The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice is an international women's human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and through domestic mechanisms, including peace negotiations and justice processes. We work with women most affected by the conflict situations under investigation by the ICC.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice works in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Libya and Kyrgyzstan.

Offices
■ Cairo, Egypt
■ Kampala and Kitgum, Uganda
■ The Hague, the Netherlands

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the July 2013 issue of Women's Voices, a regular eLetter from the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice. In Women's Voices, we provide updates and analysis on political developments, the pursuit of justice and accountability, the participation of women in peace talks and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of women's rights activists within armed conflict situations, specifically those countries under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

In addition to Women's Voices, we also produce a regular legal eLetter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of judicial decisions and other legal developments at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and discussion of legal issues arising from victims' participation before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of gender-based crimes in each of the Situations under investigation by the ICC.

More information about the work of the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice and previous issues of Women's Voices and Legal Eye on the ICC can be found on our website www.iccwomen.org.

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice addresses the United Nations Security Council

On 24 June 2013, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice was one of three speakers invited to brief the United Nations (UN) Security Council on sexual violence in armed conflict during the Council’s Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security. The debate was chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague for the United Kingdom (UK), which held the Presidency of the Security Council in June. Following a presentation by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, briefings were provided by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Hawa Bangura; Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Jane Adong Anywar, Legal Monitor for the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice in Uganda.

The debate, held at Ministerial level, was the first high-profile debate on sexual violence in conflict since the G8 Foreign Minister’s meeting hosted by the UK in April 2013, at which time the G8 adopted the Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

In May 2012, the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), at an event also attended by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie. The Women’s Initiatives has worked closely with the UK PSVI since its establishment including during the consultation phase to develop the scope and strategic focus of this important new element in combating conflict-related sexual violence. In November 2012, the Women’s Initiatives was invited to participate in the Wilton Park meeting on preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, and in February 2013, the Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives was one of the external experts invited to present to senior G8 policy advisers on the prosecution, investigation and documentation of sexual violence, in advance of the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in April 2013. The Women’s Initiatives and representatives of its 147 DRC members and partners met with the UK Foreign Secretary and Ms Jolie in March in Goma, Eastern DRC and discussed some of the challenges to ending impunity for crimes of sexual violence, the impact of this form of violence on victims/survivors and their needs for justice, medical and psycho-social support, as well as economic and livelihood assistance.

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Women’s Initiatives’ presentation to United Nations Security Council

Presented by: Jane Adong Anywar, Legal Monitor – Uganda Programme, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

Thank you Mr President, the Honourable William Hague; the UN Secretary General; Excellencies; distinguished members of the Panel; Honourable Ministers; members of civil society; Ladies and Gentlemen;

My name is Jane Adong Anywar. I am representing the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice where I work as a Legal Monitor in our Uganda programme assessing the progress and challenges in establishing an effective national mechanism to try conflict-related crimes including sexual violence, in the Ugandan context. The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice is an international women’s human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and through domestic mechanisms. In addition, we also advocate for the participation of women and the integration of gender provisions within peace processes and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of victims/survivors and women’s rights activists in armed conflict situations.

The paucity of domestic prosecutions for crimes of sexual violence, the limited volume of international prosecutions for these crimes, and the scale worldwide of crimes of sexualised violence — particularly in situations of armed conflict — continue to leave an impunity gap so distinct that in recent years it has become the focus of several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The attention given by this Council to sexual violence is necessary and urgent, and with developments such as the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, the UN Action campaign Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, and the work of the International Criminal Court, attention to this issue is becoming increasingly strategic.

During the last 27 years, Northern Uganda and several of the countries on its border, including South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been subjected to armed conflict, instability, displacement of the population and widespread and brutal forms of sexual and gender-based crimes, committed by a range of perpetrators including armed forces, militia groups and the Lord’s Resistance Army, the LRA.

In the past decade of our work, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice has worked with thousands of victims/survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and monitored accountability for such crimes in several conflict or post-conflict countries.

With more than 6,000 grassroots members and partners within armed conflicts situations, we are aware of the demand from local communities for a reduction in impunity and more frequent domestic trials for perpetrators responsible for committing sexual violence and other grave crimes.

Drawing on all of this work, there are three observations I would like to offer today regarding accountability for sexual violence in armed conflicts:

(1) The first is that it is well documented that the commission of rape and other forms of sexual violence intensify and increase during times of civil war and armed conflicts. And yet too often, impunity for these crimes continues to be guaranteed through amnesty laws.

Let me give you an example from Uganda.

Under the Ugandan Amnesty Act of 2000, complete amnesty was extended to members of the LRA on the condition that they report to a designated area, surrender their weapons and make a declaration renouncing and abandoning involvement in the war or armed rebellion.[1] Unfortunately, there were no conditions regarding truth telling; individuals were not required to make a full declaration of the acts they had committed or the incidents they may have witnessed; no crimes including sexual violence, were excluded from qualification under the amnesty regime. Victims did not even receive an apology through this process.

