Conflict-related sexual violence : the darker side of the history and the untold herstory of conflicts under international human rights law

Abstract

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) has been recognised as a selfstanding crime that can threaten international security and impede the restoration of a sustainable international peace. Even though it is punishable under International Law, the path to eradicate it is still long. The thesis aims to explore how the international community has been able to bring these vexations to light and provide a holistic mechanism to prevent CRSV, bring perpetrators to justice, protect victims and grant them reparation. In an effort to capture the complexities of the phenomenon, this work adopts an innovative approach and builds on an interesting nexus. Indeed, it analyses the dynamic interplay between the Reporting Cycles to the CEDAW Committee, its General Recommendation n. 30 and National Action Plans implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in selected conflict-affected countries, in order to advance the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, in which CRSV is a central issue. New insights, a dynamic framework of analysis and the consequent deep understanding of the phenomenon sheds light on CRSV. The study demonstrates that the aforementioned interplay can be crucial to avoid and eradicate the phenomenon and finally reach the truth behind the darker, overlooked, silenced side of conflicts.