Making Rapists Pay: Lessons from the Bosnian Civil War

This article discusses the longstanding practice of wartime rape. In particular, this article discusses the practice in relation to the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The article describes the way rape was used as a weapon in the Bosnian Civil War and outlines the United Nations response to this problem. The string of UN Security Council Resolutions beginning in 1992 eventually led to the establishment of the Tribunal in 1993. While the Tribunal is well equipped to prosecute rape as a war crime, it has had difficulties in achieving this end not because of the absence of international legal prohibitions, but because of the international community's tolerance of the practice. The ability of rapists to avoid punishment rests on their ability to intimidate witnesses and victims. Also, authorities have systematically failed to indict more suspects and make more arrests. Prosecution of these and other wartime crimes depend on the will of the international community for their effective implementation.