KRM 220 Exam - Section B Part 2 PDF

8 Study unit 6 Discuss what the Brana plan entails. ● Brana Plan ○ Brana plan was endorsed by military officers thus distinguishing the Serbian rapes from rapes committed by Bosnians and others. ○ Not all war rapes are committed with genocidal intent. ○ Not all war rapes aim, as policy, to destro...

8 Study unit 6 Discuss what the Brana plan entails. ● Brana Plan ○ Brana plan was endorsed by military officers thus distinguishing the Serbian rapes from rapes committed by Bosnians and others. ○ Not all war rapes are committed with genocidal intent. ○ Not all war rapes aim, as policy, to destroy the groups to which victims belong. ● Serbian officers targeted women, adolescents and children, as the most vulnerable spots in social and religious structures of Muslim communities: ○ Women and children are almost always unarmed; ○ Not trained to fight; ○ Vulnerable because they cannot put up resistance; ○ Adolescent women are an especially vulnerable part of the community with respect to their sexual innocence (they have something to lose that could be considered precious to the future of the community)+86w ● Brana plans are similar to ethnic cleansing. Provide an exposition of three forms of mass rape 1. First formMilitary forces enter a village, take several women of varying ages from their homes, rape them in public view and depart; a. Several days later, soldiers from the army arrive and offer the now terrified residents safe passage away from the village - Geographically cleanse 2. Second form a. Persons held in concentration camps are chosen at random to be raped; b. Often as part of torture preceding death; c. Torture and murder can also be used to terrorise 3. Third form a. Women are imprisoned in rape/death camps and raped systematically for extended periods of time; b. Either as torture preceding death or as torture leading to forced pregnancy; c. Pregnant victims are raped consistently until its not safe to abort. Discuss the logic behind enforced pregnancies. 9 ● How can rape, enforced pregnancy, and resultant childbirths, be genocide? ○ Intent of Serbian rapists appears to have been to produce Serb children. ○ Serb perpetrators may have thought that the presence of these children would change the identity of the next generation thus altering the identity of the community to something more Serbian. ○ Ironically, the child born of military rape will contain genes of both biological parents, but will most likely be raised by its mother, if she survives. Consequently the child will take on the mother’s culture. •Military rape aimed at enforced pregnancy in the rape/death camps was apparently committed with genocidal intent. •Forced pregnancies could become genocidal because of misogynous cruelties of the culture to which the women belong (e.g Bengali women raped by Pakistani soldiers). Discuss the statement that sperm can be used as a biological weapon. ● ● Genocidal rape can be viewed as a crime of biological warfare Biological warfare ○ Use of bacteriological or viral organisms that make people sick fairly quickly with diseases that are contagious and spread rapidly through a population; ○ Diseases tend to produce death, permanent disability, or disfigurement; ○ Biological weapons can destroy people, or people’s will to fight, without destroying the inhabited territory; ○ Can make territory uninhabitable for a long time; ○ Are not fine-tunable weapons that can be made to target specific individuals; ○ There is the danger of blow-back. 1. Rape and enforced pregnancy can destroy the morale of a people, especially if inflicted on the youth, who represent its hope for the future. 2. If the objective is to undermine the will to fight, mass rape and enforced pregnancy might contribute to that end as effectively as infectious disease. 3. Soldiers are motivated to fight to protect their homes, families and the futures of their communities. If families become direct targets, what then is left to protect 4. Direct attack on civilian women and children seems designed to motivate men to cease fighting. 5. The use of sperm as a weapon fits the concept of biological warfare used to attack a biological system (reproductive system) in members of the enemy population. 6. Although the attack need not produce illness, it is designed to produce social chaos. 10 7. Sperm need not carry the HIV virus or other STDs in order to be toxic. It need not harm the reproductive system ● ● Sperm so used becomes a social and psychological toxin, poisoning the futures of victims and their communities, by producing children who, if they survive, will remind whoever raises them of their traumatic origins in torture. Many of the impregnated women ○ Attempted 3 rd trimester abortions; ○ Suicide or infanticide; ○ Others walked out of the hospital room leaving the newborn behind; and ○ They tried to find someone less traumatised to raise it. ● Unlike bacteria and viruses, sperm is easily containable, storable, preservable and deliverable by means of men’s bodies (needs no special equipment). ● If rape and enforced pregnancy are effective in terrorising a people into evacuating a territory, sperm as a weapon does not risk making the territory uninhabitable. ● Women who give birth to children (product of rape and enforced pregnancy) are so traumatised that they may never regain the desire to engage in sexual relationships or to procreate further. ● All that is enough to sustain the claim that military rape aimed at enforced pregnancy contributed to an overall plan of ethnic cleansing that was also genocidal in its intent Discuss enforced pregnancies as the cause of destruction and social death of a community. ● ● Brana plan involved Serb soldiers raping Muslim women and enforcing their pregnancies until the foetuses could not be aborted. Four possible ways the Brana plan’s policy of enforced pregnancy can be made out as part of genocide: ○ 1. Resulting children could be seen as Serbs