Rape and other forms of sexual offences as international crimes and the impact of human rights law

Rape and other forms of sexual offences as international crimes embark on an unknown journey because neither international criminal law nor international humanitarian law provides any specific definition of the elements of the crime. Lack of legal precedent and practice opens a window for international criminal tribunals to apply human rights law instruments. The chapter, particularly, highlights the use of international human rights law by the international criminal tribunals to frame rape and other forms of sexual offences as international crimes. It aims to trace the gradual development of rape and other forms of sexual offences with the widespread introduction of human rights law after World War II. This chapter shows how instruments of human rights law guide and navigate international criminal tribunals in determining the specificity of a particular crime. It also shows how the concept of 'human dignity and physical integrity' enshrined in various human rights law instruments is also highly reflected in the decisions of international criminal tribunals established in the 90s and beyond.