Manipur, sexual violence and the 'least condemned war crime'

The ethnic strife in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur escalated rapidly and forced the world to sit up and take notice, mainly due to the (sexual) violence perpetrated against women. One incident, in particular, gained widespread attention when a video surfaced on July 19 in which two women were stripped, paraded down a rural road and brutally assaulted by an armed mob. The women, who belonged to the ethnic Kuki tribe, later said they were raped.

The video, filmed in May, was initially reported to the police, but no action was taken until the content went viral. The perpetrators of the violence reportedly belong to the Meitei ethnic community. Meiteis, who make almost two thirds of Manipur’s population, face accusations of carrying out violent attacks under police protection.

The incident occurred following a raid on several homes, during which three women managed to escape, but tragically, two men were killed, including the brother of one of the victims who tried to protect them.

The ongoing clashes and raids since early May have resulted in nearly 150 deaths and displaced approximately 55,000 people.

While it is a complex issue, the roots of the conflict in Manipur are deeply intertwined with historical ‘ethnic’ divisions that can be traced back to the time of British colonisation. The Meitei people, predominantly Hindu, largely reside in the capital city of Imphal, while the (mostly Christian) Kuki and Naga tribes inhabit surrounding hill areas.

The disturbing video sheds light on the type of violence women have to endure in conflict zones. They are at a significantly higher risk of sexual violence, yet often times the issue receives little attention. Justice from the ‘state’ level doesn’t come unless there’s heavy local and international pressure.

Today, as it was in the past, whenever a conflict breaks out, women become easy targets and are subjected to dehumanisation and humiliation.

Though Manipur is far from what constitutes "war", the situation fits into the bigger picture of a dominant group turning rape into a weapon to brutalise the enemy. .

In the grim reality of armed conflicts, women are tragically treated as spoils of war. This is a disturbing phenomenon, one which is often repeated and witnessed in conflict, one which is still accepted as commonplace today.

Despite the legislative recognition of rape and sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Rome Statue and various resolutions by organisations such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), at least seven UNSC resolutions, CEDAW, and countless other legislation, wartime sexual violence remains largely ignored and described as “the least condemned war crime.” Others cite that the word “impunity” remains the most appropriate when it comes to wartime sexual violence.

This horrifying tactic has a long and dark history. One such example is the incident that occurred in the Palestinian town of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem on April 9, 1948, during the establishment of the state of Israel. Some of the victims were mutilated and raped before facing death, and entire families were mercilessly slaughtered. Additionally, dozens of men were paraded through Jerusalem on trucks and then executed in a nearby quarry.

In the Bosnia and Herzegovina conflict between 1992-1995, it is estimated that between 20,000 to 50,000 girls, women, and men, fell victim to sexual violence, with rape being consciously used as a brutal tactic by Serbian soliders. Shockingly, to this day, no adequate punishment has been meted out for this large-scale sexual violence.

One report cites, “The vast majority of those crimes have gone unpunished, despite decades of efforts by international prosecutors at the purpose-built International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Between its first prosecution in 1997 and its final verdicts in 2017, the ICTY managed to convict over 30 people charged with committing sexual violence constituting as war crimes. In addition, Bosnian courts convicted 130 more individuals of wartime sexual violence and around 200 cases are still pending in Bosnia.”

However, it is disheartening to note that NGOs tracking such cases indicate around two-thirds of those convicted receive prison sentences ranging between three and five years, adds the report.

The Central African Republic is yet another harrowing arena where targeted sexual violence perpetrated against women and related unpunished crimes took place with shocking frequency. Since the onset of the civil conflict in 2013, instances of rape have been alarmingly prevalent, even involving cases of UN peacekeeping troops as the perpetrators.

Despite a partial decrease in the conflict’s intensity, the culture of rape continues to persist in this fragile environment.

According to a report from Doctors Without Borders, the Tongolo Centre, an aid group founded by the not-for-profit organization in the capital of Bangui said it recorded more than 3,420 victims of sexual violence between January and November 2022.

Tragically, a quarter of these victims were minors and around 10 percent were men.

What is particularly concerning in CAR is that the protracted conflict and the prevalence of rape have led to the normalisation of this heinous crime to an alarming extent. It has even extended to a rise in familial rape crimes, further exacerbating the gravity of the situation.

These crimes are often overlooked due to an overlay of factors; these crimes are never immediately addressed as they take place during conflict - there are no reporting bodies or safe havens to immediately turn to. The ability of the limited agencies to provide support may help the individual, but no ability to call for accountability due to their neutrality. Other war crimes are also often overlooked, so it is not a stand alone situation, there is a general lack of accountability from parties engaging in war as well as an extremely slow process of prosecuting crimes.

For meaningful change to occur to prevent sexual violence, two crucial steps must be taken. First, there needs to be greater accountability from the international bodies created to protect individuals in conflict zones, particularly vulnerable, such as women and children. These bodies must ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence face appropriate consequences for their actions.

Secondly, intersectional feminism plays an important role in addressing this issue. Women’s movements in the West must place pressure on their respective governments to take meaningful action. The legislation necessary to address these atrocities already exists, now our focus must be on enforcing it rigorously to establish a crucial precedent for current and future conflicts, sending a clear message that sexual violence will have severe consequences. Furthermore, pushing for ‘safe-zones’ for vulnerable individuals may prevent these crimes from occuring at all.