A/68/297
a means of “protecting a girl’s honour”. 68 However, forcing survivors of sexual
violence to marry their attackers re-victimizes them and results in the legitimization
of the actions of the perpetrator and social acceptance of sexual violence (see
A/66/657-S/2012/33).
Conflict strategies
49. As noted by the Security Council (resolution 1820 (2008)) and others, 69
certain civilians may be targeted on the basis of their perceived or actual association
with ethnic, religious or political groups. Such strategies infringe human dignity and
are manifestly incompatible with the right to health. In certain circumstances, they
may also qualify as crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. For example,
the use of gender-based violence as a strategy of conflict has been well
documented. 70 Such violence can include incestuous rape and public rape, rape as a
deliberate vector of HIV, camps specifically designed for forced impregnation of
women, and premeditated rape as a tool of political repression. 71 Women and girls
are common targets of sexual violence, although men and young boys may also be
targeted with equal severity. 72 As the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights has noted (see E/CN.4/2004/13) among others, 73 armed groups may
also specifically target sex workers, sexual and ethnic minorities and other
communities as a tool for “social cleansing” of “undesirable elements”. By treating
civilians as objects of conflict, the physical and psychological impact of sexual
violence may extend beyond immediate survivors and disempower whole
communities. 74 Due to the stigma attached to sexual violence, survivors are often
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68
69
70
71
72
73
74
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Save the Children, “Unspeakable crimes against children” (London, 2013), p. 7; Megan Bastick,
Karin Grimm and Rahel Kunz, Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict: Global Overview and
Implications for the Security Sector (Geneva, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of
Armed Forces, 2007), p. 14.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Violence and discrimination against women in
the armed conflict in Colombia”. OEA/Ser.L/V/II, doc.67, 16 October 2006, para. 47.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have upheld convictions of sexual violence as an
instrument of crimes against humanity (ICTR, Prosecutor v. Akayesu, case No. ICTR-96-4-T,
judgement of 2 September 1998, para. 596); war crimes (ICTY, Prosecutor v. Zejnil Delalic,
Zdravko Mucic, Hazim Delic and Esad Landzo, case No. IT-96-21-T, judgement of 15 November
1998, para. 495); and indicia of enslavement (ICTY, Prosecutor v. Dragoljub Kunerac, Radomir
Kovas and Zoran Vukovic, case Nos. IT-96-23-T and IT-96-23/1-T, para. 543).
Obijiofor Aginam, “Rape and HIV as weapons of war” (Tokyo, UNU Press, 27 June 2012).
Available from http://unu.edu/publications/articles/rape-and-hiv-as-weapons-of-war.html;
Anuradha Kumar, Human Rights: Global Perspectives (New Delhi, Sarup & Sons, 2002),
pp. 101-152; Bülent Diken and Carsten Bagge Lausten, “Becoming abject: rape as a weapon of
war”, Body & Society, vol. 11, No. 1 (2005), p. 115.
Sandesh Sivakumaran, “Sexual violence against men in armed conflict”, European Journal of
International Law, vol. 18, No. 2 (2007), pp. 253, 263.
Maria Zea and others, “Armed conflict, homonegativity and forced internal displacement:
implications for HIV among Colombian gay, bisexual and transgender individuals”, Culture,
Health, and Sexuality, vol. 15, No. 7 (April 2013), p. 8.
HRW, The War Within the War: Sexual Violence against Women and Girls in Eastern Congo
(New York, 2002), p. 41.
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