual criminal responsibility pursuant to different modes of liability, namely: direct perpetration, indirect co-perpetration (article 25(3)(a) of the Statute); ordering, inducing (article 25(3)(b) of the Statute); any other contribution to the commission or attempted commission of crimes (article 25(3)(d) of the Statute); or as a military commander for crimes committed by his subordinates (article 28(a) of the Statute).
    Trial chamber verdict
    Second decision on the Defence’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of Counts 6 and 9, Trial Chamber VI, ICC-01/04-02/06-1707:On 1 September 2015, the Defence filed an application before the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court challenging the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of Counts 6, on rape of child soldiers as a war crime and count 9, regarding sexual slavery of child soldiers as a war crime. The core issue was whether rape and sexual slavery under Article 8(2) (b) (xxii) and (e)(vi) of the Rome Statute are limited to acts constituting grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 or serious violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.Judges of Trial Chamber II stated on 4 January 2017 that while most of the express prohibitions of rape and sexual slavery under international humanitarian law appear in contexts protecting civilians and persons hors de combat [outside the fight] in conflict, those explicit protections do not exhaustively define or limit the scope of the protection against such conduct. Limiting the scope of protection in the manner proposed by the defense “was contrary to the rationale of international humanitarian law, which aims to mitigate the suffering resulting from armed conflict.”
    Appeals chamber verdict
    Judgment on the appeal of Mr Ntaganda against the "Second decision on the Defence’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of Counts 6 and 9”, Appeals Chamber, ICC-01/04-02/06-1962:The Appeals Chamber affirmed that the ICC has jurisdiction over cases in which soldiers of an armed group commit war crimes against members of the same group. The Appeals Chamber considered that “international humanitarian law not only governs actions of parties to the conflict in relation to each other, but also concerns itself with protecting vulnerable persons during armed conflict and assuring fundamental guarantees to persons not taking active part in the hostilities.” Appeals judges noted that Article 8(2)(b)(xxii) and (2)(e)(vi) of the Rome Statute does not expressly provide that the victims of rape or sexual slavery must be “protected persons” in terms of the Geneva Conventions or “persons taking no active part in the hostilities.” That meant that members of an armed group are not categorically excluded from protection against the war crimes of rape and sexual slavery when committed by members of the same armed group.
    Status
    2778
    Case number
    ICC-01/04-02/06

  • Literature

    Viseur-Sellers, Patricia - Gender Strategy is Not Luxury...

    Year
    2009
    Issues
    Achievements and Challenges of Sexual Violence Prosecution
    Country
    Rwanda, Former Yugoslavia
    Keywords
    NGO Expertise in Sexual Violence Child Soldiers Persecution on Sexual Grounds Advisor for Gender in the Office of the Prosecutor

    Reference link
    https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=jgspl
    Full reference
    Viseur-Sellers, Patricia, "Gender Strategy is Not Luxury for International Courts Symposium: Prosecuting Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes Before International/ized Criminal Courts," in Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, 2009, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 327-335.
    Type of literature
    Journal Article
    Research focus
    Investigation, Prosecution and Prevention of Conflict related Sexual Violence
    Author
    Viseur-Sellers, Patricia
    Type of mechanism
    International Criminal Tribunal/Court
    Name of mechanism
    International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Court

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    ICC - Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

    Year
    2014
    Issues
    Achievements and Challenges of Sexual Violence Prosecution Sentencing and Reparations
    Country
    Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
    Keywords
    Charges Filed too Late Child Soldiers

    Reference link
    https://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation%20icc%200104/related%20cases/icc%200104%200106/Pages/democratic%20republic%20of%20the%20congo.aspx
    Type of mechanism
    International Criminal Tribunal/Court
    Name of mechanism
    International Criminal Court
    Name of accused
    Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
    Charges
    Lubanga Dyilo was not charged with sexual violence in the indictment, despite widespread documentation of sexual violence committed by the UPC by several international, national and local NGOs as well as UN agencies. He was, however, charged with the war crimes of enlistment and conscription of children under the age of 15 and of using them to participate actively in hostilities in Ituri, DRC, from July 2002 until December 2003. During trial, however, in an amicus curiae brief of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict dated 18 March 2008, the Special Representative observed that the crime of ‘using children to participate actively’ in hostilities could include in particular girl child soldiers. She proposed that the Trial Chamber ‘deliberately include any sexual acts perpetrated in particular against girls’ within the ‘active participation’ charges. This would seem to provide an opening to prosecute Lubanga for sexual violence. The Prosecution in their opening statement on 26 January 2009, devoted some time to discussing the abduction of young girls by Lubanga to be used as sex slaves and that boy soldiers were also forced to rape civilians (Transcripts Lubanga case, 26 January 2009). Some of the Legal Representatives for Victims, representing girl victims of sexual violence, discussed sexual violence committed against girls (Transcripts Lubanga case, 26 January 2009). Since Lubanga Dyilo was not charged with sexual violence crimes as such, the bringing up of sexual violence by both the Prosecutor and the Legal Representatives for Victims could, at the time, be seen as a move to request the amendment of the charges during trial. Indeed, on 14 July 2009, a majority of Trial Chamber judges ruled in response to a joint application submitted by victims’ representatives that it was possible to add charges of sexual slavery (as young girl recruits were used as sex slaves) and cruel and inhumane treatment (as sending children into combat) based on Regulation 55 of the Regulations of the Court (requalification of the facts) (Decision Giving Notice, 14 July 2009). The Chamber stipulated that the charges must be based on existing evidence or on facts that emerged during the trial. However, on 8 December 2009, the Appeals Chamber ruled that Regulation 55(2) and (3) of the Regulations of the Court may not be used to exceed the facts and circumstances described in the charges or any amendment thereto.
    Trial chamber verdict
    In light of the above developments, Lubanga Dyilo was not charged and convicted for sexual violence crimes. Lubanga Dyilo was found guilty, on 14 March 2012, of the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting of children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities.
    sentencing
    He was sentenced, on 10 July 2012, to a total of 14 years of imprisonment. The verdict and sentence were confirmed by Appeals Chamber on 1 December 2014.
    Status
    2715
    Case number
    ICC-01/04-01/06

