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Bosnian students learn about prosecution of sexual violence before the ICTY

Kiseljak, Sarajevo |

As part of the Tribunal’s Youth Outreach Project, Lena Pelić, Legal Advisor at the Office of the Prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), delivered two lectures in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) about the Tribunal's jurisprudence on defining and prosecuting wartime sexual violence.

The first lecture took place on 24 May at the Law Faculty in Kiseljak. The audience was comprised of over 40 students and staff, as well as the dean. Those in attendance listened attentively to Ms Pelić's presentation, and asked numerous questions, revealing their sensitivity to gender-related crimes, especially in light of the fact that a large majority of the crimes of rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated during the 1990s conflict were committed in BiH.

The second presentation took place on 25 May at Sarajevo Faculty of Political Sciences and was attended by a group of 35 students and lecturers. The students in attendance showed interest in cases of the Tribunal in which convictions were entered for rape as a crime against humanity, rape as torture and sexual enslavement. The Sarajevo students expressed particular reverence for victims of such crimes, with one 20-year old student saying: “Victims of rape should be protected by all means and should be encouraged to speak out about such monstrous crimes, so that their testimonies can serve as an important reminder of preventing such crimes from happening around the globe today.

The Tribunal has generated a rich legacy on the topic of wartime sexual violence, for which BiH students expressed interest in learning more about, as part of their regular university curriculum.