GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Over the centuries, rape has been a by-product of many wars and armed conflicts and its scale in some conflicts has led to its description as a weapon of war. Although there are no comprehensive statistics on the occurrence of rape during conflicts, 14,200 registered rape cases in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2005 and 2007, may suggest how high and common the incidence of rape in times of war is.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) has made very significant progress in recognizing several gender-based crimes, including rape, as genocide as well as crimes against humanity and war crimes. This focus has also led to significant strides in the description of the off ence, its elements and profile. This is in contrast to the Statutes of the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) where the definitions of the offences are given in general terms. In recognising the mere fact that both sexes suff er sexual violence in times of armed conflicts, the boundaries of justice are expanded to the inclusion of assistance to both female and male victims/survivors (OCHA 2008). The Rome Statute and the practice of the ICC envisage and include support to victims, which is eff ected by the establishment of the Victims and Witnesses Unit (VWU), the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS), and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV).

In this manner the ICC recognizes the right of every individual to his or her physical integrity and self-worth and for the first time, victims/survivors of sexual violence are empowered to fight such breaches of their physical integrity, through actively participating as victims in the criminal proceedings before the ICC. Where the personal interests of the victims are affected, the Court permits their views and concerns to be presented and considered at different stages of the proceedings, thus departing from the ad hoc Tribunals practice of considering the victims as witnesses only.