1107954

International Criminal Law

Women as
Perpetrators of
International
Crimes
International Criminal Law (LA352)
Conference Paper
Word Count: 1510

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International Criminal Law

Abstract
I conducted case studies on three females in positions of
responsibility accused of perpetrating international crimes: Pauline
Nyiramasuhuko (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda),
Biljana Plavsic (International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia) and Simone Gbagbo (International Criminal Court). In a
largely patriarchal global society, these women have been indicted
due to being involved in the commission of several heinous crimes,
and I aim to discuss their involvement in the crimes conducted,
whether their indictment is justified, and the issues surrounding
their trials. Most importantly, I seek to provoke discussion regarding
the issues highlighted during my presentation and in this paper.

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Conference Paper
Purpose
Women are traditionally perceived as the targeted victims of gender-based
crimes amongst others in times of conflict, and this paper aims to explore the
other end of the spectrum: women in power positions who are accused of
inciting such atrocities. This has in part been supported by the works of Sjoberg
and Gentry, who have provided an empirical study of women inciting violence
globally, thus defying the stereotype that women are incapable of undertaking
such roles. The evaluation of different elements of International Criminal Law
(ICL) will be examined in light of the three cases, all of which take place in a
different tribunal. The focus of this paper is to discover the issues stemming
from these cases rather than focusing specifically on their technical aspects.

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko

Background
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko (Pauline) was the former Minister for Family Welfare
and the Advancement of Women in Rwanda, who was convicted by the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for charges including
genocide and genocidal rape during the Rwandan genocide, to which she plead
not guilty to. She was consequently sentenced to life in prison in 2011. She was
accused of being one of the main instigators and masterminds behind the mass
killing of Tutsis in the region of Butare, where she employed her son to organize
mass rapes with the help of the militia.1

Issues
The media seemed perplexed by how a woman, especially one in the role
of a mother could have participated in the commission of such
horrendous crimes. This confirms the view that women are
stereotypically viewed as being weak and vulnerable, and such an action
by a woman sent shockwaves throughout the international community.

Pauline and her son were arrested in 1997, but she was sentenced only in
2011 and during the length of time in which the trial took place, it can be
argued that the crime began to become irrelevant and victims started
losing hope as to whether true justice would be served.

Pauline attempted to utilize the patriarchal nature of Rwandan society to
portray herself as the victim of sexism and being wrongly accused for
crimes that she did not commit. I cannot even kill a chicken. If there is a
person who says that a woman, a mother, killed, then Ill confront that
person [] All women who went to university are seen as killers. This
was a cunning attempt on her behalf to provoke sympathy from those
who appreciated the suppressed nature of women in their society,

1 Prosecutor v Pauline Nyiramasuhuko et al. (Judgment) ICTR-98-42-T (24 June
2011)

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however I admire the ICTR for its prosecution which disregarded factors
such as gender, age and socio-cultural background.2
The atrocities of the crimes committed were particularly shocking,
especially when seen in a socio-cultural context. Genocide Watch reported
that several female victims would pay officers to be killed rather than
suffer through the sexual torture they had to endure. Spreading HIV
through rape had become a common weapon of destruction even though
nothing of the sort had ever been heard of previously. 3The fact that a
woman would commission her son and other members of the militia to
employ such tactics was particularly perplexing, as she would have been
aware of the destruction that diseases such as HIV were causing in the
region.

Biljana Plavsic

Background
Biljana Plavsic (Biljana) was the highest-ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be
sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) for crimes during the Bosnian war. She was jointly convicted with
Krajisnik and Karadiz for the creation of impossible conditions of life,
persecution, and terror tactics in order to encourage non-Serbs to leave the area,
deportation of those reluctant to leave, and the liquidation of others. She
pleaded guilty to one count out of the 8 counts that she was indicted of and her
plea bargain resulted in her serving only two-thirds of her sentence in a private
womens prison in Sweden.4

