Part II: CRSV in Myanmar, Geneva Conventions and the Global Response

This blog has been written by Saugat Subedi. He is an Undergraduate Final year Law Student at Tribhuvan University, Faculty of Law, Prithvi Narayan Campus, Nepal with a keen interest in International Humanitarian Law and Conflict Studies. He can be reached at saugatsubedi04@gmail.com.

Introduction

Any sexual violence of comparable severity committed against women, men, girls, boys or diverse genders that is either directly or indirectly connected to a conflict is referred to as Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). This includes rape, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilisation, forced marriage, and sexual slavery. International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHrL) and International Criminal Law (ICL) jointly has been standing as a preventive and protective mechanism to combat the pre and post effects of CRSV with decisions made by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), empowered by the UN Charter as complementary mechanism to oversee peace and security. With special regard to CRSV; IHL is found to be principally a regulating set of rules to prevent and address the violations that prosecute the potential perpetrators.

How does IHL protect CRSV in NIAC?

IHL in the context of NIAC is based on Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (GCs)  with special regard to GC-IV (Relating to the protection of civilian persons in armed conflict), Customary IHL rules and Additional Protocol II. Only Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically mentions protecting women from rape and forced prostitution out of the 429 provisions that make up the four Conventions. On the other hand Additional Protocols maintain the idea that, despite the seriousness of these crimes, rape and other kinds of sexual assault are offenses against personal dignity rather than violent crimes.

The protection of civilians from CRSV in NIAC functions through universal principles and official international agreements of IHL. CIHL legitimises a ban on sexual violence which includes rape under Rule 93 and prohibits all kinds of slavery under Rule 94, Rule 134 mentions that “The specific protection, health and assistance needs of women affected by armed conflict must be respected”. According to Rule 156, “ Serious violations of international humanitarian law constitute war crimes”. Through Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, parties agree to prohibit all attacks on life and person, including murder, along with mutilation and cruel treatment and torture and degrading humiliations of personal dignity ”violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” is prohibited. 

When any state ratifies the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions, it extends additional protection measures to NIAC. Article 4(2)(e) lays down a complete ban against "outrages upon personal dignity" that includes both forced prostitution and degrading treatment including sexual violence and various types of indecent assault. All parties involved in NIACs have legal requirements to defend women and children from sexual violence through these established provisions. This set of regulations acts as a safeguard for the CRSV in times of NIAC and makes perpetrators responsible for committing such atrocities. 

Voices from the International Community addressing CRSV in Myanmar 

Since the military coup of February 1, 2021, the international community remains dedicated to criticising the ongoing CRSV incidents in Myanmar. Multiple nations together with various organisations acknowledge the seriousness of these abuses, demanding accountability for the perpetrators. UN Special Representative Pramila Patten issued a statement on February 3, 2025, denouncing the practice of using sexual violence against civilians for both military warfare and political control in Myanmar. The situation of survivors requires immediate international action, while the world must reestablish its attention to this crisis according to her statement. 

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued a formal statement on July 3, 2024 to address the worsening sexual and gender-based violence experiences of women and girls since the Myanmar military seized power. The Committee demanded that all governments uphold international human rights and humanitarian laws to safeguard defenseless groups. While addressing the UN Security Council, Naw Hser Hser, who serves on the Advisory Board of the Women's League of Burma, demonstrated that CRSV has become extensive in Myanmar. She demanded worldwide backing to resolve these violations while simultaneously demanding punishment for the culprits. The activist recommended that the worldwide community must adopt practical solutions to combat such atrocities. 

Contemporary Provisions of IHL in response to CRSV: A set of lacunae 

Due to the absence of an intersectional view on sexual violence, IHL's extensive range of legal safeguards for CRSV victims in NIACs is insufficient during conflicts. The legal protections in Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II exclude considerations of how different factors such as: gender, ethnicity, poverty, disability, and sexual orientation increase the vulnerabilities of persons in conflict zones. IHL disappoints significantly as it  recognises the acts of sexual violence which   principally targets female victims. The current perspective overlooks the unique circumstances faced by gender diverse groups along with men and boys since they experience CRSV without equivalent rights to protection and access to justice. 

