CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Bosak, Martina |
|---|---|
| Title | The Challenge of Prosecuting "Weapon of War" Conflict-Related Rape: The Case of Syria |
| Summary | The definition of rape and frame of rape as “weapon of war” have been the most debated and, at the same time, the most contested topics among scholars of different backgrounds. Feminist, legalists and international relations scholars have focused their discussions on whether rape shall include the consent element or coercion, whether rape shall be framed as “weapon of war” or only as rape-in-peace, and how “weapon of war” frame may be improved. These debates have arisen from the inconsistent jurisprudence of the ad hoc tribunals which were the first ever courts prosecuting wartime sexual violence. Therefore, as a first step, the thesis explores case-law rendered by the international courts followed by various scholarly discussions. The “weapon of war” framed as a security issue has proven to be very successful when prosecuting conflict-related rape. However, any framework for redressing complex problems is bound to be limiting. The thesis identifies “weapon of war” frame as being selective, unfair and politically oriented. The aim of the thesis is to not to be damning, but instead to assess the frame and to identify challenges when frame has been put on trial. The thesis will offer a contribution to considered reflections of rape as a “weapon of war”. Prosecutor 019;s offices develop the scope of crimes already in the indictment, which means that they have major role in framing “weapon of war” on trial. In that sense, the thesis is written from prosecutor’s office lenses when applying theory to the facts. The research focuses on critically exploring already available evidence on the wartime rape in Syria and on applying these facts to the challenges identified within the case-law of two jurisdictions. The aim of the thesis is to provide policy recommendation for the Syrian Public Prosecutors Office in order to tackle with the selective framing of rape as a “weapon of war”. |
| Supervisor | Marjan Ajevski |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/bosak_martina.pdf |
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