The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) was pleased to attend this panel discussion hosted by Chatham House in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The main participants were as follows:
- Chair: Baroness Patricia Scotland QC, Chair of the Advisory Board and Co-President. (“BPS”)
- Professor Anne-Marie La Rosa, Senior Diplomatic Adviser, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (“AMLR”)
- Madeleine Rees, Secretary-General, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. (“MR”)
- Margaret Purdasy, Legal Counsellor, UK Mission in Geneva. (“MP”)
The main points raised during the meeting were as follows:
- International humanitarian law prohibits rape and other sexual violence. Rape may constitute a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, giving rise to universal jurisdiction. (MP)
- International human rights law applies even when the context doesn’t allow for the application of international humanitarian law. The two legal systems provide “perfect complementarity” for victims of sexual violence in conflict. (AMLR)
- The G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and other international declarations, although not legally binding, raise awareness and set standards for states. (MP)
- The ICRC is working on an analytical framework on the issue to promote holistic, victim-centred approaches to sexual violence in conflict. (AMLR)
- There are problems linking the work of the various sectors involved; development, legal, healthcare etc. Effective planning is needed to make sure that sectors are better able to support victims in the long term. (MR)
The PHRG will continue to follow developments on the UK Government’s Protecting Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), as well as broader trends on this topic.