The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is a United Nations (UN) court of law prosecuting individuals for genocide and other mass atrocities that occurred in the territory Rwanda from January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1994 [1]. The ICTY was established by the Security Council on November 8, 1994 by Resolution 955 in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter [2]. As of May 2010, the Court has passed 42 judgments against 50 accused persons, including high- and mid-level political, military and police leaders [3].

In the Rwandan conflict, which primarily involved atrocities committed against the dominant Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority, it is claimed that a deliberate strategy of sexual violence against Tutsi women was employed [4]. In total, an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 rapes occurred. Systematic mass rape also included inadvertent as well as knowing and willful infection of the HIV/AIDS virus to exterminate the Tutsi population [5]. While the ICTR's statute recognized and codified rape as a crime against humanity, the ICTR's Akayesu decision ruled for the first time that rape, if committed with the intention to destroy a group, could be considered a component of genocide. Akayesu also marked the first time an international court punished sexual violence in a civil war [6].

Despite the ICTR's accomplishments in addressing sexual violence, prosecutions have been hampered. For example, female witnesses report a lack of confidentiality, discovering that their stories become publicly known or they become victims of anonymous threats and harassment [7]. The ICTR has responded by supporting gender parity, streamlining and gender-sensitive investigation, among other recommendations, through the development of best practices specifically targeting cases of sexual violence [8]. However, in order to sufficiently hold violators accountable and provide victims adequate redress, it remains important that the ICTR continue and increase women's participation at all levels of the justice system.

Source: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda