These examples are taken from NGO or IO Web sites or reports. However, the descriptions of the actions undertaken are succinct and do not include the number of persons involved nor the questions of coordination, budget or evaluation… (in advocacy terms).
- workshops and contributions on the subject on the occasion of Women's Day every 8th March or of Forums, such as the Social Forums (UN, ICRC, MDM, SC, Amnesty...)
- forming of coalitions of NGOs to promote awareness of the practice of rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity (ICCNOW)
- legal assistance to victims (ACAT South Kivu)
- training of local persons to assist in child birth and treat the after-effects of rape committed in time of war (Mother Patem College of Health Sciences in Monrovia, Liberia)
- giving advice in the drafting and use of medical certificates (MSF Belgium)
- definition of specific headings in standard collections of epidemiological data (MSF Belgium)
- a system to encourage the implication of persons close to the victims (Olame Centre, DRC)
- mobile medical centres to reach people in isolated villages (Medical Zenica, in Bosnia)
- use of the Internet to further the campaign for the struggle against rape
- a system conceived to prevent mass rape from continuing to occur in refugee camps (IRC among Burundian refugees living in the districts of Kibondo, