Opening of colloquium on sexual violence as an international crime
Gelegenheid: Opening of colloquium on sexual violence as an international crimeGood afternoon ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to The Hague, and welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am delighted to see so many of you here this afternoon. I would like to welcome two dear friends in particular: the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Pillay, and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr Moreno-Ocampo. And a warm welcome to Judge Theodor Meron of the ICTY. Your presence clearly shows the importance the international community attaches to addressing sexual violence as an international crime.
Last year, I had the honour of presenting Justine Masika Bihamba with the Dutch Human Rights Tulip, an annual award for human rights defenders who have shown extraordinary moral courage in the face of great challenges. Justine Masika is from Kivu Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where, as you know, sexual violence against women is rampant. Her organisation provides medical, psychological, social and legal assistance to victims of sexual violence, and tries to reintegrate them into society and give them a new chance in life. I can honestly tell you that I was humbled when I spoke to Justine about her life and her work. For Congolese women, every trip to fetch water is a life and death situation: rapists could be lurking behind every bush. No one should have to suffer such indignity. It is degrading to the women of the DRC, their families and their communities. Their rights are being trampled on. This is one more example showing that security is a completely different thing to a woman than to a man. And yet, with the help of women like Justine, the women of Congo persevere. They try to move on.
Their government, the society they live in and the international community should not be making these women’s lives even harder by allowing those who use rape as an instrument of war to go unpunished. The perpetrators of these atrocities should not be permitted to walk free with impunity, demonstrating the injustice of the system to their victims. Ideally, they should be prosecuted and convicted under national law. If a national government is incapable of making the courts fully accessible, due to lack of capacity or difficult political circumstances, the international community must step in and lend a hand. The Netherlands has assisted in strengthening the legal system in many conflict and post-conflict situations around the world, in Iraq, Kosovo, Sudan and the DRC. Helping women acquire access to justice in the DRC is one of the Dutch Embassy’s top priorities. The Netherlands recently funded a project in Maniema Province: in collaboration with the American Bar Association, we help communities implement a ‘zero tolerance’ approach whereby village committees protect the constitutional rights of women.
But if the domestic judicial process continues to fall short of expectations, it is possible to prosecute sexual violence as an international crime. The Rome Statute recognises sexual assault as both a crime against humanity and a war crime. In the much-publicised Foča case – named after the town in Bosnia-Herzegovina where the crimes took place – ICTY judge Florence Mumba convicted three defendants of sexual enslavement and rape in 2001. This was a landmark decision with important consequences: for the victims of sexual violence, for societies at large and for international law in general.
Since then, the concept of ‘gender justice’ has been gaining ground. In June 2008, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 on sexual violence as a tactic of war. The Council demanded that all parties to conflict put an immediate end to all acts of sexual violence. And the Council acknowledged it has a responsibility to adopt steps to address sexual violence itself. Leadership like this is essential.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You have been invited to The Hague to talk about a more effective approach to the prosecution of sexual violence. There is a rich variety of expertise assembled here this afternoon. Some of you have an academic background. Others represent governments – we are very glad to have the Ambassadors of Chile and Uganda with us today. There are representatives of international organisations and NGOs. Still others are judges, lawyers, medical officers or journalists. I am certain this colloquium will benefit from the diversity of experience you bring to the table.
I applaud the University of Illinois’ Center on Law and Globalization, the American Bar Foundation and the University of Leiden’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies for organising this results-oriented and practical colloquium. Thank you to Bruce Smith and Nico Schrijver for getting everything and everyone together! The human rights of women and children are a priority in Dutch foreign policy, and so I’m pleased that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was able to make a contribution to your programme.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope you will excuse me for making a quick exit. I will be discussing the Dutch human rights strategy in Parliament this afternoon. So I guess we will all be doing our part today to defend the rights of people around the world. And I hope we will all be able to reach agreement and find productive ways forward – you in your meeting, and I in Parliament. I wish you a very successful colloquium.
Thank you.