Rape and other grave sexual violence against children

The Rome Statute of ICC defines rape and other grave sexual violence as a war crime. Everything must be done to bring to justice those responsible for this particular war crime.

The Janjaweed have used children within their ranks in Darfur, have killed and maimed children and have committed widespread rape and other grave sexual violence against women and children.

Reports from Iraq and southeast Afghanistan indicate that fear of sexual violence is keeping girls out of schools. During her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2003, the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator reported on the situation of over 250 women and girls in South Kivu who required surgical interventions to repair the ravages of rape. Similarly, in Burundi, hundreds of girls have been raped, either as a means of ethnic cleansing or because violators believe that children are less likely to transmit diseases.