Al-Khatib Trial: Statement on the Legal Recognition of SGBC in Syria as a Crime Against Humanity
The Syrian Road to Justice campaign welcomes the statement issued by the Office of the German Federal Prosecutor on December 16, 2020, in response to the motion put forward by Patrick Kroker and Sebastian Scharmer, lawyers representing joint plaintiffs at the Al-Khatib trial in Koblenz, Germany. The motion, also independently a demand of the campaign and of justice advocates working on SGBV in Syria, argued for a recharacterization of the criminal conduct of Anwar R. as rape and sexual coercion and as a crime against humanity under Art. 7 (1) 6 Code of Crimes Against International Law (CCAIL). In response, the Office of the German Federal Prosecutor did not oppose the motion and recognized the systematic use of sexual violence in Syria, and as part of the widespread and systematic attack for which Anwar R. is being charged.
The recognition of a crime against humanity is an acknowledgment that the offenses are so egregious that they violate the human dignity of the victims/survivors and are a concern of humanity as a whole. Importantly, the recognition of conflict-related sexual violence in Syria as a crime against humanity rather than random individual acts acknowledges the context in which the crimes were committed, the impact that the crimes have had on the community(s) at large, and encourages more critical thinking into what constitutes a civilian population and how a population is affected by a particular crime. The consequences of sexual violence during conflict go beyond individual suffering as these acts terrorize communities, destroy family ties, and inflict harm over generations. The mere fear of sexual violence and its repercussions was a trigger in the displacement of many Syrian families.[1]
When thinking about what makes up a civilian population, it is imperative to consider the intersectionalities of that population, and that includes not only a group’s identity but how a population relates to each other. [2] For instance, conflict-related sexual violence in Syria has affected both males and females, but female survivors often face particular consequences and are discriminated against by society in multiple ways, within social, economic, and political spheres to public and private life. The recognition of a crime against humanity helps to publicly acknowledge the gendered experiences that people face, and that these experiences differ depending on how they intersect with socioeconomic class, level of education, disability, etc. Moreover, it categorizes the crimes as international ones that become the concern of the global community at large, rather than just the national community, and could provide further incentive for more comprehensive international justice and accountability efforts.
While we commend the German Federal Prosecutor’s initial response, we hope for the explicit legal recharacterization of sexual violence as a crime against humanity under Article 7 (1) 6 of the CCAIL. Only official and explicit recharacterization under this paragraph of the CCAIL would amount to the appropriate and adequate legal acknowledgment of the impact and consequences of the crimes.
[1] “Human Rights Violations Against Women and Girls in Syria.” n.d. https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/syrian_arab_republic/session_26_-_november_2016/js7_upr26_syr_e_main.pdf.
[2] Sheri Labenski, Bringing a Gender Perspective to Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide and War Crimes (August 30th, 2019) <https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2019/08/30/bringing-a-gender-perspective-to-crimes-against-humanity-genocide-and-war-crimes/> [accessed 18 December 2020].