On International Day, June 19th, we aim for a world without sexual violence in conflict, ensuring everyone’s dignity and safety. “Wartime sexual violence is one of history’s greatest silences and one of today’s most extreme atrocities…It is perhaps more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict.” [1]

Throughout history, rape has been used in conflicts as a tool of psychological warfare to punish, intimidate, and devastate entire communities. According to Inge Skjelsbæk, a professor at PRIO, the conversation has evolved from viewing rape as something that “inevitably happens in war because men are men,” to acknowledging that “rape is a clear war strategy and a war crime that threatens international peace and security.”[2]

Sexual Violence was condemned as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding in 2008 by the UN Security Council. Unfortunately, rape continues to be widespread and prevalent in armed conflicts, situations of violence, and detention settings. It manifests in diverse contexts and results in severe humanitarian consequences. [3]

The data available reveal alarming rates of rape during and after conflicts: during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped; over 60,000 were raped in the Sierra Leone civil war; between 20,000 and 50,000 in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and at least 200,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996. Although these figures are shocking, they likely represent serious underestimates, as the majority of victims do not report these crimes to authorities. [1]

Sexual violence amidst armed conflict manifests through various motives and scenarios. It may be wielded as a tool of warfare strategy, as a tacitly condoned practice, or opportunistically driven by personal motivations. [3]

Kirthi Jayakumar, a legal researcher and lawyer, in her blog, delves into the psychological reasons behind sexual violence in conflict. “Rape and sexual violence at the micro level can be a product of lustful intentions, mental disorders or depravity, as criminology offers. However, at the macro level – where the cases are not individual instances, but a collective of several individual instances that happen at dizzying speed, it is about dominance.”[4]

In an article Guardian published, a Conglese soldier admits to raping 53 women and five and six year old children only because they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted during war.[5]

While women are disproportionately affected, men and LGBTIQ+ individuals can also be victims of sexual violence during war. They may face sexual violence from armed personnel, humanitarian workers or peacekeepers, or be trafficked for sexual exploitation.[3]

When a woman endures any form of sexual violence, the repercussions extend beyond physical and psychological harm; she also bears the weight of stigma. This burden, compounded by the trauma of humiliation, often leads families to ostracize these women, forcing them out of their homes.[4]

The repercussions of sexual violence on physical, mental, and emotional well-being can overshadow every facet of a survivor’s life. Even seemingly mundane tasks, such as getting out of bed, taking a shower, or stepping outside, can become daunting.[6]

Every individual deserves to live free from violence that strips them of their dignity and safety. As we observe the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on the 19th of June, let us reflect on this profound issue and aspire for a world where no one is ever forced to endure such degradation to their very essence.

BY CEYDA BETUL KEMANCI 

Sources: 

[1] EVAWkit_06_Factsheet_ConflictAndPostConflict_en.pdf (unwomen.org)

[2] Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War – The Organization for World Peace (theowp.org)

[3] Five things to know about sexual violence in conflict zones (icrc.org)

[4] Why is sexual violence so common in war? — Peace Insight

[5[ Congo: We did whatever we wanted, says soldier who raped 53 women | Democratic Republic of the Congo | The Guardian

[6] Impacts of sexual violence and abuse | Rape Crisis England & Wales

War zones expose children to daily dangers, denying them safety, education, food, and basic rights, necessitating urgent global humanitarian action. This year on International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression we remember the children of Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Turkiye, Syria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Nigeria.

Children residing in war zones around the world witness unimaginable horrors on a daily basis. It is unsafe for them to play outside, sleep at home, attend school, or go to hospitals for medical attention.

Children around the globe endure unspeakable horrors even adults find unbearable and they are innocently caught in the midst of warring parties. They are being subjected to sexual violence, and abduction and are being forced to join armed groups, all while being deprived of essential humanitarian aid.

UN Reports, in Gaza the number of children killed is higher than from four years of world conflict. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said “This war is a war on children. It is a war on their childhood and their future” [1]. More than 14,000 children have been reportedly killed and thousands have been injured. If not injured or killed children are deprived of essential needs, displaced and don’t have access to water, food and medicine. UNICEF had initially reported that “Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza”. On the 26th of May 2024, the tents and shelters in Rafah have now been bombed which leaves no safe place for the children of Gaza. UNICEF reports that even wars have rules and no child should be cut off from essential services in accordance with international humanitarian law [2] reflecting that this is not a war but a genocide[3].

