21 April 2010
Humanitarian
Resource Institute
Phone: (203) 668-0282
Url: www.humanitarian.net
United Nations Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts
Humanitarian Intervention Initiative
Url: www.unarts.org/H-II
H-II: Int. Response - Rape as a Weapon of War - Crimes Against
Humanity
By: Stephen Michael Apatow, Founder of Humanitarian Resource Institute
and the United Nations Arts Initiative. [1]
The international community turned it's back on "Crimes Against Humanity"
in the context of endemic "Rape as a Weapon of War" in DR Congo and
Darfur. [2,3]
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—sometimes referred
to as the ‘African World War’—has devastated the country since its onset
in 1998. The world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, it has killed
5.4 million people and displaced a million more. Despite the signing of
peace accords in 2003 and again in 2008, fighting has been ongoing throughout
the east, and the prevalence of rape in this region has been described as
the worst in the world. [4]
A short distance to the north, the Darfur crisis has been described as
one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. By the end of 2004,
there were an estimated two million people affected by continued armed conflict
and violence against civilians." [5] The Lancet notes conflict dynamics
such as changing displacement and causes of deaths estimated the excess number
of deaths to be approximately 300,000. Although violence was the main
cause of death during 2004, diseases have been the cause of most deaths
since 2005, with displaced populations being the most susceptible. Any
reduction in humanitarian assistance could lead to worsening mortality rates,
as was the case between mid 2006 and mid 2007. [6] In 2007, report
on the crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan identified rape
as a systematic weapon of ethnic cleansing being used by government-backed
Janjaweed militiamen. [7]
Crimes Against Humanity
"Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly
odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity
or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They
are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government
policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this
policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a
government or a de facto authority. Murder; extermination; torture; rape
and political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts
reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of
a widespread or systematic practice." [8]
It is clear that the systemic use of "Rape as a Weapon of War" in DR
Congo and Darfur meet the threshold of crimes against humanity.
Following the H-II: Humanitarian Intervention Initiative appeal on 16
April 2010, leaders across the globe have increased their focus on this
crisis, with Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean calling the international
community to action:
Governor
General Michaelle Jean received a standing ovation from women when she reminded
lawmakers in the Congo that the United Nations dubs the practices in the
country a “crime against humanity.” Jean devoted the entire speech to women’s
rights on Monday. Congo is home to a conflict where gang-rape is a weapon
of war. -- GG Speaks in Congo: 580 CFRA News, 19 April 2010. [9]
In a speech
attended by the country's president, cabinet ministers, two brigadiers-general
of the Congolese national army, and Canadian peacekeepers in Congo, Jean
spoke of sexual violence "of unimaginable horror" perpetrated on women and
children that is "reaching endemic proportions." Pointing to hotspots in
the country's violent eastern region – where she travels Tuesday – Jean
said "in certain cases, this consists of serious violations of international
humanitarian law, meaning `crimes against humanity.'" She was citing language
directly used by the United Nations...
"She characterized
what's happening in the east of the country as a crime against humanity which
could be pursued nationally under national laws or prosecuted before the
International Court of Justice, if you can find and extradite the perpetrators,"
said Canadian jurist Louise Otis, an international legal adviser to the UN.
-- Michaëlle Jean urges Congo to stop rape: Governor General calls
on leaders to ensure punishment for 'crime against humanity'. The Star, Ottawa
Bureau. 20 April 2010. [10]
References:
1. Stephen
Michael Apatow, Founder of Humanitarian Resource Institute and the
United Nations Arts Initiative. Url: http://www.apatow.org
2. H-II: Darfur: Rape as a Weapon of War - 17 Fold Increase - Crimes
Against Humanity: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 16 April 2010. Url:
http://www.unarts.org/news/aiie_darfur4162010.html
3. Rapes 'surge' in DR Congo: Aljazeera,
15 April 2010. Url: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2010/04/201041595648701631.html
4. Legacy of War: An Epidemic of Sexual Violence in DRC: UNFPA, 26 November
2008. Url: http://www.unfpa.org/public/News/pid/1399
5. Darfur: One Year On: World Health Organization, 2004. Url: http://www.emro.who.int/sudan/pdf/Darfur%20report%202004.pdf
6. Patterns of mortality rates in Darfur conflict: The Lancet, Volume
375, Issue 9711, Pages 294 - 300, 23 January 2010. Abstract (article is
made available free of charge). Url: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2809%2961967-X/abstract
7. Janjaweed Using Rape as 'Integral' Weapon in Darfur, Aid Group Says:
The Washington Post, 3 July 2007. Url: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201627.html
8. As quoted by Guy Horton in Dying Alive - A Legal Assessment of Human
Rights Violations in Burma April 2005, co-Funded by The Netherlands
Ministry for Development Co-Operation. See section "12.52 Crimes against
humanity", Page 201. He references RSICC/C, Vol. 1 p. 360. Url: http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Horton-2005.pdf
9. GG Speaks in Congo: 580 CFRA News, 19 April 2010. Url: http://www.cfra.com/?cat=3&nid=72606
10. Michaëlle
Jean urges Congo to stop rape: Governor General calls on leaders to ensure
punishment for 'crime against humanity'. The Star, Ottawa Bureau. 20 April
2010. Url: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/797772--michaelle-jean-urges-congo-to-stop-rape
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H-II: Humanitarian Intervention Initiative
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