SOCHUM MUNUM XXXI

Committee History and Mandate:

The Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee is the Third Committee of the United Nations General
Assembly. It was established to deal with matters such as human rights, social issues, and cultural affairs.
This committee recommended that the General Assembly put forth a document outlining the inalienable
human rights owed to every person. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by
the General Assembly and has henceforth been regarded by the international community as the standard by
which human rights are to be evaluated. To this day, a majority of the topics addressed by SOCHUM
pertain to human rights. As such, SOCHUM is able to provide other UN bodies, including the Security
Council, with recommendations. While these suggestions and any resolutions passed by SOCHUM are
non-binding, they have the potential to use their expertise to inform the rest of the UN and influence the
policy of individual states.

The Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian committee was created in order to combat social and humanitarian
affairs and human rights abuses. Since the creation of the Human Rights Council in 2006, SOCHUM will
now look over the reports of HRC’s findings and speak to experts from that council as well as their own
findings. The committee discusses questions ranging from the promotion of fundamental rights through the
elimination of racism to international drug control. At the seventieth session, the committee looked over 65
draft resolutions just about human rights violations alone. SOCHUM also writes resolutions called country-
specific, which have to do with human rights issues in specific countries. In short, the committee deals with
the protection and promotion of human rights. Although the committee does pass resolutions, they are, as
in every other GA committee, not binding agreements and are more of a set of recommendations for the
member states to follow.

Some of the draft proposals from the seventieth session cover the topics of social development,
advancement of women, promotion and protection of the rights of children, rights of indigenous people,
and the right of peoples to self-determination. Most sessions, no matter the year, cover very similar topics,
but with differing nuance and approach.

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Topic A: Defending the Social and Humanitarian Rights of Prisoners

History and Overview

In 1955, the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders
adopted the Standard Minimum Rules (SMRs) for the Treatment of Prisoners.1 This document details the
bare minimum standard of human rights that prisoners deserve according to contemporary moral thought.
These standards demand impartiality in the treatment of all prisoners, regardless of race, gender, religion,
nationality, political opinions, and other status; this standard does allow for different treatment to respect
religious practice or provide additional health care to specific populations where necessary.2 A number of
standards deal with the conditions under which prisoners are to interact, requiring a division of the
incarcerated along the lines of gender, age, and the reason for their detention.3 Conditions of detention
centers also must align with these standards, providing the level of hygiene, health care, accommodations,
and basic necessities mandated by the Standards.4 While the document states that these principles are
essential for the just treatment of all prisoners, it suggests that they be reviewed and revised to keep in touch
with changing ethical and legal perspectives.

In 1957 and 1977, the Economic and Social Council approved the SMRs in resolutions; the General
Assembly ratified further measures when in 1990 it adopted and proclaimed the Basic Principles for the
Treatment of Prisoners.5,6 The Universal Declaration on Human Rights delineates standards of treatment
regarding the just prosecution and detention of suspects and includes measures protecting all people from
arbitrary arrest and detention, but does not make provisions for the treatment of the incarcerated distinct
from general human rights.7 These rights are still quite poignant in the debate about prisoners’ rights,
especially the protection from degrading treatment and inhumane punishment. In 2015, the General
Assembly concluded a five-year review process focused on bringing the rules into line with advances in
correctional science and ratified an improved set of standards.8

Today, more than 10.35 million people live as prisoners.9 This number represents only those registered by
compliant nations and excludes the prison populations of Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, and parts of China and Guinea Bissau.10 Despite the SMRs and other international

1 "OHCHR | Standard Minimum Rules For The Treatment Of Prisoners". 2017. Ohchr.Org.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/TreatmentOfPrisoners.aspx.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 "OHCHR | Basic Principles For The Treatment Of Prisoners". 2017. Ohchr.Org.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/BasicPrinciplesTreatmentOfPrisoners.aspx.
7 "Universal Declaration Of Human Rights | United Nations". 2017. Un.Org.
8 "UN Nelson Mandela Rules (Revised SMR) - Penal Reform International". 2017. Penal Reform International.

https://www.penalreform.org/priorities/prison-conditions/standard-minimum-rules/.
9 Walmsley, Roy. 2017. "World Prison Population List Eleventh Edition". Institute for Criminal Policy Research.
10 Ibid.