Issues
Biljana comes across as a confusing individual with a multi-faceted
personality because on one hand, she possessed radical views and had a
goal of destroying all Muslim Serbs as demonstrated by her quote It was
genetically deformed material that embraced Islam. And now, of course,
with every successive generation it simply becomes concentrated. It gets
worse and worse [] And through the centuries the genes degraded
further. However, she was one of the first to support the Dayton Accord,

2 Carrie Sperling, Mother of Atrocities: Pauline Nyiramasuhukos Role in the
Rwandan Genocide (2005) 33 Fordham Urban Law Journal
<http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1929&context=ulj>
Accessed 15 December 2012
3 Carrie Sperling, Mother of Atrocities: Pauline Nyiramasuhukos Role in the
Rwandan Genocide (2005) 33 Fordham Urban Law Journal
<http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1929&context=ulj>
Accessed 15 December 2012
4 Prosecutor v Biljana Plavsic (Judgment) ICTY-00-39&40/1 (26 June 2003)

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the agreement responsible for ending the conflict in the region, which
demonstrates that she may have had a guilty conscience and felt remorse
for the suffering she helped cause. Additionally, she claimed on television
that she intentionally went ahead with the plea bargain because she was
certain it would guarantee her a reduced sentence which demonstrates a
tactical play on her part. However, in a different report she claimed that
she was 72 years old at the time of the conviction and regardless of the
length of sentencing she would probably spend the rest of her life in
prison given her age.5
As she was indicted jointly with Karadiz and Krajisnic, it is uncertain
whether the ICTY was able to appropriately pinpoint her individual
contribution to the crimes. This leads to the belief that it is incredibly
difficult to ascertain the exact influence an individual had in joint
decisions, and therefore finding individual impact in a collectivist crime is
impossible. However, if all parties were tried and convicted jointly, they
should receive the same sentencing if the law is indeed uniform.
This case demonstrates inconsistencies in the ICTYs trial procedures, as
although it had a governing statute, there were irregularities and
inconsistencies displayed throughout the cases and this is just one
example.
It can be held that true justice was not served as not only did she spend a
relatively comfortable sentence in a womens facility in Sweden, Dodik
(President of Bosnian Serb Republic) was aiming to restore her influence
in society by giving her a seat in Senate in addition to other benefits such
as a car, a driver and a comfortable life6. This led to the asking of the
question - if offenders of such heinous crimes are so effortlessly
rehabilitated into society whilst their victims are still suffering, what is
the point of such trials?

Simone Gbagbo

Background
Simone Gbagbo (Simone) is the former First Lady of the Ivory Coast and is the
first woman to ever be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). She is
currently accused of committing crimes including crimes against humanity of
murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, other inhumane acts and
persecution in the post-election violence that took place after the Presidential
campaign of 2010-2011. Her husband Laurent Gbagbo is also under trial at the
ICC, and Simone has been indicted for behaving as the alter ego of her husband

5 Jelena Subotic, The Cruelty of False Remorse: Biljana Plavsic at The Hague
(2012) 36 Southeastern Europe
<http://www.academia.edu/2578509/The_Cruelty_of_False_Remorse_Biljana_Pl
avsic_at_The_Hague> Accessed 23 Dec 2012
6 Jelena Subotic, The Cruelty of False Remorse: Biljana Plavsic at The Hague
(2012) 36 Southeastern Europe
<http://www.academia.edu/2578509/The_Cruelty_of_False_Remorse_Biljana_Pl
avsic_at_The_Hague> Accessed 23 Dec 2012

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and exercising joint control of the crimes by having the power to instruct the
militia. She has also faced local indictments, which include charges of financial
crimes such as embezzlement.7

Issues
This case demonstrates the ICCs new willingness to look beyond the roles
of traditional military and governmental roles in identifying those most
responsible. Although this is beneficial because it widens the scope for
indicting individuals, there has to be a limit to the amount of people that
can be investigated in order to run an efficient trial.
It is asked whether she should be indicted for crimes commissioned by
her husband, and whether she had a real part in it or if she was merely
supporting her husbands decisions. 8If she is found guilty simply because
of her association, there is the danger of potential floodgates opening if
such roles are not defined properly as there is a fine line between real
involvement and family support. It is contended that her marriage should
be legally irrelevant her individual contribution to the crimes should be
assessed independently.
The Ivory Coast has passed an order to try her domestically instead of at
the ICC as a consequence of controversy surrounding the African Unions
threats to pull out of the ICC as it has been feeling targeted by the
institution. In such a situation it remains to be seen whether the ICC will
oblige to the nations request or whether it will continue to pursue the
trial despite having no support from the Member State.