because of their genetic origin. Thus, Muslim women would be bearing the children of their enemies. ○ 2. Raped women (particularly those who have born children from rape) could be expected to be stigmatised and ostracised and in this way eliminated from society. ■ They are treated worse if they are then pregnant as well, since being pregnant while unmarried is often treated as a crime even if it results from rape ○ 3. Brana rape/enforced pregnancy plan might destroy the community if raped women are unwilling or unable to reproduce the next generation ○ 4. The existence of unwanted children who are the product of rape by the enemy could cause social chaos to the extent of destroying the culture and institutions of the society 11 Male genocidal rape ● ● ● ● Feminists and women's rights activists does not include "sexually mutilated men, men forced to have intercourse with dead animals, men and young boys beaten to erection," or Tutsi men forced to have intercourse with other Tutsi victims. ○ •consequence of these female-centric discussions is that little is known about male victims ○ 1948 Convention definition was gender-neutral, the implication consistently reflected in both the dialogue surrounding the definition and the research supporting it is that prosecuting criminals would deal primarily with female victims Serbian detention camps ○ Both Muslim men and women and purposefully limited their interactions. ○ Female prisoners were forced to undress in front of the male prisoners and that any male prisoner that had an erection "had his penis cut off. Male prisoners who observed their fellow detainees castrated, were deterred from engaging in future intimate relationships because of the psychological damage of seeing an erection met with violence. •Enforced sterilization may amount to genocide - If intened to be ○ A genocidal context to prohibit men from being able to procreate with the intent to destroy their ethnic group. 12 Study unit 7 Define the concept ‘child soldier’ and discuss the complexities associated with defining the concept. International community defines child soldier as “any person under the age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers, and those accompany such groups, other than purely as family members” Problem with defining child soldier: 1. Childhood is culturally constructed and varies across societies; 2. In many non-Western societies a person may be regarded as an adult once certain ceremonies and rite of passage have been done; 3. Girl child becomes an adult when with her marriage and young man after the death of his father. 4. Many societies regard children as competent ‘young adult’ 5. Military participation is conceptualised as part of becoming an adult and under-18year olds are encouraged to take part in military activities. 6. Implications for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes Provide reasons why children become involved in armed conflict. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Forced recruitment Family considerations- push and pull factors Hopes of earning money Power, glamour and excitement Out of disaffection with a political, social, economic systems that have failed them Lack of educational opportunities Ideology and political socialisation exert strong influence over youth’s decision to join armed forces Discuss the recruitment process of child soldiers and the notion of ‘voluntary’ recruitment. Question of accountability ● Is there voluntary recruitment in the case of child soldiers ○ If so, can they be held responsible for their actions? International community on voluntary recruitment ● Due to: 13 ● ● ● ○ Desperation ○ Manipulation ○ Lacking cognitive skills to make a choice Possibility that children actually join an armed group on a voluntary basis ○ War often creates new social, economic and political systems and relationships that may compel children to enlist on a voluntary basis. ■ If we assume children have some form of free choice, can they be held responsible for their actions? Under 18 combatants - Play an active and critical role in political and military movements, with little direct coercion from adults. Voluntary factors - Can serve as a window into young people’s underlying concerns, grievances, needs and aspirations. Discuss the criminal responsibility of child soldiers. ● Article 12 of the UN Convention of the rights of children ○ Addresses the right of children to ‘express…views freely in all matters affecting [them]’, which some have interpreted as an indirect recognition of children’s agency, suggestions that children also have accountability when it comes to participating in armed conflict are often countered by the international community ● UN stated that former child soldiers are victims of criminal policies for which adults are responsible ○ Shared view that children should not be detained or prosecuted, but treated as victims by virtue of their age and forced nature of their association ● Amnesty international ○ Before any model of justice can be applied, an assessment of the child’s awareness of the choices open to him or her should be concluded. Provide an overview of the retributive and restorative justice models in prosecuting child soldiers. Two models of justice that address the issue of child soldiers in relation to the issue of culpability 1. šRetributive model a. Wrongdoers should be held accountable for their crimes through punishment b. Severity of punishment should be proportional to the seriousness of the crime c. If criminals are not punished, a climate of impunity is created 14 i. Child soldiers pose a threat in exactly the same way as adults combatants ii. Model has been applied following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and in the Congo iii. Trying children in courts could significantly add to their potential stigmatisation and might lead to difficulties with reintegration. 