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standards on the just treatment of prisoners, many of these people still live in far worse conditions than any
human should face. SOCHUM must address this immense discrepancy in law and reality to ensure that all
people enjoy equal human rights in accordance with the principles of the United Nations. While prisoners’
rights are technically established through the legal system of each country, this topic falls within the purview
of SOCHUM because these legal rights exist to protect the more basic humanitarian and social rights
demanded by modern ethics. It is also imperative that SOCHUM discuss the treatment of prisoners to
reaffirm the commitment to defend all human life, even when people have violated the law. Finally, because
the social and cultural growth of each member state is closely tied to its policies, it is within the best interest
of each state and its constituents to maintain the highest moral and legal standards possible. Refining prison
policy through SOCHUM enables the social development of member states.

Current Status
Member states of the United Nations continue to violate the rights of prisoners despite the mandates of
numerous UN conventions. Prisoners across the globe often have no access to crucial health services like
mental health or reproductive health treatment, live in dilapidated and overcrowded cells, and share living
spaces with other who pose a threat to their health and safety. Reports from Human Rights Watch in 2016
on the state of Greek prisons indicate that the overcrowded cells in which officials force prisoners to live are
infested with bugs and vermin and lack basic necessities like mattresses and sanitary goods.11 Incarcerated
children often must share cells with adults, which puts them at great risk for emotional, physical, and sexual
abuse and exposes vulnerable children to brutal fights and drug use by the adults. Four children detained in
Greece even reported physical abuse and threats by the police watching over them.12 In Iraqi prisons,
another report shows, officials detained one hundred and fourteen people in one room measuring four
meters by six meters. This room had only one toilet; until someone broke holes in the walls, there was no
ventilation. When asked about a hole in the roof of the building that housed these prisoners, staff
responded that the building could collapse at any moment due to a previous ISIS projectile.13 These
conditions were not unique to this one building, but mirrored across a number of different buildings. Such
treatment is unfortunately evident in a number of countries around the world.

As flows of migrants remain strong in Central America, the Middle East, and Oceania, the injustices in the
child detention system are becoming even more evident. Prolonged imprisonment is an especially pressing
issue at the moment, both in Greece and on the Pacific island of Nauru, where refugee children hoping to
resettle in Australia are detained. A report on Nauru said that some people have been held in the detention
center for over 500 days without knowing when they can leave. Streamlining the process of granting migrant

11 "“Why Are You Keeping Me Here?”". 2016. Human Rights Watch.
12 Ibid.
13 "Iraq: Hundreds Detained in Degrading Conditions." Human Rights Watch. April 20, 2017. Accessed July 05, 2017.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/13/iraq-hundreds-detained-degrading-conditions.

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or asylum-seeker status and communicating with the migrants about that process could alleviate some of
negative effects of prolonged detention.

In 2016, 355 children were tried before the military court in Lebanon. Although this court is supposed to be
used for cases involving espionage, treason, draft evasion, unlawful contact with the enemy (Israel), or
weapons possession, Lebanon frequently uses this court so that people will not protest or rise up against the
government. Nonviolent activists have found themselves facing this court for being human rights advocates.
This often occurs to teens who are caught protesting or advocating for rights and who end up in prison
facing extreme charges. The judges for the military court do not have to have any legal training and trials are
often private hearings so no human rights organizations can know what occurs during the trials. Countries
facing armed conflict or civil strife often detain children for “national security,” similar to what Lebanon is
doing. In countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria, people are held for months
to years without trial because prosecutors think they may be apart of non-state armed groups. Their
treatment and conditions often violate human rights treaties and they may be detained on the basis of
suspicion, broad sweeps, or flimsy evidence. Despite a lack of knowledge, children are oftentimes subjected
to torture for information that they do not have.

In Israel, many policemen have been detaining Palestinian children as young as 11. It is often for little to no
crime, most often for throwing rocks. The parents of the children are often not told about their children
being arrested and the adolescents are forced to sign confessions in Hebrew, a language they do not know.
In Iraq, at least 1,269 children, as young as 13, are being detained in horrible conditions with no charges
brought against them. They are spread across three different makeshift prisons that lack basic necessities,
leading to deaths and amputations occurring. After these children are held for months, they are then
brought before a judge to see if there is enough evidence against them. If there is not, they are released but
if there is, they are transferred to another prison to face court and find out their punishment.

Subtopic 1: Prolonged or Unjust Prosecution

In most widely-accepted laws, criminals can only be held in “remand”, or pre-trial detention, for a maximum
of fourteen days. If they are not brought to court and convicted, further detention is unjust. However, in a
number of countries this law is blatantly ignored for any number of reasons. Accounts from Indian prisons
demonstrate that at least two-thirds of all prisoners are held on remand, with one-fourth of these prisoners
having stayed in the prison for at least a year.14 Israel employs a practice called “administrative detention”,
which means detaining people indefinitely without a trial and without giving reason for their arrest.
Currently 528 Palestinians reside in Israeli prisons under administrative detention, many uncertain as to why
they are in prison at all.15 Bolivia and Argentina each have laws allow longer pre-trial periods of eighteen to

14 "‘Two-Thirds Of Prisoners In India Are Undertrials’". 2016. The Hindu.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/%E2%80%98Two-thirds-of-prisoners-in-India-are-
undertrials%E2%80%99/article16080519.ece.
15 Schwartz, Yardena. 2016. "Why This Palestinian Clown Is Being Jailed Without Trial". Time.Com.

http://time.com/4252272/israel-palestinians-administrative-detention/.