Emerging Themes in the Research Process

Equality it is contended that women are equally as likely as men to commit

crimes of an atrocious nature, as demonstrated by female suicide bombers,
leaders, etc. The fact that there are not sufficient women in positions of power
does not enable us to draw a firm conclusion as to whether women will do
anything to preserve their power9, or whether their crimes may have been a

7 Prosecutor v Simone Gbagbo (Warrant of Arrest) ICC-02/11-01/12 (29
February 2012)
8 William Burke-White, A Wife Accused of War Crimes: The Unprecedented Case
of Simone Gbagbo The Atlantic (3 Dec 2012)
<http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/12/a-wife-accused-
of-war-crimes-the-unprecedented-case-of-simone-gbagbo/265828/> Accessed 3
Jan 2013
9 Interview with Silke Studzinsky, Legal Adviser, Trust Fund for Victims (The
Hague, Netherlands, June 2013)

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result of the socio-cultural environment that they had been exposed to in their
youth.10

Gender-based crimes and sexual violence throughout the research process, the
theme of inciting gender-based crimes, especially rape, was a constant in every
case. This is particularly interesting to me because rape is a crime that women
are primarily targeted with and has severe consequences both mentally and
physically, and as a woman how can there be no compassion towards another
woman when deciding to order such crimes against them?

Trial procedures some sources that I was able to speak to called for women to
be tried differently under the ICL system with a heightened amount of protection
and facilities available to them if indicted. It is contended that if criminals are
aware that being convicted of crimes has such relaxed consequences, they are
not likely to feel threatened by the ICL system and are likely to continue
commissioning such crimes.































10 Interview with Aisling Swaine, Associate Professor, Elliot School of
International Affairs, George Washington University (July 2013)

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Bibliography
Primary Sources
Prosecutor v Pauline Nyiramasuhuko et al. (Judgment) ICTR-98-42-T (24 June
2011)

Prosecutor v Biljana Plavsic (Judgment) ICTY-00-39&40/1 (26 June 2003)

Prosecutor v Simone Gbagbo (Warrant of Arrest) ICC-02/11-01/12 (29 February
2012)

Secondary Sources
Carrie Sperling, Mother of Atrocities: Pauline Nyiramasuhukos Role in the
Rwandan Genocide (2005) 33 Fordham Urban Law Journal
<http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1929&context=ulj>
Accessed 15 December 2012

Email from Dieneke de Vos, Associate Legal Officer, Womens Initiatives for
Gender Justice (June 2013)

Interview with Aisling Swaine, Associate Professor, Elliot School of International
Affairs, George Washington University (July 2013)

Interview with Gloria A. Davies, Head of Gender and Child Unit, International
Criminal Court (July 2013)

Interview with Silke Studzinsky, Legal Adviser, Trust Fund for Victims (The
Hague, Netherlands, June 2013)

Jelena Subotic, The Cruelty of False Remorse: Biljana Plavsic at The Hague
(2012) 36 Southeastern Europe
<http://www.academia.edu/2578509/The_Cruelty_of_False_Remorse_Biljana_Pl
avsic_at_The_Hague> Accessed 23 Dec 2012

William Burke-White, A Wife Accused of War Crimes: The Unprecedented Case
of Simone Gbagbo The Atlantic (3 Dec 2012)
<http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/12/a-wife-accused-
of-war-crimes-the-unprecedented-case-of-simone-gbagbo/265828/> Accessed 3
Jan 2013