Allegations that Russia is using rape as a weapon of war in Ukraine come as no surprise to a veteran foreign correspondent who says it is something he has seen more and more in the 30 years that have covered the conflict.
“If you want to humiliate and intimidate and cleanse a population from somewhere, raping women and girls is a very effective way to do it,” said Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times and author of Our Bodies, They Battleground. : What does war do to women?
“I have said militias in the past: ‘It is very cheap, it is cheaper than a Kalashnikov bullet,’” he said. The current Matt Galway.
What we do not know in Ukraine is: is this systematic, were the fighters encouraged to do so? – Christina Lamb
ONE Human Rights Watch Report has documented allegations of rape, murder and other acts of violence committed by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians. One case involved the rape of a woman who was sheltered in a school in eastern Ukraine with her five-year-old daughter and other women and children.
“The soldier took her to a school classroom and raped her several times during the night,” said Hugh Williamson, director of the organization for Europe and Central Asia. he said The current on Monday.
In a video message to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing the worst atrocities since World War II.
“They cut off limbs, cut off their necks. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their attacker did not hear what they wanted to hear from them,” he told the Security Council.
“The Russian army and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine,” he said.
Russia has denied allegations of war crimes, with officials repeatedly saying that images of corpses and mass graves – which arose after the withdrawal of Russian forces from the areas around Kyiv – have been directed.
CLOCKS Zelensky visits abused Bouha:
Zelensky visits abused Bouha, fearing widespread massacre of civilians
WARNING: This video contains graphic material Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky toured the massacre left behind by Russian troops in the northern Kiev suburb of Bucha on Monday. Fears are growing that the death and destruction seen in Bucha is just a glimpse of the alleged atrocities committed by Russia in the war. 3:40
However, Alona Shkrum, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, says there is evidence of sexual violence in cities and towns occupied by Russian forces.
“I can not imagine what these people have gone through, but we have women right now who have decided to show up,” she said.
In addition to these testimonies, Shkrum said that the bodies of civilians have shown evidence of rape and torture. Authorities have also intercepted communications between soldiers, boasting about what they have done to Ukrainians, he said.
Shkrum called on the international community to “do everything possible to stop this Putin-funded military machine.”
Lamb said rape is used as a weapon in other conflict zones around the world right now, not just in Ukraine. He said he had seen an increase in the use of rape as a weapon in recent years by ISIS fighters are encouraged to force Yazidi women into sexual slaveryin his allegations Mass rape of Rohingya Muslim civilians by the Myanmar army.
“What we do not know in Ukraine is: is this systematic, were the fighters encouraged to do so? Or was it something that happened on an individual basis?” he said, adding that “obviously neither is sorry”.
Responsibility is the exception, not the rule
Lamb said she was pushed to write a book about wartime rape because she could not believe the women had reported these crimes, but nothing happened. “Every woman I spoke to said that what they wanted most was justice,” she said. “But the fact is that at the moment accountability is the exception and not the rule.” He said part of the problem was that women in conflict zones around the world “did not have a rape kit or anything to try to find evidence”. He also believes that in the aftermath of war, rape can be seen as a “side issue” and is not taken as seriously as other atrocities. “I can not help but think that much of the problem is that peace negotiations are almost always conducted by men,” he said. CLOCKS Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations calls on Russia to account
Canada’s ambassador to UN calls on Russia to answer for alleged war crimes
Bob Ray, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, discusses Russia’s accountability to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine and how RCMP officials assist in the investigation. 3:53
He said in the aftermath of the atrocities committed by ISIS, he asked officials in Iraq if the captured fighters would be tried for forcing Yazidi women into sexual slavery.
The clerk said no, and Lamb asked him, why not?
“He said, ‘Well, they killed and tortured people.’ Why deal with rape? “” He remembers.
“Justice does not come about by chance”
Lamb said in a strange way, what is happening in Ukraine is an opportunity for greater action in wartime rape than was possible in the past. “It’s absolutely horrible that this is happening, but it is happening in real time ahead of us,” he said. “And so we are really able to do something about it in a way that some of these other conflicts – where they only happened a lot later – could do nothing.” That would require strong international leadership and more than “expressions of anger,” because “justice does not come by chance,” he said. “Hopefully this time people will do more than just talk about it, and actually start collecting data, setting up mechanisms and making sure people pay the price for it,” he said. Written by Padraig Moran, with archives from the Associated Press. Produced by Samira Mohyeddin and Arianne Robinson
