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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 45

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning rape and forced pregnancy

of women and girls in the former Yugoslavia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 18, 1993

Ms. MOLINARI (for herself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. LEVY, Mr.

ENGEL, Mr. ZELIFF, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. WILSON,

Mr. KING, Mr. CAMP, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr.

SMITH of Oregon, Mr. GOSS, Mr. EWING, Mr. CRANE, Mr. PASTOR, Mr.

BARRETT, and Mr. HUNTER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning rape and

forced pregnancy of women and girls in the former Yugoslavia.

Whereas on December 18, 1992, the United Nations Security

Council condemned the rape of women in Bosnia citing

‘‘massive, organized and systematic detention and rape’’,

and specifically condemned ‘‘atrocities committed against

women . . . in Bosnia and Herzegovina . . . ’’;

Whereas the United Nations Security Council has created a

5-member commission to investigate war crimes in the

former Yugoslavia;
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Whereas at the conclusion of World War II, Nazis were tried

in Nuremberg by an international military tribunal which

defined crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes

against humanity as 3 categories of crimes within the jurisdiction of such tribunal;

Whereas rape and forced pregnancy are commonly considered

war crimes but not explicitly recognized as such;

Whereas, although several Nazis committed or participated in

rape or forced pregnancy, none of these individuals was

ever convicted of rape or forced pregnancy;

Whereas Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states

that ‘‘Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honor, in particular, against rape, and

forced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.’’;

Whereas Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states

that ‘‘Grave breeches . . . shall be those involving any of

the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: . . . including

torture or inhumane treatment . . . willfully causing great

suffering or serious injury to body or health . . . ’’;

Whereas such acts are qualified as war crimes by Additional

Protocol 1 to Article 147; and

Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture

has recognized rape as a form of torture, constituting an

outrage on the personal dignity of the individual: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
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1 (1) the widespread rape and forced pregnancy

2 of women and girls in the former Yugoslavia con3 stitute war crimes;

4 (2) the United Nations Security Council and

5 United Nations Human Rights Commission should

6 adopt resolutions explicitly recognizing that rape and

7 forced pregnancy constitute war crimes;

8 (3) such war crimes should be investigated by

9 an international tribunal;

10 (4) such tribunal may be convened by the Unit11 ed Nations at the highest level, and if such a tribu12 nal is convened it should be provided with clear au13 thority to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate, and

14 punish those responsible for these and other crimes;

15 (5) the United Nations should appoint a special

16 rapporteur on sex discrimination and violence

17 against women to—

18 (A) receive information from governmental

19 and nongovernmental entities and individuals

20 on sex discrimination and violence against

21 women, including rape and forced pregnancy;

22 (B) investigate individuals responsible for

23 these and other crimes; and
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1 (C) receive information relating to meas2 ures to prevent continuing violations of sex dis3 crimination and violence against women; and

4 (6) the 1993 United Nations World Conference

5 on Human Rights, to be held in June 1993, should

6 consider violations of the human rights of women in

7 its general discussions for the purpose of improving

8 the protections of such rights stated in the Charter

9 of the United Nations.

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