[Brussels, 18 January 2012] A human rights legal organization that develops innovative strategies to enforce international law, the Global Justice Center (GJC) has issued two new “Q & A” publications.
The first one, entitled “How the U.S. No Abortion Prohibition on Humanitarian Aid Violates the Rights of Women Raped in Armed Conflict“, follows up with the CJG August 12th Campaign.
The GJC “August 12th” campaign seeks to address the near universal failure to provide the option of abortion to girls and women raped and impregnated in armed conflict. This discriminatory treatment of women rape victims is a serious breach of the laws of war, including the Geneva Conventions. The GJC launched the global “August 12th” campaign to urge President Obama to immediately lift the “no abortion” restriction attached to all U.S humanitarian aid for medical care given to girls and women raped and impregnated in armed conflict.
Many international and European organisations have sent letters to President Obama, including the EWL, urging him to take action on this discriminatory treatment of women rape victims.
The GJC “Q & A” publication aims at recalling the Geneva obligations, presenting the US current framework, taking into account new developments like the Executive Order issued by President Obama on December 19 2011 on Women, Peace and Security. This Executive Order is an important step as it institutes a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and it makes clear that a central tenant of this new US policy is “safe, equitable access to humanitarian assistance” for women and girls in armed conflict. The “Q & A” also raises attention on the impact of the US abortion ban on European donor funds.
The second new GJC publication, entitled “How the Systemic Discrimination against Women in Weapons Classification and Enforcement is a Serious Violation of International Humanitarian Law“, presents GJC’s new legal project to classify rape as an unlawful weapon of war. This “Q and A” addresses both discriminatory breaches of the laws of weaponry; the failure to classify rape as a weapon and the failure to prosecute deliberate HIV transmission as the use of an unlawful weapon; and develops concrete recommendations.