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thirty-six months, yet detain people without trial for up to six years. In Paraguay, the law permits prisoners
to serve the full minimum sentence for their alleged crime before the prisoner’s trial even begins, leaving
some in remand for up to five years.16

Subtopic 2: Institutionalized Discrimination

Multiple UN conventions, like the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Basic
Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, state that governments must uphold the humanitarian and legal
rights of prisoners impartially, regardless of race, gender, or any other status. However, in many countries,
clear biases exist within the prison and criminal justice systems, sometimes resulting from a greater problem
of discrimination in the country as a whole. The United States has an incarceration rate of African American
men six times higher than that of white men.17 In France, about sixty percent of the prison population in
Muslim, a high portion considering that only twelve percent of the country’s total population is Muslim.18
Similar trends are apparent in the incarceration systems of other European countries like the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium.19

Subtopic 3: Unsafe Prison Conditions

Horrendous conditions in detention centers plague prisoners in nearly every region of the world.
Overcrowding poses an enormous problem to many governments, often forcing prisoners to live in entirely
inhumane circumstances. The overcrowding in Eritrean prisons leads to officials detaining prisoners in
shipping containers and basements, neither of which have any ventilation. In Haiti, prisoners have no access
to hygiene or quality healthcare through the prison, but were also forced to sleep in shifts due to the severe
lack of space. Prisoners in Mexico, Brazil, Benin, and Ethiopia suffer significant damages to their health as a
result of overcrowding, reports have demonstrated.20 South Sudanese rural prisons tried to solve the
overcrowding problem by chaining prisoners outside to a tree or fence without any protection from the sun.
The country’s prison system eventually lead to severe illness and death for some inmates, and in one
instance lead to a riot over the prison’s lack of water.21 Outside the Iraqi prison in which one hundred and
fourteen people had to share one toilet, a pile amassed of bottles filled with waste because inmates had no
other options.22

16 Aborn, Richard, and Ashley Cannon. 2013. "Prisons, In Jail But Not Sentenced" Natural Resource Extraction in Latin America.

17 "United States". 2015. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/united-states#d02a59.

18 Moore, Molly. 2008. "In France, Prisons Filled With Muslims - Washingtonpost.Com". Washingtonpost.Com.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/28/ST2008042802857.html.
19 Ibid.
20 "Report On International Prison Conditions". 2017. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and

Labor. Accessed October 17.

21 Ibid.
22 "Iraq: Hundreds Detained in Degrading Conditions." Human Rights Watch. April 20, 2017. Accessed July 05, 2017.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/13/iraq-hundreds-detained-degrading-conditions.

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Subtopic 4: Detention of “Undesirables”
Many countries with high populations of migrants or homeless people use detention as a method of
“cleaning the streets”. Because so many migrants have flooded into Greece since 2014 during the European
refugee crisis, Greek officials jail them in detention centers while dealing with the sometimes years-long
backlog of asylum or EU migrant paperwork. Elsewhere, government officials use the excuse that they are
sending homeless children with drug abuse problems to rehabilitation centers, but in reality round-up
children found living on the streets and detain them in centers where they may be subject to torture and
other inhumane practices. In countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, these practices are a means of
punishing the poor and keeping “undesirables” off of the streets. Even more common is the practice of
detaining children with disabilities, potentially for a majority of their lives. In some cases, these children are
forced to live in isolation, not treated with adequate medical care, and denied educational opportunities.
Reports out of Russia claim that children are taken to these facilities shortly after they are diagnosed and at
times tied down and given no attention, education, or medical care.