The granting of amnesty guaranteed impunity and therefore it did not shift the stigma of shame away from the survivors to the perpetrators of these crimes.

The pardoning facility under the Amnesty Act was dissolved last year, but while in existence it provided a blanket immunity from prosecution for sexual violence and other crimes, for the entire period of the Ugandan LRA conflict.

(2) The second observation we would like to make, is that leadership on accountability for conflict-related crimes including sexual violence must be provided at the national level, with priority given to resourcing; adequate legislation prohibiting acts of sexual violence; and capacity building for police, investigators, lawyers and judges regarding the adjudication of these crimes.

The inclusion of credible national prosecutions for conflict-related crimes including acts of sexual violence, within the basket of accountability and reconciliation initiatives is crucial for locating justice in proximity to victims. Just as crucial, is that domestic courts prosecuting these international crimes do so in compliance with the established international standards.

Let me again draw on our experience in Uganda. In 2011 the International Crimes Division within Uganda became operational with the jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in compliance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The creation of this domestic war crimes court was welcomed by large sections of the community, in particular women’s rights and peace advocates who described the Court as comforting for victims and a milestone in raising the hope and expectations for the realisation of justice and meaningful peace.

Since then the Ugandan Court has adopted some of the procedures practised by the ICC including the use of redacted statements to support witness safety in proceedings and in the practices regarding the disclosure of evidence. These processes are new under the Ugandan rules of procedure and are helping to strengthen the understanding that successful witness and victim protection is at the core of any efficient investigation and prosecution.

However, there are also challenges at the national level when attempting to prosecute conflict-related crimes including sexual violence. These can include the lack of jurisdiction for the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, perhaps the lack of familiarity by the judiciary to the provisions relating to sexual violence, the ongoing myths regarding sexualised violence, and sometimes the one-sided prosecutions depending on the outcome of the conflict. Challenges can also relate to the practice and administration of justice, and in Uganda this has meant a lack of court reporters, professional interpreters and the management of transcripts.

(3) Some of these issues are resource and capacity-related which leads me to my third observation, which is that the scale of sexual violence crimes committed during armed conflict is beyond the capacity of any national judicial system to address on its own.

Domestic efforts must be complemented by effective international prosecutions; by UN interventions empowered to engage militias and other perpetrators of these crimes; effective protection mechanisms for civilians including those targeted for sexual violence; cooperative regional bodies; and, above all, compliance – compliance by the UN and member states of your collective resolutions and recommendations on security, women, peace, and the prevention and response to acts of sexual violence.

Implementing the existing resolutions regarding the commission of sexual violence in armed conflict, highlighting its impact on those targeted for these crimes, especially girls and women, and addressing the purpose of this particular form of violence, is essential for this crisis to change.

■ Download the briefing to the UNSC by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

■ Watch the live recording of the Open Debate

■ Read the UN News item about the debate, quoting Women’s Initiatives, Angelina Jolie, SRSG Bangura and UK Foreign Secretary Hague: Security Council strengthens efforts to end impunity for conflict-related sexual violence

■ Read the Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, adopted by the G8 at its Ministerial meeting in London, 11 April 2013

■ More information about the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative

■ Read the speech by Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice to the G8 Senior Advisors in February 2013

■ More information about the meeting with Foreign Secretary William Hague and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie

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United Nations Security Council adopts new resolution on Women, Peace and Security – 2106

Immediately following the briefings, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2106 on preventing sexual violence in conflict. During the ensuing debate, more than 50 country representatives spoke, expressing their support for the Resolution. The Resolution is the sixth resolution adopted by the UN Security Council as part of its Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Resolution 2106 underscores that more consistent and rigorous documentation and investigation are instrumental in the prosecution of sexual violence and encourages States to include the full range of crimes of sexual violence in national penal legislation. It recognised that prosecution constitutes a key aspect of deterrence and the prevention of sexual violence crimes. The Resolution further urges the inclusion of sexual violence in the definition of acts prohibited by ceasefires and in ceasefire-monitoring agreements, and underscores women’s participation in prevention and protection responses. The Resolution specifically acknowledges the important role of civil society organisations, including women’s organisations, in enhancing community-level protection against sexual violence and in supporting survivors in accessing justice and raparations.

The Resolution also strengthens implementation of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict and calls for the deployment of more Women Protection Advisors and Gender Advisors in UN peacekeeping and political missions.

The Resolution expresses support for the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ad hoc mixed tribunals and specialised chambers in national tribunals in the fight against impunity. The Resolution also further encourages ‘Member States and donors to support national and international programs that assist victims of sexual violence such as the Trust Fund for Victims established by the Rome Statute and its implementing partners’.

■ Read UN Security Council Resolution 2106

■ Read UN Security Council Report on the debate: Security Council adopts text urging targeted sanctions against perpetrators of sexual violence during armed conflict

■ Read previous UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security: 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010)

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Footnote

1  A person who qualifies under the Act 'shall not be prosecuted or subjected to any form of punishment for the participation in the war or rebellion for any crime committed in the cause of the war or armed rebellion'.

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