IV
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. BOEH-
LERT, 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 resolu-
tion; 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 Yugo-
slavia.
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;
•HCON 45 IH
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 ju-
risdiction 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 at-
tack 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 prop-
erty 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
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
•HCON 45 IH
(1) the widespread rape and forced pregnancy
of women and girls in the former Yugoslavia con-
stitute war crimes;
(2) the United Nations Security Council and
United Nations Human Rights Commission should
adopt resolutions explicitly recognizing that rape and
forced pregnancy constitute war crimes;
(3) such war crimes should be investigated by
an international tribunal;
(4) such tribunal may be convened by the Unit-
ed Nations at the highest level, and if such a tribu-
nal is convened it should be provided with clear au-
thority to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate, and
punish those responsible for these and other crimes;
(5) the United Nations should appoint a special
rapporteur on sex discrimination and violence
against women to—
(A) receive information from governmental
and nongovernmental entities and individuals
on sex discrimination and violence against
women, including rape and forced pregnancy;
(B) investigate individuals responsible for
these and other crimes; and
•HCON 45 IH
(C) receive information relating to meas-
ures to prevent continuing violations of sex dis-
crimination and violence against women; and
(6) the 1993 United Nations World Conference
on Human Rights, to be held in June 1993, should
consider violations of the human rights of women in
its general discussions for the purpose of improving
the protections of such rights stated in the Charter
of the United Nations.
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