Przymusowe małżeństwo jako zbrodnia przeciwko ludzkości w świetle orzecznictwa Specjalnego Trybunału dla Sierra Leone

Abstract

This article attempts to make progress on understanding the problems linked to forced marriage, as The Special Court for Sierra Leone the first time ever acknowledged it as a crime against humanity, and consequently recognized the women afflicted by it (bush wives, rebel wives) as victims. The forced marriage was not embraced in the international agreements until now. The need of protection of women in the armed conflicts has become indispensable, because of the very frequent use of such strategy of violence against women during armed conflicts. It found a reflection in several UN Security Council resolutions: S/RES/1820 (2008), S/RES/1829 (2008) and S/RES/1325 (2000), which in particular are concerned with the protection of women’s rights through the mechanisms of transitional justice and criminal justice. Yet, forced marriage has not been recognized as a separate crime by other international criminal courts. Nevertheless, the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda contributed to creating a new crime on the ground of international law. Undoubtedly, forced marriage results in extreme feelings of humiliation and indignity both by the victims and their families. The bush wives instead of being accepted are being excluded from the community. This emotional and social rejection becomes the worst consequence for the victims. Against this background the judgments of the Special Court for Sierra Leone is very important for the international criminal justice, since the Appeals Chamber of the Court in the AFRC case underlined the particular suffering of victims and their stigmatization, which were considered different than in other forms of sexual violence, especially sexual slavery.