WUNRN
The Additional Judgment May Be
Requested From:
Childtrafficking.com - Terre des
Hommes Foundation: http://www.childtrafficking.com/Content/aboutus.php
Terre des Hommes has
learned from Justice Renate Winter in Sierra Leone, about two Judgments of the
Special Court for Sierra Leone that recognize forced marriage as a crime
against humanity under International Law for the first time in history.
The first is the Appeal Judgment against three senior leaders of the armed
forces revolutionary council, a rebel group responsible for mass atrocities
including "forced marriages." In this Judgment the Appeals Chamber of
the Special Court acknowledged the existence of forced marriage as a crime
against humanity.
The second is the RUF Trial
Judgment (another rebel group), applies the Appeals Chamber finding recognising
forced marriage as a crime against humanity and for the first time in history
convicts three senior leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) for
participating in a joint criminal enterprise to force young girls and women to
marry rebel soldiers or command responsibility for forced marriages (Kallon).
The significance of recognizing
forced marriage as a crime against humanity is that forced marriage is found to
be an offence as serious as murder, rape and "so odious to humanity"
that anyone can punish it at anytime (universal jurisdiction).
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