Subtopic 5: Poor Access to Health Services

Access to health care ranges across prisons and countries quite broadly, with absolutely no access to medical
care on the most drastic side. Two prisoners in an Iraqi center entered the prison with supposedly treatable
wounds, but ended up with amputations because they were denied adequate treatment. Officials denied
food to another Iraqi prisoner who suffered from diabetes for eleven days, causing him to pass away despite
delayed medical attention.23 Numerous other reports of preventable and seemingly minor problems causing
amputation or death show how desperate the lack of medical care is in Iraqi prisons, especially given the
disease-supporting environment of the cells. Many prisons around the world give prompt, basic medical
care, yet fail to address many needs of the prisoners. Mental health services are rare in prisons, despite the
fact that in European prisons ten to fifteen percent of the prison population suffers from a significant
mental health disorder.24 Women’s health services are also often inadequate to meet the needs of prisoners;
in Thailand, the UN called out the government for failing to provide appropriate health care for women in
prisons, especially pregnant women.25

Blocs
Because the countries of the United Nations vary so immensely in their practices of invoking and upholding
the SMRs and other UN standards about the treatment of prisoners, it is useful to divide countries by the

23 "Iraq: Hundreds Detained in Degrading Conditions." Human Rights Watch. April 20, 2017. Accessed July 05, 2017.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/13/iraq-hundreds-detained-degrading-conditions.
24 "Health In Prisons - Penal Reform International". 2017. Penal Reform International.

https://www.penalreform.org/priorities/prison-conditions/key-facts/health/.
25 "UN Deplores Conditions For Women In Prison". 2017. Worldwide Movement For Human Rights.

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/thailand/un-deplores-conditions-for-women-in-prison.

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extent to which they uphold the rights of prisoners, both in law and in practice. Many countries have signed
on to conventions or other agreements outlining the standards for just detention of prisoners and may have
also developed and passed their own laws, demonstrating a further commitment to upholding the rights of
detainees. They also have laws in place protecting the rights of prisoners who are detained to ensure the
most humane treatment possible. Some follow these laws closely, while others might disregard them
entirely. Others have not agreed upon any set standards of treatment nor any practices to ensure every
person who is detained undergoes the same fair, humane, and uncomplicated process. In the absence of
such standards, people suffer grave injustices at the hands of their government frequently. Furthermore, the
conditions in which they are detained are often egregious and put the inmates at a higher risk of abuse,
sickness, and neglect.

Bloc 1: Active and Effective Protection of Prisoners’ Rights

Countries of the first bloc are those which have ratified and upheld the standards for justly prosecuting and
detaining prisoners. In these countries people are still detained for their crimes, but only when the
government has provided evidence that the prisoner has violated the laws of that country and informs the
prisoner about the charges against them whenever possible. When these detentions must occur, the
government abides by standards of treatment and other laws that ensure that the detainee is treated with
decency for the duration of their sentence. These standards require that the inmate be informed of the
evidence and charges against them, be given proper legal council, and be aware of the duration of the
sentence they must serve. Any trial must be carried out speedily and justly. When assessed comprehensively,
the practices of these countries are in accordance with the laws, which are in turn compliant and supportive
of the standards of the United Nations. Norway has demonstrated exceptional care for prisoners that
upholds the SMRs, focusing on the rehabilitation of their prisoners. Germany, Netherlands, and many other
western European countries also fall into this category.

Bloc 2: No Strict Adherence to Laws Protecting Prisoners’ Rights

Laws like those described exist in a vast majority of countries, but are not consistently upheld in
practice. The second bloc contains these countries, who have voiced a dedication to prisoners’ rights in law
but have failed to demonstrate this commitment in their practices. They may not violate all aspects of the
Convention, but there are clear and harmful discrepancies between the laws they espouse and the way they
are carried out in practice. Greece and Croatia are an example of such countries, as they have accepted the
SMRs. However, Greece has been known to detain migrant children and disabled youth in inhumane
circumstances. Australia also falls into this category for its imprisonment of migrants in Nauru and its
inhumane actions there.

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Bloc 3: No Protection for Prisoners’ Rights
Lastly, the third bloc is comprised of those countries in which there is no dedication to upholding the rights
of prisoners and detaining them in fair, humane ways. People can be detained for any number of reasons in
these countries, often without any legitimate cause or process. They are often kept in deplorable conditions,
packed with multiple others into small cells without proper hygiene or nutrition. In some countries they
might be tortured for information; in others, they are held in solitary confinement without access to
education or medical support. Many reports indicate that children are also detained in cells with adults,
putting them at risk of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. These countries carry out such grave atrocities
routinely. Sudan, Iraq, and Libya fall within this bloc, with reports of unjust punishments, conscriptions, and
unfounded convictions.

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Topic B: Combating Gender Based Violence During Wartime

History and Description:

Gender based violence has been going on for centuries, but only became a serious war crime in the 1990s.
Rape was seen as a natural byproduct of armed conflict, and sometimes even a tool of war, and was
dismissed as not a serious crime.26 Jean-Pierre Akayesu v. Prosecutor was a trial after the Rwandan
Genocide that charged Akayesu, a commune’s mayor, with rape. Prior to the Akayesu decision, rape was not
a stand alone crime.27 Women were seen as their husband’s property so it was his job to defend her. Many
would not, so their wives would receive no justice for the horrors they faced.28As a result, if rape actually
made it to trial, it was tried as a crime against property.29 The first reported case of mass rape, systematic
patterns of rape by soldiers at a rate much higher than the rate of rape that prevails during peacetime30, was
in the early 1990’s in Yugoslavia but it did not go to trial.31 In 1998, rape became formally defined as “a
physical invasion of a sexual nature, committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive.”32
Rape committed or tolerated by any party is prohibited by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions
insofar as it constitutes "violence to life and person," "cruel treatment," "torture" or "outrages upon
personal dignity”.33 Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) says they define rape as a primary
crime against humanity, in many cases they have not ruled this way. Jean-Paul Akayesu was the mayor
during the Rwandan Genocide and allowed for many deaths to occur in the Taba commune, the part of
Rwanda he was mayor of. During his trial, the ICC formally defined what rape was, but did not find
Akayesu of committing any acts of sexual violence, even though there was enough evidence to charge him,
because it was not done in Taba.34 This is just one example of where the ICC has failed to make rulings that
show sexual violence as severe of a crime as it is.

The most common victim of gender based violence during wartime is civilian women; however, both men
and women combatants face sexual violence at times, with both women and men being perpetrators. Even
when men and women have the same position in the military, men are seen as above their women
counterpart which frequently leads to acts of sexual violence.35 However, other times when they have the
same title, it creates situations where women have to prove they are equal to them, which leads to women

26 Green, Laurie. "First-Class Crimes, Second-Class Justice: Cumulative Charges for Gender-Based Crimes at the International
Criminal Court." 11.3 Int'l Crim. L. Rev. 529, 542 (2011)
27 MacKinnon, Catharine A. "Defining Rape Internationally: A Comment on Akayesu." 44.3 Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 940, 958

(2006)
28 Brownmiller, Susan. Against our will: men, women and rape. New York: Fawcett, 2010.
29 Ibid.
30 Hayden, R.M. (2000). Rape and Rape Avoidance in Ethno-National Conflicts: Sexual Violence in Liminalized States. American

Anthropologist, 102(1), 27–41.

31 Jaleel, Rana. "Weapons of Sex, Weapons of War." Cultural Studies 27, no. 1 (September 18, 2012): 115-35. Accessed August 1,

2017.
32 Prosecutor v. Akayesu, Case No. ICTR 96-4-T, Judgment, 688 (Sept. 2, 1998).
33 Blatt, Recognising Rape as Method of Torture, 19 N.Y.U. Rev.L & Soc. Change 821 (1993)
34 Ibid.
35 Baaz, M. E., and M. Stern. "Fearless Fighters and Submissive Wives: Negotiating Identity among Women Soldiers in the

Congo (DRC)." Armed Forces & Society 39, no. 4 (2013): 711-39. doi:10.1177/0095327x12459715.

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combatants being involved in gang rapes, either by using other objects or helping hold the victim down.36
The struggle to prove their equality can also lead to women combatants to rape their male counterparts.

A population-based survey in The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) found that 41 percent of
female sexual violence victims reported that they were victimized by female perpetrators, as did 10 percent
of male sexual violence victims.37 After more than 8,000 women were raped in 2009, DRC has now been
named the rape capital of the world by Margot Wallstrom, the UN's special representative on sexual
violence in conflict.38 A report by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative showed that 60% of rape victims in
South Kivu were gang raped by armed men. Besides this one survey, very little data has been collected on
the amount of female perpetrators. Videos, pictures, and stories have been released from many different
countries, including Rwanda, Liberia, Haiti, and Sierra Leone, that show there have been female perpetrators
in other countries but no data on how many of them are women and men.39 Although data exists from some
individual countries, we do not know the prevalence of worldwide rape because there is currently no
database or reporting system in place.40 If people were aware of how much rape occurred, more serious
measures would be taken to put a stop to it.

Health
Victims also face health issues because of the sexual violence. All victims have the chance of contracting
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Many of these STDs can be treated if given the right diagnoses and
medication. There is also a possibility that these victims know nothing about STDs, so something like a
health clinic to educate and treat victims could be extremely beneficial. Women also have a chance of
becoming pregnant. Resources for them should also be available.