There is a silent war and famine going on in Sudan affecting innocent children. Human Rights Watch reports a gruesome incident where RSF Forces first shot the parents in front of their children and then piled up the children and shot them. They later threw their bodies into the river and their belongings after them[4].

To mark a year of brutality against Sudanese children, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) issued a media statement highlighting the violations resulting in 24 million children in Sudan being at risk of generational catastrophe. Among these children, 14 million are in dire need of humanitarian support, 19 million are out of school, and 4 million are displaced, according to UNICEF, making Sudan now the largest child displacement crisis in the world[5].

Since the military coup in 2021, the armed conflict, and the suffering and cruelty continue in Myanmar. Innocent children who are too young to comprehend the chaos around them, are caught in the midst of the conflict, malnourished and deprived of essential needs. UNICEF reports that 6,000,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance [6].

A year after the deadliest earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, children are still feeling the effects of the tragedy. Almost 7.5 million children in Syria still require humanitarian aid. 3.2 million children in Turkiye still need essential services as families are homeless and without access to essential services, including safe water, education, and medical care [7].

The human rights violations continue in Turkiye not only affecting innocent adults but affecting innocent children. Thousands of children are growing up in prison with their parents who are only detained due to Erdogan’s dictator regime in Turkiye. The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dismantling human rights protections and democratic norms in Turkiye on a scale unprecedented in the 18 years he has been in office, said Human Rights Watch [8]. Recently, several girls under 18 were detained and subjected to psychological torture due to non-implementation of the Constitutional Court and ECHR rulings.

Ethiopia is facing multiple crises due to climate crises (flood and drought), armed conflicts, diseases and economic shocks. Floods have affected the education sector in the Somali region with the disruption of the schooling of over 66,000 children (32.3 percent girls) and damage/destruction to school infrastructure (56 out of 146 flood-affected schools). The scale of damage to the schools and the reported sheltering of IDPs on school grounds will prevent thousands of children from returning to school [9].

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the decades-long armed conflict continued to cause grave violations against civilians and children. The M23 committed more unlawful killings, rapes, other apparent war crimes and crimes against humanity in areas under their control [10]. Save the Children has reported that 78,000 children have been forced to flee their homes due to the escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)[11]. As armed conflict is a daily reality for the children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, these children are facing poverty, sexual violence, being abducted, deprived of food and water and even being trained as child soldiers [12]. UNICEF’s Director of Child Protection said “I met children who survived the horrors of recruitment and use by armed groups and the unspeakable trauma of sexual violence – atrocities that no one should experience, let alone children” [13].

On 8 May 2024, Save the Children reported that children in Haiti are being forced into armed gangs due to extreme hunger. According to the UN, between 30% to 50% of armed groups in Haiti currently have children within their ranks. Save the Children’s Food and Livelihood Advisor in Haiti said “The hunger situation is so desperate our staff are hearing stories of children joining deadly gangs just so they can get food to eat” [14].

OCHA reports that in Nigeria children are at risk of forced recruitment into armed groups when unaccompanied and separated from families, especially children of those considered to be formerly associated or affiliated with armed groups. Protection concerns continue more so for women and girls, who run a higher risk of being subject to violence, abduction, rape, gender-based violence, forced and child marriage, and other violations of their rights. Children in Nigeria face malnutrition on an incomprehensible scale, 1.53 million children under five years old are expected to face acute malnutrition and about 511,800 children are expected to face severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition. [15]

On this international day of innocent children victims of aggression we remember all the innocent children who, instead of crying over lost toys, are crying due to fear, destruction, and violence. These children, born into a cruel world, deserve a childhood filled with love and safety, not suffering.

BY CEYDA KEMANCI

Sources:

In the letter, we expressed our deep concern to UN officials about escalation of extraterritorial repression by the Turkish government.

In recent years, there has been a worrying increase in cases where the Turkish government has targeted its own citizens beyond its borders. This phenomenon, characterised by harassment, intimidation, abduction and even violence against Turkish citizens residing abroad, is a direct violation of fundamental human rights and poses a significant threat to global peace and security.

The consequences of this transnational repression are far-reaching, going beyond the victims to affect the integrity of the international human rights framework. By eroding the principles of asylum, safe haven and protection from persecution, the actions of the Turkish government set a dangerous precedent that threatens the safety of individuals seeking to flee repression around the world.

We are gravely concerned by the atmosphere of fear that the Erdogan regime, further strengthened by the election results, has created against Turkish dissidents living abroad. We have written the following letter to the “Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances” and “UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism” in order to make them aware of the issue and to take the necessary steps.