2. Restorative justice model a. Attempts to make restitution b. Is harmonious with many African societies’ norms of justice c. However, many of the existing restorative justice processes are currently not tailored to children d. Acknowledgement for the need for accountability and some form of justice e. Retributive justice should be a last resort necessity for justice is not reflected in childcentred DDR programmes f. i. By emphasising the innocence of child soldiers, it may not fully satisfy the needs of the victims or the general community to which these children return ii. Holding former child soldiers accountable for their actions might help direct victims and community members find peace and move forward. Severity of punishment should be proportional to the seriousness of the crime g. Victims’ quest for justice cannot be secondary to the rehabilitation of child soldiers Discuss girl’s involvement and initiation into armed conflict ● Recruitment ○ Voluntary recruitment: religious or political beliefs, to obtain food, shelter, medicine and to seek revenge ○ Join as they perceive the armed group as providing protection from violence or protection from unwanted marriages & sexual abuse ○ Girls may choose to join armed forces in search of empowerment and emancipation in societies and cultures that enforce rigid and confining gender roles. ○ Many girls are forcibly abducted into armed groups ○ Girls in particular, are highly valued by armed groups: ■ Highly obedient ■ Easily manipulated ● They can swell the ranks if there is a shortage of adults, and ensure a constant pool of forced and compliant labour. 15 ○ Girls and boys do not require payment, do not have families to support, and their presence may pose moral challenges to enemy forcesš ● Training ○ Involved in some form of military training to support the armed group. ○ Support the everyday functioning of armed groups that included pillaging techniques following an attack, loading and dismounting arms, defence techniques, accompanying male soldiers, sabotage, midwifery, welcoming, rousing, singing and dancing for special events. ● Role allocation ○ Girls required to perform an array of tasks to support the activities of the armed group ○ Duties often varied according to their age, physical strength, and the circumstances of the armed group, but tended to involve domestic work, sexual slavery, and combat activities. ○ Girls’ roles were multiple and fluid, most often carrying out a variety of roles and tasks simultaneously. ○ Girls are often the last members to be released by rebel groups, demonstrating their high value and worth ● Role allocation ○ Domestic & supporting work: ■ Armed groups cannot function without domestic work. ■ The domestic activities and loads carried by girls are invaluable to the very survival and success of a fighting force. ■ Failing to perform one’s domestic duties in a timely or efficient manner often led to harsh punishment, and in some cases, death. ■ Girls’ responsibilities included cooking, washing dishes, fetching water and firewood, laundering, and taking care of younger children. ■ Girls in fighting forces often deliberately excelled at their domestic and/or supporting roles in order to avoid being sent into combat. ○ Sexual Slavery: ■ Nearly all abducted girls are raped and girls associated with fighting forces almost universally report sexual violence. ■ Girls were at extremely high risk for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, as well as an array of reproductive health problems. ■ Many girls were reportedly forced to ‘marry’ individual males within the fighting forces, essentially becoming the (sexual) ‘property’ of specific males. 16 ■ The sexual exploitation of girls also came in the form of sexual labour ○ Combat activities: ■ Combat activities were a significant part of the duties of many girls associated with fighting forces. ■ Girls were forced to participate in combat only in situations where there was a lack of military power on the side of the fighting forces. ■ A minority of girls also gained powerful positions as leaders and commanders of other combatants. ■ Critical and related military functions: trainers for incoming recruits, intelligence officers, spies, recruiters, medics, first aid technicians, and weapons experts. ■ ‘wives’ and ‘fighters’ should not be viewed as exclusive categories Discuss the victimisation, culture of violence and insecurities experienced by girl child soldiers. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Women and girls experience armed conflict differently than men and boys ● Females usually being the most insecure, disadvantaged and marginalised. For girls in fighting forces, the chronic quest for safety and security, regardless of the nature of their roles, is particularly challenging due to the vulnerability exacerbated by their gender, age and physical disadvantage. Extreme forms of violence that appeared to pervade both the formal and informal cultures of the armed groups Both the formal structures and the informal practices of the armed groups ultimately point to a pervasive and overarching culture of violence whereby violence and the threat of violence appeared to permeate every aspect of girls’ daily lives The violence and victimisation experienced by girls ranged along a continuum from verbal abuse to outrageous acts of cruelty and reflected the patriarchal power relations and gendered oppression inherent in the armed group Girls, who were ultimately subservient to male authority, suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of those who commanded them. They were also witnesses to brutal forms of violence against men, women and children, both combatants and civilians. An aura of terror, repeatedly articulated, was a key factor in ensuring cohesion and obedience within the group. Girls’ experiences of violence brought forth a profound sense of insecurity on a multitude of levels The security of girls in fighting forces was constantly at risk within a multitude of