Promotion of the book "Crimes of Sexual Abuse in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995 in the Light of Theory and Practice of International Law"

On the occasion of the promotion of the book “Crimes of Sexual Abuse in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995. in the light of the theory and practice of international law”, University of Sarajevo, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, 2021, 490 p.

International legal theory and practice have undergone radical changes when it comes to grave human rights violations, such as sexual abuse committed in armed conflict. Normatively regulated as a "violation of honor", the crimes of sexual abuse were part of unsanctioned "warrior practices" until the 1990s, with the exception of the minor legal effect of the international military tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo. The scale of crimes of sexual abuse committed during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina and their systemic character pointed to all the weaknesses of international legal instruments and were one of the key reasons for establishing the International Ad Hoc Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia. Empirical research conducted in this paper shows that out of 127 cases related to various crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 75 persons were prosecuted on the basis of individual responsibility, among other things, for crimes of sexual abuse. Almost at the same time, before the International Court of Justice, also based in The Hague, the process that Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated against Serbia and Montenegro for violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide took place for 14 years. The analysis of this process shows in what way and to what extent this court treated the crimes of sexual abuse in terms of state responsibility. Has the international judiciary been able to see the extent of the criminal phenomenon and the role that these crimes played during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995)?