Notwithstanding their weaknesses, IHL lacks protection measures for vulnerable groups who become more exposed to discrimination both inside and outside conflict zones,  including persons with disabilities, displaced and stateless persons, along with indigenous groups and religious minorities. Such laws become ineffective because they lack integrated frameworks which could allow proper identification of total CRSV cases alongside their effective reporting systems. Although sexual violence stands as a recognised rime Against Humanity [Art.7(1)(g) of the Rome Statute] and a War Crime in IAC [Art. 8(2)(b)(xxii)] as well as NIAC [Art.8(2)(e)(vi)], it provides no solutions to address the discriminatory systems which increase particular groups' exposure to violent attacks. Current legal provisions lack specific definitions for intersectionality that disregard the unique requirements of different survivor groups. IHL requires reforms to achieve true CRSV prevention in armed conflicts from intersectional perspectives, which could guarantee gender-sensitive justice mechanisms, thus protecting all conflict-affected marginalised identities.

Conclusion 

The situation of CRSV in Myanmar extends beyond legal and political matters to cause a profound human disaster which demands immediate action beyond mere verbal statements. The international reaction has been extensive yet cannot properly tackle the foundational problems or multiple weaknesses of survivors with ethnic backgrounds. IHL's structured framework needs better inclusiveness because it does not recognise how different aspects of human identities impact sexual violence. International actors consisting of states and human rights organisations need to promote justice that focuses on a survivor-centered approach. 

In order to explicitly handle the intersectionality issues, better reporting mechanisms along with long-term help programs are required that could support both economic and psychosocial needs of the CRSV victims.  Rather than just criticisms, survivors need fundamental changes in international approaches. The fight for justice extends beyond mere legal protections so that it (i) restores dignity (ii) ensures inclusivity and (iii) demonstrates that no one remains unnoticed in the pursuit of accountability. When this approach achieves its aims, we will create a world where CRSV becomes unacceptable.

References

Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions. (1977). Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/apii-1977

Geneva Conventions. (1949). Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war (Fourth Geneva Convention). International Committee of the Red Cross. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949

International Committee of the Red Cross. (n.d.). Customary IHL database. International Committee of the Red Cross. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/home

International Criminal Court. (1998). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2024, July 3). UN Women’s rights committee urges action to end gender-based violence against women in Myanmar. United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/07/un-womens-rights-committee-urges-action-end-gender-based-violence-against-women

Patten, P. (2025, February 3). UN Special Representative condemns the continued use of sexual violence against civilians as a tactic of war and political repression in Myanmar and calls for renewed attention and urgent action. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/press-release/un-special-representative-patten-condemns-the-continued-use-of-sexual-violence-against-civilians-as-a-tactic-of-war-and-political-repression-in-myanmar-and-calls-for-renewed-attention-and-urgent-actio/ 

United Nations Security Council. (n.d.). Security Council open debate on conflict-related sexual violence: Statement by Naw Hser Hser. Women’s League of Burma. https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/statement-unsc-crsv-open-debate-naw/ 

United Nations. (1993). Declaration on the elimination of violence against women. United Nations General Assembly. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-elimination-violence-against-women 

United States Department of State. (2025, February 1). Four years from the military coup in Myanmar: Joint statement by Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. https://www.state.gov/four-years-from-the-military-coup-in-myanmar-joint-statement-by-australia-canada-the-european-union-the-republic-of-korea-new-zealand-norway-switzerland-the-united-kingdom-and-the-united-state/ 

Women's League of Burma. (2020). Statement to the United Nations Security Council on sexual violence in conflict. https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/statement-unsc-svc-open-debate-july-2020/