Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Sciences, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
One of the most important goals of developing the rules of international humanitarian law is to protect people who are not directly involved in war in most cases, but the violence and suffering caused by war is imposed on them. As one of the vulnerable groups, women are exposed to being victimized due to war crimes or crimes against humanity, especially during civil wars. When a civilian group, in the territory of a government enters into conflict with that government, a situation of non-international armed conflict is created; A situation that will be governed by different rules than those governing international armed conflicts. The rules that result from Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the second additional protocol and international custom. Dominating a part of the territory of a country by the forces on a continuous basis, having minimum facilities to establish a base inside the territory of the conflict, having a responsible commander, etc. are the most important characteristics of a hostile group, and in this case, it is possible to implement the rules of law. International humanitarianism is expected from them.
The black figure of women's victimization due to their gender in armed conflicts has led to the lack of identification of the perpetrators and the lack of necessary support for them, and this itself leads to their secondary victimization. In internal armed conflicts, the issue of women's victimization, due to the occurrence of violence inside the territory of a country and its inability to be monitored by international institutions on the one hand, and their victimization (direct and indirect) from different directions on the other hand, along with numerous problems It becomes more important in repairing the damage caused to them. In addition, the governments do not want to provide humanitarian support and aid to their nationals and citizens in the event of a civil war, and in the event of this type of conflict, they seek to suppress the opposition to the extent that the perpetrators of war crimes and ... be.
Today, the violation of women's rights in internal armed conflicts as people who did not play an active role in these conflicts is recognized as a war crime. Because war crime is known as a gross violation of international humanitarian rights in armed conflicts, and the violation of women's rights is a gross manifestation of this violation. Although committing these actions in some cases leads to a crime against humanity or even genocide. Since the violation of the rules of humanitarian rights has been done in the territory of a state, not only the people involved in these conflicts, but also the states (whether the state that is a party to the conflict or the state that helps one of the parties to the war) are committed and obliged to respect the rights are international humanitarians and in case of violation of these international rules, they will be responsible for the victims of crimes. In the rules of international humanitarian law governing civil wars, the civil and international responsibility of governments and perpetrators of crimes in these conflicts is emphasized. In addition to accepting the violation of women's rights as a war crime and a crime against humanity (as the case may be), the statutes and jurisprudence of international criminal courts have considered the perpetrators of these crimes to be criminally responsible.
This article, using the descriptive-analytical method, using library resources and card cabinet tools, seeks to investigate the issue of what are the most important manifestations of the violation of women's rights in civil wars as a violation of international humanitarian rights and its effects, and the procedure How has international criminal courts been in identifying numerous cases of violation of women's rights? Sexual violence, as the most obvious example of the violation of women's rights in internal armed conflicts, has led to many destructive effects on women, which is confirmed by the studies conducted during internal armed wars and especially after the end of the war and violence. What the numerous cases of internal armed wars and the judicial procedure of international criminal courts show is the lack of appropriate solutions and treatment for women victims of violence in the process of reacting to the violation of their rights, especially in criminal proceedings (Submitting a complaint to the corrupt criminal system, the lack of proper services from lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and the criminal justice system in general), which requires providing different ways of support than what currently exists.
Keywords
- Internal armed conflict
- International humanitarian law
- Women victims of crime
- War crime
- Crime against humanity
Main Subjects
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