Human Trafficking
In order to flee the dangerous situation of being in armed conflict, women may turn to prostitution to help
them get a passport or other materials to help them flee their country. This can lead to them being forced
into slavery and losing any chance at freedom that they had. The International Labor Organization estimates
that there are 4.5 million people are currently being sex trafficked. Conflict zones are a perfect place for
perpetrators to find new victims to bring into their sex rings. Measures taken to end this issue may be
increased security at borders to make sure people are not being smuggled out, that every passport being
used is real, and increased amount of programs for refugees so they can turn to that instead of prostitution
to get out of a country.

36 Ibid.
37 Johnson, Kristin, Jennifer Scott, Bigy Rughita, Michael Kisielewski, Jana Asher, Ricardo Ong, and Lynn Lawry. 2010.
“Association of Sexual Violence and Human Rights Violations with Physical and Mental Health in Territories of the Eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Journal of the American Medical Association 304, no. 5 (August): 553–62.
38 BBC News (2010) UN official calls DR Congo ‘rape capital of the world’, BBC News, 28 April
39 Ibid.
40 Kivlahan, C., and N. Ewigman. "Rape as a weapon of war in modern conflicts." British Medical Journal340 (June 24, 2010): 3270.

doi:10.1136/bmj.c3270.

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Terrorist Involvement
Extremist groups have started to use sexual violence as an act of terror. For example, the Islamic State
enslaved women from the Yazidi minority group in Iraq in order to use them as concubines. These women
are being bought and sold by fighters for as little as $1,000.41 The Islamic State group, Boko Haram, al-
Shabab, Ansar Dine and al-Qaida affiliate are all committing acts of sexual violence and trafficking. 45 more
groups in Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Congo, Iraq, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Syria that are
credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape in conflict.42

Testifying:
After the Second World War, the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials failed to prosecute sexual violence, and no
victims of rape were called to testify at these proceedings. Present-day war crimes trials have prosecuted
sexual violence, rape and enslavement as crimes against humanity, genocide, torture and violations of the
International Humanitarian Laws (IHL).43 The number of trials is increasing and perpetrators are facing
charges, but many of the victims are not being given the help they need. For some victims, testifying can be
therapeutic and help them get over the horrific acts they faced; however, others have argued that the
hypothesized ‘therapeutic’ nature of criminal trials is overly simplistic and the opening of wounds within this
context may be counterproductive.44 Testifying can remind victims of the abuse they faced and lead to
mental breakdowns. Many victims need therapy after their attacks, some even requiring medication to help
with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression. Cross-examining can be a grueling process where
victims are tricked into answering questions that make them sound like they are consenting to the rape.45
Despite the negative for some, testifying for some victims can help them overcome their distress and should
not be disregarded as a helpful and healthy coping mechanism. When discussing trials, it should also be
discussed if testifying should be an option for victims during their perpetrators trials.

Trials
Committing rape is against international law, but perpetrators have to be tried in the country in which they
committed the crime due to international law46. This makes it difficult for combatants to be tried since they
do not live in the country they committed the crime. For combatant on combatant rape it becomes even
more difficult, since both the victim and the perpetrator do not live in the country the rape has occurred.
Some countries also do not have laws that try sexual violence as a serious crime; therefore, even if it did go

41 Morris, Loveday. 2014. "Islamic State Says it is Buying and Selling Yazidi Women, using them as Concubines (Posted 2014-10-
13 14:03:40)." The Washington Post, Oct 13. http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/docview/1610884329?accountid=14667.
42Id.
43 Nicola Henry; Witness to Rape: The Limits and Potential of International War Crimes Trials for Victims of Wartime Sexual

Violence. Int J Transit Justice 2009; 3 (1): 114-134. doi: 10.1093/ijtj/ijn036

44 Ibid.
45 Ibid.
46 Thomas, Dorothy Q. and Regan E. Ralph. Rape in War: Challenging the Tradition of Impunity. SAIS Review (Vol) (1994), 82-

99.

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to trial, the perpetrator will not face the punishment they should.47 Since not all countries try rape as a
serious crime, rape continues to not be seen as a crime against humanity. Trials can be even more difficult
for male victims to bring to court, since they are almost always under-reported and then under-punished,
with 63% of sexual assaults not reported to police.48 The high stigma around male rape victims comes from
the thought that it is not possible to have occurred and so people do not view it as not serious as female
victims.

The relationship of armed conflict and sexual violence will continue to be there if the trials do not begin to
treat rape as a serious crime. All victims need to be taken seriously and every accusation should be taken
seriously. Proper trials with the correct laws in place that follow the Geneva Convention will help make this
possible. The punishment the perpetrators face should be up to par with the punishment they would face
for committing any act against humanity. The outcomes of any trial for a crime against humanity or a war
crime will differ on the country and their legal system, but the first battle to overcome is to have all
countries view rape as a serious war crime and abide by the Geneva Conventions.

