Rhetoric Without Results: United Nations Security Council Resolutions Concerning Rape During Armed Conflict

This article focuses on the international community's response to the prevalence of crimes of sexual violence against women during armed conflict. It outlines the history of rape during conflict, its use as a weapon against the enemy, and its physical and psychological effects on women. The author then explores the positive development in international law related to sexual violence through the ICTR, the ICTY, the ICC, and hybrid courts. The author contends that there has been insufficient progress in protecting and preventing women from being exposed to sexual violence during and after armed conflict. She views the UNSCR 1820 as a significant instrument in strengthening this protection. She notes how UNSCR 1820 has greatly remedied weaknesses inherent in UNSCR 1325 and argues that the international community must now focus on implementing UNSCR 1820 by creating more detailed recommendations for states to follow.