Ending impunity of rape used as weapon of war

(Vatican Radio) G8 Foreign ministers meeting in London this week are focusing on issues of conflict and particularly how to tackle the question of sexual violence or rape used as a weapon of war. Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker spoke to Susy Hodges about how the government wants to set up practical measures to end the climate of impunity that surrounds the perpetrators of such crimes.

Listen to the extended interview with Ambassador Baker:

Ambassador Baker says the British government sees the issue of sexual violence in conflict “as one of the great areas that hasn’t been tackled” by the international community and wants to end the current situation where “the perpetrators of sexual violence and rape” “get away, almost invariably, scot free” because of the impunity which means that “hardly any cases get to court.”

Asked how they intend to tackle this problem in a practical hands-on way, Baker says the proposal is to create “teams of investigators to go into conflict or post-conflict zones” that would have “the legal, social and sometimes psychological expertise” … to be able to work with the victims (of sexual violence), “to identify the perpetrators and find ways in which cases can be built in order to take them to court.”

The British Ambassador says their plan is to use the G8 “as a foundation to build an international coalition” to ensure that this issue of sexual violence in conflict is “a No. 1 focus in the U.N.” “We want to ensure,” he adds, “there are agreed international standards for investigating and especially documenting sexual violence in conflict.”