Overview
Given the rampant conditions in the Middle East and with over 60 million people displaced from their
homes, we are faced with the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Key political figures like Spain’s
Secretary of State Susana Camarero Benitez have reiterated the fact that being a woman is perhaps more
dangerous than being a solider in times of armed conflict.49 Furthermore, “60% of maternal deaths today
take place during times of crisis”20 says UNFPA director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin. Within the chaos,
rates of sexual and gender-based violence, maternal mortality and forced marriage of girls under 18 increase
rapidly, while access to family planning, health care and sexual and reproductive health services sharply
decline.20

Sexual Violence In the Middle East

In recent times, Syrian women have taken the lead as part of the humanitarian response to the growing
humanitarian crisis. Since men are more likely to be harassed and detained at borders and checkpoints,
women are now the primary citizens traveling in and out of the country to maintain household and property
needs inside Syria.50 Women also face additional hurdles such as increased risk of being sold into slavery or
being forced to engage in “transactional sex”20 with an incentive of securing passports as they look to escape
the violence and destruction.

47 Ibid.
48 "Statistics about sexual violence." National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015.
49"Global leaders launch a new programme to support women in conflict zones." United Nations Population Fund. March 16,

2016. Accessed August 13, 2017. http://www.unfpa.org/news/global-leaders-launch-new-programme-support-women-conflict-

zones.
50 Omar, Manal. "The Women in the Middle of the War." Foreign Policy. March 18, 2015. Accessed August 13, 2017.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/18/the-women-in-the-middle-of-the-war/.

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“In the Middle East region, we have the worst indicators for women’s rights globally, and when you add the
displacement problem to that, you have an explosive situation,” says Lina Abou Habib, executive director of
Lebanon’s Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action. However she goes on to
suggest the lack of priority women’s rights issues are given by stating: “...Women’s rights issues are often
put on the backburner.”151 Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has visited refugee camps throughout the Middle East.
Having heard first hand accounts from many women in these camps she feels that “The conflict in the
Middle East is a conflict fought on the bodies of women and girls, and we have to stop it.”1 Additionally,
when presenting this issue to the Security Council in April 2015, Zainab says “Sexual violence in conflict
represents a great moral issue of our time and it merits the concerted focus of the Security Council,”
highlighting the importance of the situation for the other members of the Security Council.52 In this same
address, she suggests that the road to eliminating sexual violence is long. Her departure the day before for
the Middle East was preceded by a new trend of extremist groups using sexual violence as a tactic of terror
in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria and Mali.

Despite this, Zainab adds that there have been some positives such as the fact that a normative foundation
has been laid and deeper analysis and information have led to strategic interventions. Concurrently more
resources are being allocated for sexual and gender-based violence programming than ever before, but most
importantly accountability for a crime that has historically been “cost-free” to commit was finally
emerging.23 Another speaker Hamsatu Allamin, of the Non-Governmental Organization Working Group on
Women, Peace and Security, drew attention to the plight of women and girls in Nigeria’s north-east, a
region that had been at the centre of a two-year insurgency up till 2015. She expressed the horror that many
Nigerian girls had to endure as a result of being abducted by Boko Haram.53

Many speakers who followed and the security council meeting condemned such despicable crimes against
women and sought to bolster national institutions and agreed with recommendations in the Secretary-
General’s report that laid out methods for improving international coordination. Notably the countries that
this issue affected most deeply were those with an unstable government in Africa and the Middle East. The
biggest result of this meeting was the American and French representatives noting that the international
community had galvanized around a clear and credible response to sexual violence in conflict and women
leaders had been crucial in this change. Despite this, gaps in local justice systems and international
accountability needed to be addressed, including through capacity-building and promotion of rule of law.24

The Delicate situation in Africa

With respect to Africa, the UN Economic Commission for Africa points out, “the scourge of violence
against women in Africa particularly is still largely hidden” due to assumptions that it is a private matter
and/or an acceptable cultural norm, given women’s subordination to men and the lack of appropriate

51 ibid
52 "Fight against Sexual Violence in Conflict Reaches 'New Juncture', Security Council Told | Meetings Coverage and Press
Releases." United Nations. Accessed August 13, 2017. https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11862.doc.htm.
53 Ibid

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institutional responses and government support for victims and gender equality.54 Many claim that
globalization in Africa which has brought on a fear of loss of power among men is another reason that
perpetuates violence during wartime. In South Africa, where there is a history of state-sponsored violence as
well as the current high poverty, unemployment, crime and deprivation rates, violence against women is
highly prevalent.27 Another South African study of 15 women and their male partners involved in
programmes for victims and perpetrators of intimate violence, connected men’s economic disempowerment
to domestic violence against women.27 Although these situations may not directly pertain to mistreatment of
women during wartime the feelings garnered are more likely to come out when there is a serious conflict
and unstable government.

