7.2
Evidence of Sexual Slavery as Crimes Against Humanity: In the same case, the Chamber
also found information to satisfy the elements of sexual slavery from witness testimonies.
They found that the rebel forces: 1) abducted women and/or girls from villages or areas
surrounding the camps for the purpose of using them as their “wives”; 2) forced and
threatened women and/or girls to engage in sexual intercourse with combatants and to
serve as sexual slaves for combatants and commanders alike; and 3) captured and
imprisoned women and/or girls to work in a military camp servicing the soldiers. 255 In these
testimonies, the Chamber also found substantial grounds to believe that during the attack
on Bogoro, women were captured, raped and subsequently abducted by Ngiti attackers.
The women were taken to camps where they were kept as prisoners in order to provide
domestic services, including cooking and cleaning, and to engage in forced sexual acts with
combatants and commanders.
Basic Information in a Witness Statement
Given the heavy reliance on witness statements in the ICC, the documenting of such statements
must be meticulous and thorough. The key contents of such statements must include:
1) Proof of Identity: A document that provides clear information about the name and address
of the person, her/his date and place of birth, name and address of her/his parents and
information as to its authenticity, including the signature and stamp of the issuing
authority. This could be established by producing or attaching any of the following
documents to the statement:
copy of passports
national identity cards
birth certificates
voting cards
driving licenses
student cards
employee cards
tax documents
Where these documents have been destroyed during the war or conflict, the following
documents may also serve the purpose:
documents from a local authority
camp registration cards
cards from a humanitarian agency
demobilisation cards
documents attesting to a lost identification document
2) Information about the Crime
A) Factual information that includes:
255
When the event took place – the exact date and time or the date and time to the best
of the victim’s recollection. Details of the timing help to provide supporting
information that the events the victim is referring to actually took place (i.e. if an
armed group raped during an attack, others may have reported that an armed group
was in the area at this time).
Where the event took place – specify the name of the (nearest) village/town/city and
the province in which it is located. Details of location also help to provide supporting
information that the events the victim is alleging happened actually took place.
At para. 434.
REDRESS | 7. LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES
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