9 December - to mark the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime (Genocide-prevention Day), the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) convened a session in the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament titled Wounds Beyond War: Sexual and/or Reproductive Violence as Means of Genocide.
The discussion brought legal experts, parliamentarians, and human rights practitioners together to examine how sexual and reproductive violence continues to be deployed against protected groups worldwide and how the international community should respond.
Established by the United Nations General Assembly, UN Genocide-prevention Day serves to sharpen global attention on genocide as a distinct and preventable crime under international law. This year's session took place against the backdrop of the highest number of active conflicts since 1946 and a growing body of evidence revealing systematic attacks on women, girls, men and boys that may meet the threshold of atrocity crimes, including genocide.
Speaking at the event, Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC, Director of the IBAHRI, and Peer in the UK House of Lords, underscored the urgent need for legal recognition and timely preventive action: 'Recognising situations where sexual and/or reproductive violence is used as a means of genocide is key to ensuring that the crimes are addressed in the right way, including with legal steps. Even more so, and to implement our legal duty to prevent genocide, we must recognise situations where there is a serious risk of genocide and act to prevent the unimaginable pain and suffering imposed upon individuals and whole communities. Legal action can secure a sense of justice and accountability, but it cannot take away the horrific experiences suffered by too many. Only prevention can do that.'
Panellists examined evidence from multiple regions where conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence has been weaponised to destroy communities, including against women and girls as well as men and boys - seen, for example, in practices reported in Russian detention centres holding Ukrainian prisoners. Speakers emphasised the ongoing gap between growing legal recognition of these crimes and the insufficient practical, political and prosecutorial responses that follow.
Dr Ewelina Ochab, IBAHRI Senior Programme Lawyer and organiser of the Parliamentary session, who leads the IBAHRI's work on atrocity crimes, including genocide and conflict-related sexual violence, added: 'Over the years, we have seen some important progress in the understanding of sexual and/or reproductive violence in conflict and atrocity crimes. However, responses are still lagging behind this understanding. We need clear commitments from governments to prioritise the issue and see it matched with proactive responses, including to prevent the crimes, and once they are perpetrated, to ensure justice and accountability for all victims/survivors and comprehensive assistance along the way. The raging impunity sends an unimaginable message that one can get away with such crimes.'
The IBAHRI continues to examine crimes of sexual and/or reproductive violence, including in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Tigray and other contexts. These inquiries include detailed recommendations grounded in international law, notably the use of universal jurisdiction where domestic systems are unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocity crimes. In some circumstances, universal jurisdiction may be the only option for victims/survivors. Further information on IBAHRI's initiatives, including forthcoming legal guidance and the findings of ongoing inquiries, will be released in due course.