Current Measures
The new Women Peace and Security global training programme will offer workshops, trainings and
guidelines for civil society and military to ensure that leaders in on-the-ground conflict responses make
gender equality and the needs of women and girls – from access to education and sexual and reproductive
health and GBV services to representation in government – an integral part of their efforts during conflict,
peacebuilding and post-conflict situations.55 The programme, led by UNFPA and the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, builds upon the Regional Training Programme on
Gender and Security for Latin America and the Caribbean.1 Furthermore, it incorporates knowledge
gathered from UNFPA’s 15 years of service in supporting countries around the globe, from Colombia to
Nepal, in implementing UNSCR 1325, the first UN resolution specifically addressing the inordinate impact
of war on women and the pivotal role they play in responses to it.56 At UNFPA the main goal is to
“...ensure that every girl can reach her full potential” says Dr. Osotimehin.

Now groups moving towards writing peace briefs, for example: “Important steps moving forward include
recognizing that: SGBV(Sexual and Gender Based Violence) does not begin or end with war; perpetrators of
SGBV are a diverse group and perpetrate SGBV for a variety of reasons; when communities and individuals
are socialized to devalue women and girls, SGBV is more likely; and there is an association between SGBV
and political participation”.57

Blocs
Countries will be divided on the lines of their involvement in gender based violence.

54 The Political Economy of Violence against Women in Africa | Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA). March 29,
2015. Accessed August 13, 2017. http://www.osisa.org/buwa/regional/political-economy-violence-against-women-africa.
55 ibid
56 ibid
57 "Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in War and Peace." United States Institute of Peace. December 28, 2016. Accessed

August 13, 2017. https://www.usip.org/publications/2016/09/ending-sexual-and-gender-based-violence-war-and-peace.

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Countries Facing Armed Conflict:
These countries currently have armed conflict in their country or have recently ended conflict and have had
a large amount of sexual violence because of this. They will be the most affected by a resolution being
passed, since it will directly apply to them. Some countries that fit into this are Rwanda, Liberia, Haiti, Sierra
Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Iraq. Although all these countries face sexual violence in
their countries, the perpetrators are not all being tried to the same extent, or tried at all. Many of the
perpetrators will leave the country, since they are most likely combatants, and they will never be tried in
their home country. If they are tried, it is difficult to prove and many do not face the punishments they
should be. Even when armed conflict leaves these countries, the prevalence of rape may not. Sexual violence
becomes apart of the everyday life in these countries, breading more perpetrators and victims. If there was
accurate and just punishment put in place however, this would not be occurring.

Countries with Women Soldiers:

These countries have to make sure that both their women soldiers are being protected from gender based
violence and are also not contributing to the violence. Since it is somewhat common for women combatants
to be apart of gang rape, rape on fellow combatants, and rape on civilians, these countries should be
working to change the environment these soldiers are in so rape is less common so that women are both
protected and have less of a chance of sexually assaulting someone. Germany, Australia, Canada, India,
Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, United States, and the
United Kingdom all have women in the military. These countries can urge all others with women in the
military to follow the same penalties for crimes against humanity that they have and this bloc can help to
make sure everyone is protected, since they also have men in the military.

Countries with high rates of sexual violence:

These countries can either be the ones who are invading other countries or can be the ones with the armed
conflict occurring in their country. It is common for countries that have gender violence during wartime to
continue having high amounts of sexual assault even after the armed conflict ends, the DRC is one of those
countries. Powerful countries also have high amounts of perpetrators, first because they are involved in a lot
of war so there is the opportunity for it, and due to the amount of power the countries have, their
combatants think they are unstoppable.58 This group is an interesting combination of developed countries
and underdeveloped/developing countries. United States of America, Australia, Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Bahamas, Costa Rica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Sweden, Lesotho, Botswana, and South
Africa were ranked the countries with the most amount of rape per 100,000 people in 2010.59 None of these
countries had an armed conflict during that year though, so all of the rapists were most likely civilians of
these countries. These countries currently have threats to their civilians, and will be even more of threats if
they ever enter another country for war.

58 Ibid.
59 Ibid.

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Countries with low rates of sexual violence:
These countries have low rates of sexual violence and can support other countries while they attempt to
lower their rates. These countries all may have low rates for different reasons, and all can contribute to the
cause in various ways. Some countries in this bloc would be Mozambique, Armenia, Lebanon,
Turkmenistan, Yemen, and Nepal.

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