Addressing the nexus between conflict-related sexual violence and terrorism: Challenges and perspectives of accountability at the national and suprana

“这项研究旨在回答主要的研究问题：起诉恐怖组织使用的与冲突有关的性暴力（CRSV）的最佳选择是什么？关键问题包括：目前在处理性暴力与恐怖主义之间的联系方面存在哪些立法和起诉障碍？如何克服这些局限性？受害者如何看待处理这些罪行的司法机制？哪一个机构能够更好地促进以幸存者为中心的起诉办法，并改变将受害者视为从属者的假设？这项研究对国际社会具有实际的关注和重要性。2021年，联合国秘书长强调，绝大多数CRSV犯罪者是非国家武装团体，包括几个恐怖组织。极端主义团体有系统地利用性暴力作为一种蓄意的策略，以增加资金、宣传意识形态、招募战斗人员、获取信息、摧毁社区和使社区流离失所，然而，最近对性恐怖主义的关注并没有导致起诉率的提高。迄今为止，没有根据国内反恐立法起诉恐怖组织犯下的性暴力罪行。恐怖主义集团成员通常受到广泛的指控，与集团的关系或联系。对CRSV的国家和国际起诉通常不考虑恐怖组织犯下的罪行。受害者往往由于不安全、害怕报复以及与恐怖主义团体有关联而蒙受耻辱而少报罪行。因此，在确保对恐怖主义背景下的性暴力受害者追究责任方面存在重大差距，该项目将包括一项社会法律性质的混合方法跨学科研究。它将审议在东非和西非不同文化、意识形态和地理背景下运作并涉嫌实施CRSV的恐怖主义团体。为了说明性暴力如何作为恐怖主义团体的一种蓄意战略，将捕捉恐怖主义背景下CRSV的不同趋势和模式及其背后的理由。这项研究将汇总具有共同特征的多起事件（肇事者的特征、目标受害者、地理和年代参照、作案手法）。将雇用（尼日利亚、索马里、马里）分析国家反恐立法、目前对被指控的恐怖分子的指控和起诉战略。将通过半结构化访谈和焦点小组收集经验数据。这将提供实际和宝贵的见解，以了解目前在调查和起诉作为独立罪行的CRSV和恐怖主义方面的挑战，以及在这些罪行相互关联时的挑战。通过访谈和焦点小组获得的实证研究结果将为确定最佳司法框架、方法和证据规则奠定基础。这将有助于克服目前立法和起诉方面的限制，并解决CRSV与恐怖主义之间的相互作用。通过几个关键问题，研究报告将审查在国内和国际一级实现司法公正的所有可能选择。它将探讨国家反恐立法是否可以作为一项适当的文书。这项研究以超国家制度为重点，将确定《罗马规约》目前的框架是否能够提供一个适当的途径来裁定这些相互关联的罪行，或者确定一项单独的恐怖主义罪行的时机是否已经成熟。它还将考虑是否可能颁布一项新的制止公约或设立一个恐怖主义问题特别法庭。

'The research seeks to answer the primary research question: What is the best option to prosecute conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) employed by terrorist groups? Key questions include: What are the current legislative and prosecutorial barriers in addressing the nexus between sexual violence and terrorism? How can these limitations be overcome? How do victims perceive judicial mechanisms to address these crimes? Which institution can better promote a survivor-centric prosecutorial approach and change the assumption of victims considered as affiliates?The research is of actual concern and importance to the international community. In 2021, the UN Secretary-General highlighted that the vast majority of perpetrators of CRSV are non-State armed groups, including several terrorist organisations. Extremist groups systematically employ sexual violence as a deliberate tactic to increase funds, advance ideology, recruit fighters, gain information, destroy and displace communities.Nevertheless, the recent focus on sexual terrorism has not resulted in improved prosecution rates. No sexual violence crimes committed by terrorist organisations have been prosecuted under domestic counter-terrorism legislation to date. Members of terrorist groups are usually prosecuted with broad charges -i.e., membership or association to the group. National and international prosecutions of CRSV do not normally consider crimes committed by terrorist organisations. Victims tend to underreport crimes due to insecurity, fear of reprisals and stigma arising from being associated with the terrorist group. Hence, a significant gap exists in ensuring accountability for victims of sexual violence in the context of terrorism.The project will consist of a mixed-method interdisciplinary study of a socio-legal nature. It will consider terrorist groups operating in different cultural, ideological and geographical contexts in East and West Africa and suspected of committing CRSV. To show how sexual violence operates as a deliberate strategy of terrorist groups, the different trends and patterns of CRSV in terrorist contexts - and the justifications behind it - will be captured. The study will aggregate multiple incidents sharing common features (characteristics of perpetrators, targeted victims, geographical and chronological references, modus operandi).A comparative methodology considering African countries as specific case studies (e.g., Nigeria, Somalia, Mali) will be employed, to analyse national counter-terrorism legislation, charges currently imposed on alleged terrorists and prosecutorial strategies. Empirical data will be gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. This will provide actual and valuable insight into the current challenges in investigating and prosecuting CRSV and terrorism as stand-alone crimes and, even more, when these crimes are interlinked. The empirical findings obtained through interviews and focus groups will lay the basis to identify the best judicial framework, approach and evidentiary rules. This will allow overcoming current legislative and prosecutorial limitations and addressing the interplay between the CRSV and terrorism. Through several key questions, the study will examine all possible options for justice at the domestic and international levels. It will explore whether national counter-terrorism legislation might operate as an adequate instrument. Focusing on the supranational system, the study will determine whether the current framework of the Rome Statute can provide an adequate avenue to adjudicate these interconnected crimes or whether the time is ripe to introduce a stand-alone crime of terrorism. It will also consider the possibility of enacting a new suppression convention or establishing a special court of terrorism.