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart - Ignace Murwanashyaka (“Murwanashyaka and Musoni”)

    Year
    2015
    Issues
    Achievements and Challenges of Sexual Violence Prosecution Socio-cultural Context of Sexual Violence
    Country
    Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Germany
    Keywords
    Withdrawal of Charges Child Soldiers Gang Rape Traumatization Vulnerability

    Reference link
    Link 1 Link 2
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart
    Name of accused
    Ignace Murwanashyaka
    Charges
    Murwanashyaka was charged in 2009 with 26 counts of crimes against humanity and 39 counts of war crimes, including massive sexual violence (including gang rape of women). He was accused of ordering militias to commit mass murder and rape between January 2008 and the date of their arrest in Germany in November 2009 (command responsibility). However, over time, only charges related specifically to the killings remained, in part because “the court decided not to further tax the vulnerability of traumatized rape victims” or child soldiers by making them appear before the hearing.
    sentencing
    On 28 September 2015, Murwanashyaka was convicted for the remaining charges and received a sentence of 13 years in prison.
    Status
    2715

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart - Straton Musoni (“Murwanashyaka and Musoni”)

    Year
    2015
    Issues
    Socio-cultural Context of Sexual Violence Achievements and Challenges of Sexual Violence Prosecution
    Country
    Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Germany
    Keywords
    Withdrawal of Charges Vulnerability Traumatization Gang Rape Child Soldiers

    Reference link
    Link 1 Link 2
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart
    Name of accused
    Straton Musoni
    Charges
    Musoni was charged in 2009 with 26 counts of crimes against humanity and 39 counts of war crimes, including massive sexual violence (including gang rape of women). He was accused of ordering militias to commit mass murder and rape between January 2008 and the date of their arrest in Germany in November 2009 (command responsibility). However, over time, only charges related specifically to the killings remained, in part because “the court decided not to further tax the vulnerability of traumatized rape victims” or child soldiers by making them appear before the hearing.
    sentencing
    On 28 September 2015, Musoni was convicted for the remaining charges and received a sentence of 8 years in prison.
    Status
    2715

  • Literature

    Oosterveld, Valerie - The Construction of Gender in Child Soldiering in the Special Court for Sierra Leone

    Year
    2018
    Issues
    Sexual Violence against Children Role of Non-state Actors in Perpetrating Violence
    Country
    Sierra Leone
    Keywords
    Sexual Slavery Child Soldiers Sexual Violence against Boys

    Reference link
    http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3305328
    Full reference
    Valerie Oosterveld, “The Construction of Gender in Child Soldiering in the Special Court for Sierra Leone”, in Mark A. Drumbl and Jastine C. Barrett (eds.), Research Handbook on Child Soldiers, Edward Elgar Publishing Forthcoming, 2019.
    Type of literature
    Chapter in Book
    Research focus
    Investigation, Prosecution and Prevention of Conflict related Sexual Violence, Gaps in the Jurisprudence and Legislation on Conflict-related Sexual Violence crimes, Obstacles to Establish Accountability for Sexual Violence Crimes
    Author
    Oosterveld, Valerie

  • Literature

    Aijazi, Omer et al. - ‘We Were Controlled, We Were Not Allowed to Express Our Sexuality, Our Intimacy Was Suppressed’: Sexual Violence Experienced by Boys

    Year
    2019
    Issues
    Sexual Violence against Children Sexual Violence against Men
    Country
    Uganda
    Keywords
    Forced Marriage Sexual Violence against Boys Child Soldiers LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) Conflict-related Sexual Violence

    Reference link
    http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3315671
    Full reference
    Omer Aijazi, Evelyn Amony and Erin Baines, “‘We Were Controlled, We Were Not Allowed to Express Our Sexuality, Our Intimacy Was Suppressed’: Sexual Violence Experienced by Boys”, in Mark A. Drumbl and Jastine C. Barrett (eds.), Research Handbook on Child Soldiers, Edward Elgar Publishing Forthcoming; Washington & Lee Legal Studies Paper, 2019, No. 2019-01.
    Type of literature
    Chapter in Book
    Research focus
    Causality, Functionality and Logic of Conflict-related Sexual Violence

  • Literature

    Denov, Myriam - Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence within Armed Groups - A Case Study of Northern Uganda

    Year
    2019
    Issues
    Sexual Violence against Children Socio-cultural Context of Sexual Violence Role of Non-state Actors in Perpetrating Violence Victims of Sexual Violence
    Country
    Uganda
    Keywords
    Rape Children Born in Captivity Child Soldiers LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) Reintegration Marginalization

    Reference link
    http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3322569
    Full reference
    Myriam Denov, “Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence within Armed Groups - A Case Study of Northern Uganda”, in Mark A. Drumbl and Jastine C. Barrett (eds.), Research Handbook on Child Soldiers, Edward Elgar Publishing Forthcoming; Washington & Lee Legal Studies Paper, 2019, No. 2019-08.
    Type of literature
    Chapter in Book
    Research focus
    Causality, Functionality and Logic of Conflict-related Sexual Violence, Perpetrators and Prevention

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