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Resolution 1212 (2000)
Rape in armed conflicts
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (91) 11 concerning sexual exploitation, pornography and prostitution of, and trafficking in, children and young adults, Recommendation No. R (85) 11 on the position of the victim in criminal law and procedure, Recommendation No. R (85) 2 on legal protection against sex discrimination and Recommendation No. R (84) 15 relating to public liability.
2. The Assembly draws attention to its Recommendation 1408 (1999) on the International Criminal Court and Recommendation 1427 (1999) on respect for international humanitarian law in Europe.
3. It further draws attention to its Recommendation 1403 (1999) on the crisis in Kosovo and the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in which it strongly condemns the policy of ethnic cleansing and particularly “the abduction and rape of women as a systematic war crime” and reaffirms that “rape and torture in armed conflicts constitute war crimes and should be treated as crimes against humanity”.
4. It also refers to the recommendations made by the United Nations special
rapporteur on violence against women.
5. It regrets that despite the fact that rape has been recognised as a war
crime, it continues to be systematically used - and has been so in recent
conflicts (Kosovo and Chechnya) - as a war weapon inflicting not only
psychological trauma but also forced pregnancy.
6. It therefore reiterates its desire to see rape treated as a crime against
humanity.
7. It accordingly believes, in view of the number of rapes in armed
conflicts, that better legal protection of women is more necessary than ever,
that such protection must apply in all circumstances and that if member
governments ever fail in their duty to provide it, then a monitoring procedure
should be instituted.
8. It reiterates its satisfaction at the adoption of the Treaty on the
Statute of the International Criminal Court by the plenipotentiary diplomatic
conference in Rome on 17 July 1998, and at the signature of the treaty, but
points out that there are three member states (Moldova, the Russian Federation
and Turkey) which have not yet signed it and that only six member states have
ratified it (Austria, Finland, France, Italy, Norway and Sweden).
9. The Assembly calls on the parliaments of member states to speedily ratify, if they have not yet done so, the Treaty on the Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in Rome on 17 July 1998 and to introduce appropriate legislation to give proper effect to its provisions, as already requested in Assembly Recommendation 1408 (1999) on the International Criminal Court.
10. The Assembly also invites the governments of member states to:
10.1. take appropriate measures to ensure that
rape in armed conflicts is irrevocably treated as a war crime, as in Article
8.xxii of the Statute of the International Criminal Court;
10.2. make sure that laws and standards relating to rape in wartime are
properly applied at national level;
10.3. recognise the inalienable right of women who have been raped to
undergo voluntary termination of pregnancy if they wish, this right arising
automatically from the rape;
10.4. recognise the right to report a rape to the authorities as applying
without limit of time and to empower the prosecution service to institute ex
officio proceedings;
10.5. ensure that domestic courts apply the common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949;
10.6. introduce strict witness-protection measures in rape cases, including
post-trial protection;
10.7. set up special programmes for female rape victims, in particular
multidisciplinary programmes which take the feminine dimension into account,
and encourage women to look after female victims of rape and other sexual
abuse;
10.8. make social-assistance arrangements and ensure fair treatment for
female rape victims who do not terminate a resultant pregnancy and who, for
various reasons, have to or decide to keep the child in order to avoid
marginalisation;
10.9. set up a solidarity fund to help rape victims and provide economic
support for the children of rape victims;
10.10. set up training programmes for persons required to deal with and help
rape victims;
10.11. establish programmes of education in tolerance, respect for human
dignity and general human rights;
10.12. provide the necessary administrative and financial resources for such
programmes;
10.13. ensure that court benches trying crimes of sexual violence against
women are composed of equal numbers of men and women, with specially trained
staff;
10.14. apply international humanitarian norms generously to help rape
victims obtain asylum.