[CML 007225] 国際刑事裁判所におけるベンバ裁判と性暴力関連

[maeda at zokei.ac.jp]

前田　朗です。
１月１４日


国際刑事裁判所（ICC）における中央アフリカ共和国（２００２〜０３年ころの
事件）のジャン・ピエール・ベンバ裁判で、レイプなど性暴力に関する訴追が、
被害女性が証言しているのに、訴因から（？）落とされてしまったようです。



ICC TRIAL ON WAR-RAPE/VIOLENCE PROSECUTION　CONCERNS ABOUT CHARGES 
DROPPED, TESTIMONIES NEEDED 
 By Amy Lieberman - WeNews correspondent
 
 January 6, 2011
 
 Jean-Pierre Bemba's trial marks the first time that sexual violence is 
central to an International Criminal Court case. But so far, few female 
victims in the Central African Republic are giving testimony and many 
charges have been dropped.
 
 
 UNITED NATIONS (WOMENSENEWS)--The prosecution of Jean-Pierre Bemba, 
which resumes Jan. 11 in The Hague, is expected to continue taking 
testimony about the sexual violence committed by his troops in the 
Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.
 
The trial marks the first major prosecution of rape as a weapon of war 
and a fulfillment of years of international legal advocacy for female 
war victims.
 
Three of the four witnesses who testified in Bemba's trial between Nov. 
22 and Dec. 6 recounted rapes by Bemba's Congolese troops.
 
 "Witness 38" described watching a young girl get raped in front of her 
mother. "Witness 22" described getting gang raped by three soldiers 
while her family was held captive in another room, according to 
testimony posted on the monitoring site BembaTrial.org.
 
 But despite the focus on rape, Brigid Inder is worried about aspects of 
the somewhat showcase trial.
 
 
 Inder is the executive director of Women's Initiatives for Gender 
Justice, a nongovernmental group based in The Hague that looks out for 
women's interests in trials at the International Criminal Court, known 
as the ICC.
 
 Two Troubling Statistics
 
 So far, her group is troubled by two trial statistics.
 
 No. 1: Forty percent of the charges of sexual violence were dropped 
before the trial commenced at the end of November because the judge said 
they were redundant with existing charges.
 
 No. 2: Only 39 percent of the 1,051 victims whose testimonies have been 
approved in the Bemba trial are female.
 
 "It doesn't represent a lack of interest by women to participate or to 
seek justice, nor a diminished desire for accountability," Inder told 
Women's eNews in an interview in New York. "The ICC has overlooked the 
importance of developing good relationships with women leaders in 
conflict communities."
 
 The International Criminal Court's public affairs office didn't reply 
to e-mail requests for comment.
 
 Arrested in May 2008, Bemba is being charged with war crimes for 
allowing his troops to murder, pillage and rape in the Central African 
Republic between 2002 and 2003.
 
 Bemba, vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2003 to 
2006 and leader of the opposition group Movement for the Liberation of 
Congo, was called in with his rebel group to neighboring Central African 
Republic by its president, Ange-Felix Patasse, to fight off an attempted 
coup.
 
 Dropped Charges Minimize Trauma
 
 Mariana Goetz, International Criminal Court program advisor of REDRESS 
Trust, a London-based organization that aids torture survivors, is also 
closely watching the trial.
 
 She says the dropped charges of sexual violence and the exclusion of 
torture charges are minimizing the trauma suffered by Bemba's alleged 
victims.
 
 Sexual violence victims from the Central African Republic were 
frequently raped collectively in public spaces and in front of friends 
and family as a terror tactic, Goetz said.
 
 Court appearances can be dangerous for victims and witnesses. For that 
reason, only three victims have appeared before the International 
Criminal Court since its establishment in 2002.
 
 More than 600 victim applications are still pending in the Bemba case. 
Approval gives victims the right to participate through written 
testimony and to potentially receive reparations. It does not require a 
court appearance.
 
 Two lawyers from the Central African Republic are representing the 1,
051 victims, who are categorized by geographic location but not by the 
nature of human rights abuses, says Inder.