Ethiopia is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as a result of its civil conflict. Several claims have surfaced claiming Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers were involved in mass rapes and sexual assault. Soldiers are allegedly raping girls as young as eight-years-old. Mark Lowcock, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that Ethiopian federal forces are using mass rapes as a weapon of war to subdue the insurrection in the Tigray Region.

It began in 2020 when Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, postponed the elections owing to the coronavirus pandemic. However, this action did not go down well with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the most influential and powerful party of the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The TPLF disregarded the federal government's authority and went ahead conducting elections in the Tigray. Incidentally, it received a landslide victory in the election. This resulted in a schism between the federal government and the TPLF. Both sides were labelling the other’s conduct illegitimate. The rift exacerbated when the TPLF attacked a government military base, which escalated the situation and resulted in a full-blown civil war. The new ally of Ethiopia, Eritrea, has also entered into the conflict.

VIOLATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

The sexual violence committed by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers amounts to a grave violation of international humanitarian law. Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention elucidates that “women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault”.

Women who have been subjected to sexual assault often suffer from severe physical and psychological scars. They may also contract lethal sexually-transmitted infections such as HIV, putting their lives in grave jeopardy. It is a flagrant breach of international law, which codifies the right to health as a fundamental human right. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognises the right to health as a basic fundamental right. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises that every person has the right to enjoy “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”. This is also enshrined in the preamble of the constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO). Sexual violence as a weapon of war amounts to tantamount torture. It strongly contravenes article 7 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which declares that no human shall be subjected to cruel treatment and torture.

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women’s General Recommendation No. 19 recognises that sexual violence during armed conflict seriously contravenes article 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The treaty’s first article enshrines “the right to equal protection according to humanitarian norms in times of international or internal armed conflict”.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE: A WAR CRIME UNDER INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

Mass rapes, used as a weapon, are also a grave war crime in international criminal law. Article 7 of the Rome Statute states that rape and sexual slavery are “crime[s] against humanity”. Article 8 of the Rome Statute states that using rape as a weapon in armed conflict also constitutes a serious war crime. Ethiopia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. Therefore, it is not easily subjected to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, sexual assault is increasingly being recognised as jus cogens violation of international law, rendering Ethiopia liable for its crimes. For instance, in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia case of Prosecutor v. Furundzija, the court decided that using sexual violence as a weapon in armed conflict is tantamount to torture. Thus, rape as a violation of international law was deemed jus cogens, and the court held that rapes committed during armed conflict could thus be prosecuted under international law.

Sexual violence is one of the most heinous war crimes. The enemy uses it as a symbol of oppression and authority. Sexual violence was used in the Yugoslavian War, the Bangladesh War, and the Iraqi Civil War, among others. In her recent interview, Mussie Tesfay Atsbaha, the chief administrator of Ayder Hospital, affirmed that “430 women have been treated for rape,” though it is estimated that this figure is just the tip of the iceberg. She further added: “If one person has come, another 20 are dead somewhere.” This depicts the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray. Thus, the perpetrators of crimes of sexual violence should be punished swiftly in the greatest interests of humanity.

Sriansh Jaiswal is a 3rd year BA.LLB. student at Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow. He takes keen interest in International Law and Human Rights Law.

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