domains. Girls’ experiences reveal that as child combatants, they were often simultaneously perpetrators and victims of violence. The plight of girl combatants was complex: as they perpetrated acts of violence, they concurrently remained victims of coercion, terror and deception 17 ● Girl combatants appeared to continually drift between committing acts of violence, and simultaneously being victims of violence by others ● Discuss the exclusion of girl child soldiers from Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Programming. ● Much attention has been directed towards the demobilisation of child combatants, the reunification of families, the reconstruction and expansion of national educational systems, and the integration of young people into productive community life. ● There are clear indications that girls formerly associated with fighting forces continue to be marginalised within such initiatives ● DDR programmes are characterized by gendered exclusion by privileging male combatants at the expense of women and girls in fighting forces. ● DDR is crucial to increasing security, public safety and protection in the aftermath of conflict, as well as promoting peace. ● DDR programming was planned specifically for male combatants; there was no official recognition of girls’ military status, girls often had no guns to hand in, and were regarded as too young to be considered as soldiers. Moreover, girls were said to be involved with ‘women’s work’ that did not qualify for demobilisation benefits. ● Given that girls’ salient roles within armed groups were not formally acknowledged or recognised, the vast majority of girls in fighting forces were excluded from DDR. As a result, many girls experienced ‘spontaneous reintegration’ whereby in the aftermath of the conflict girls were forced to assimilate directly into their communities, return to new communities, or drift to camps for the internally displaced in search of alternative forms of support. ● Without formal mechanisms of assistance, spontaneous reintegration left most girls to fend for themselves and their children under particularly extremely challenging circumstances ● Provide an overview of health issues; social exclusion and community rejection; and educational issues experienced by girl child soldiers ● Health issues ○ War-affected girls suffer severe physical and psychological health problems post-conflict. ○ Chronic head and stomach aches, problems from war-related wounds and beatings, malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, diarrhoea, parasitic infections and malnutrition. 18 ○ Girls also experienced gender-specific health problems that were directly related to wartime sexual violence. ○ Gynaecological problems as a result of rape included genital injury, infections, vesicovaginal fistula, and complications from self-induced or clandestine abortions. ○ Girls were also at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. ○ There are devastating psychological after-effects of wartime sexual violence. ○ Despite these many health problems, services, particularly reproductive health services, are seldom available to girls. The lack of accessible health facilities, and lack of money for transport, medical treatment and drugs has meant that the health status of survivors of sexual violence is often poor. ● Social exclusion & community rejection ● Family and/or community support is undeniably critical to war-affected children’s long term well-being and overall successful reintegration. ● A trusting relationship with a caring adult, as well as living with parents, may be a critical factor in children’s recovery from the scourge of war. ● Girls appeared to have higher rates of rejection by community members than their male counterparts. ● Girl’s reintegration into the community post-conflict appears to be impacted by the pattern of how she was taken into a fighting force, the military role she played and the way in which she returned ● Behaviour girls learned within the armed groups, which ultimately helped them survive the armed conflict, may hinder their reintegration into their communities. ● Behaviours that severely violate accepted gender norms—such as being aggressive, quarrelsome, using abusive language, abusing drugs and smoking—appear to have an impact on a girl’s ability to readapt to her community and on the community’s response to her. ● Girls appeared to suffer rejection not only as a result of their former affiliation with the armed group, but also because they had been victims of sexual violence ● Given the importance placed upon virginity at marriage, girls were often deemed ‘unmarriageable’ following disclosures of rape ● Two important factors: spiritual and religious rituals ○ Rituals can thus facilitate the process of healing, reconnect the child to the community, facilitate social reintegration, and positive psychosocial effects. ○ Community-cleansing rituals helped children to successfully reintegrate into their communities.91 Rituals were said to provide the children with a feeling of acceptance, importance, and an opportunity to begin fresh following the scourge of war. ■ Cleansing rituals may be exclusionary. 19 ○ Girls also ensured their post-conflict reintegration through the creation of informal support structures and peer-support networks ● Educational issues ○ In the aftermath of conflict, thousands of girls and boys have no skills beyond those they had acquired in fighting or in surviving the conflict. ○ Girls continue to be the least educated sector of the population in most developing countries. ○ From a child rights perspective, education is regarded as essential for instilling stability and normalcy in the lives of children who have experienced the trauma of civil war. ○ Other forms of education is widely seen as a significant ‘life-affirming activity’ that can restore hope and purpose among children who have been emotionally and often physically overcome by the scourge of war.