Introduction
On 19 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 19th June of each year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in order to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence.
In commemoration of this day announced by the UN, Rita Kahsay, a young British Tigrayan activist, describes the current appalling genocide and use of rape as a war crime in Tigray
End Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Guest blog by Rita A Kahsay, @Atiryashak from Tigray Youth Network
Rape, in conflict or otherwise, is a crime neglected by justice systems across the globe. Systematic rape is currently being used as a weapon of war against Tigrayans, Uyghurs, Rohingyas and in Ukraine.
‘I would rather have been murdered, than endure what I did’ is what a Tigrayan woman who was made a victim of weaponised rape said. The reality is however, what happened to this woman and countless others will never be addressed as seriously as murder, and will most likely go unpunished.
Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia that has for the last 19 plus months been a hub for atrocities of every kind. Although the seeds of war go back in history, on 4th November 2020 armed conflict began between Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and forces loyal to the current Government of Tigray, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). Following that day, there have been alarming reports of civilian massacres, weaponized starvation, aerial bombardment destroying public and private infrastructure resulting in a failed healthcare system and one report of members of the ENDF burning a Tigrayan man alive. It is estimated that up to half a million Tigrayans have been killed in this war possibly amounting to a form of genocide.
…one of the very few hospitals remaining in Tigray, has treated 755 women and girls, all with horrifying stories. Their ages span from three to eighty.
The most disturbing aspect of this conflict has been the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The UN’s population fund, the UNFPA, estimates 26,000 women and girls in Tigray sought medical assistance after being raped. Ayder Hospital, one of the very few hospitals remaining in Tigray, has treated 755 women and girls, all with horrifying stories. Their ages span from three to eighty. Almost half pregnant, and a large percentage HIV positive. All have developed some kind of psychological trauma. At least one has taken her life as a result. Many of these victims have observed other women being raped, most of whom have not come forward.
The Tigrayan women have suffered this violence at the hands of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops, Amhara militia, and an Amhara vigilante organisation known as Fano. These forces have presented clear intents to eliminate the Tigrayan people. Ex UN humanitarian head Mark Lowcock has stated that rape has been “deliberately and systematically organized, targeted, ethnically based, and...is intended to terrorize, humiliate and brutalize”
Amnesty international reported a story of a 21 year old woman from Badme who testified: “They raped us and starved us. They were too many who raped us in rounds. We were around 30 women they took… All of us were raped.”
Women from a tiny ethnic minority in Tigray, the Irob, report they were gang raped by Eritrean troops when they were hiding in the villages of Irob, then repeatedly raped by ENDF and members of Ethiopian Federal Police at Moyale.
Many of these women will bare the horrors of these crimes for generations. As well as the trauma, many women will endure physical illnesses. Around half of them have become pregnant as a result of weaponized rape. With the conditions they are still in, (concentration camps, war zones and famine) they have extremely difficult pregnancies and suffer still births or give birth to extremely malnourished babies who will have growth problems for the rest of their lives.
With only 1% of health service in operation offering comprehensive Clinical Management of Rape services in Tigray, and the societal taboo, the lives of these women has been made hell. They can’t seek medical attention, let alone justice.
There are international laws and conventions that should protect these women but there is little evidence that they are enforced.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) recognises rape as a war crime, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide. However the ICC has been extremely slow in prosecuting perpetrators of this crime. It is the war crime no one likes to address despite its resounding ability to destroy lives for generations.
Artist: Ahaduel
Under the UN Genocide Convention, if a state fails to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing every other signatory state has a responsibility to intervene to prevent and punish perpetrators of these atrocity crimes with no consideration given to sovereignty. Yet, we have not seen a single state adhere to this responsibility.
The women and girls who have been made victims of such heinous crimes deserve justice. The failure to enforce the provisions of the Convention emboldens and enables more perpetrators to use rape as a weapon and women’s bodies as battlefields.
This International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, states must begin to act to put an end to the neglect of the violence perpetrated on the bodies of women and girls in Tigray. The Tigray Youth Network, of which I am a member has set out the following demands of countries across the world :
Enforce Responsibility to Protect (R2P) resolution to prevent and punish atrocity crimes in Tigray
Recognise and support giving priority to providing services and access to justice for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Tigray and the wider northern Ethiopia
Raise the topic of Weaponised sexual violence in all discussions about conflict in Tigray and the inclusion of the survivors’ voices to be paramount
Unfettered access to be provided at every level for the all independent investigations on weaponized sexual violence in Tigray, including the UN Human Rights Council investigation, with full recognition of the gender dimension of the human rights abuses in Tigray
Recognise the importance of protection of witnesses, including health workers are protected for subsequent prosecutions which must recognise the principle of command responsibility
Enforce the Immediate end of Tigray's humanitarian blockade to allow unrestricted access to food, medicine, and other humanitarian supplies, the restoration of essential services such as telecommunications, banking, and electricity, and a range of services needed by survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, and access to legal services for survivors
Recognise the importance of tackling the sexual violence in Tigray to the credibility of the PSVI initiative by the UK government and its partners.
Tigray Youth Network are a collective that aims to inspire and educate the leaders of tomorrow. Through workshops and providing safe spaces, we hope to bring together the Tigrayan Diaspora, and as a domino effect, aspire to enrich the lives of our people both here and back home.