Women and Justice: Keywords

The National Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Resolution Nº 1325/2000 of the UN Security Council on Women, Peace and Security was approved by the Angolan President in June 2017, revoking all legislation that contravenes it. The UN Resolution Nº 1325/2000 emphasizes the uneven impact of armed conflicts on men and women, and appeals for a higher degree of participation of women, and the integration of gender equality in the prevention, management, and resolution of armed conflicts. As such, it highlights the importance of gender equality in all phases of construction of peace and gives women the role not as victims, but as important actors in the peacemaking process. The National Plan follows those principles by planning to: 1) increase women’s participation in the construction of peace and related decision-making, 2) guarantee the formation and habilitation of women and girls, 3) promote and protect women’s and girls’ human rights in zones of conflict and post-conflict through empowerment and elimination of gender and sexual violence, among other objectives. In this respect, the plan also includes a series of activities, goals and execution times, and the expected result as an effective policy to implement the plan's objectives.

O Plano Nacional de Ação para a Implementação da Resolução Nº 1325/2000 do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas sobre Mulheres, Paz e Segurança foi aprovado pelo Presidente da Angola em Junho de 2017, revogando toda a legislação que viola o plano. A Resolução Nº 1325/2000 da ONU enfatiza o impacto desigual dos conflitos armados para homens e mulheres, e apela para um maior grau de participação das mulheres, e para a integração da igualdade de gênero na prevenção, administração e resolução dos conflitos armados. Como tal, ele realça a importância da igualdade de gênero em todas as fases de construção da paz e dá às mulheres papeis não de vítimas, mas de importantes atrizes no processo de pacificação. O Plano Nacional segue esses princípios ao planejar: 1) o aumento da participação feminina na construção da paz e relacionada a tomadas de decisão, 2) a garantia da formação e habilitação de mulheres e garotas, 3) a promoção e proteção dos direitos humanos de mulheres e garotas em zonas de conflito e pós-conflito por meio do empoderamento e eliminação de violência sexual e de gênero, junto de outros objetivos. Nesse sentido, o plano também inclui uma série de atividades, metas e tempos de execução, e o resultado esperado como uma política efetiva para implementar os objetivos do plano.

In the summer of 1992, during an assault on the non-Serb civilian population of Foča in the early months of the Bosnian War, Radovan Stanković, a member of the Republika Srpska Army, established a small detention center for women at an apartment known as “The Brothel.” He and others brought at least nine non-Serb females, most of whom were minors, to the apartment and detained them there. Between August and November 1992, Stanković repeatedly raped one woman and her underage sister and incited other soldiers who visited the apartment to rape the detainees. In addition, Stanković forced the victims to perform physical labor, including cooking for the soldiers, washing the soldiers’ uniforms, and bathing the soldiers. In 2002, Stanković was arrested by the NATO peacekeeping force, KFOR, and transferred to the ICTY. The ICTY referred Stanković’s case to the Court of BiH in 2005. One year later, the Court of BiH convicted Stanković of Crimes against Humanity (enslavement, imprisonment, torture, and rape) under Article 172(1) of the Criminal Code of BiH and sentenced him to sixteen years imprisonment. In 2007, a panel of the Appeals Division increased the prison term to twenty years. Stanković appealed his sentence, which the ICTY and The Hague Court of Appeal upheld. This case is notable because it was the first time the ICTY referred a case to a court of national jurisdiction.

Second instance verdict available in English here.

From the spring of 1992 to the autumn of 1993, during the Bosnian War, Predrag Kujundžić, a commander in the local military and later police force, led several attacks against non-Serb civilians in Doboj. During that time, he incited, aided, and abetted the murder, rape, imprisonment, and persecution of non-Serb civilians. In addition, from June to December 1992, Kujundžić forced a Muslim minor into sexual slavery by use of force and threats to kill the victim’s mother and younger sister. Kujundžić repeatedly raped the victim, forced her to have sexual intercourse with soldiers, and controlled every aspect of her life. In 2009, the Court of BiH found Kujundžić guilty of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1) of the Criminal Code of BiH. The Court found several aggravating circumstances present in Kujundžić’s case, including Kujundžić’s status as a commander, the motives for the attack, the large number of victims, and the fact that the victim of rape and sexual slavery was a minor. The Court accordingly sentenced Kujundžić to 22 years imprisonment. A panel of the Appellate Division later reduced his prison sentence to 17 years.

Second instance verdict available in English here.

Between 1992 and 1995 during the Bosnian War, Veselin Vlahović a member of the Serbian paramilitary forces, committed various crimes against humanity against the civilian non-Serb population of Sarajevo, including murder, rape, physical and mental abuse, robbery, and enforced disappearance. His crimes were so horrific that he was known by victims as the “Monster of Grbavica.” In 2010, Vlahović was arrested in Spain and extradited to BiH. In 2013, the Court of BiH found Vlahović guilty of sixty different crimes against humanity, including 35 murders and 11 rapes, as well as torture, imprisonment, and looting. He was sentenced to forty-five years imprisonment. In 2014, the Court of BiH acquitted Vlahović of one of the 60 counts of the indictment and reduced his prison sentence to 42 years. Notably, Vlahović’s original prison sentence of 45 years was the maximum possible penalty and is the longest sentence handed down by the Bosnian war crimes court.

Second instance verdict available in English here.