2 International Concern Regarding Conflict-related Sexual Violence in the Lead-up to the ICTY’s Establishment

Subject(s):

Right to fair trial — Rape and sexual violence

This chapter explores the emergence of concern over sexual violence in the lead-up to the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It situates the issue of sexual violence in context as the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) began its work-as reports of the violent and often public nature of sexual violence, against both males and females, which were accompanied by brutal executions, destruction of homes, and other mass violence, captured international attention in a way not previously seen, thus influencing the creation and mandate of the ICTY and the OTP. With the voluminous and varied results of several fact-finding investigations in hand, the OTP began its work in pursuing accountability for sexual violence under the intense scrutiny of a horrified international public.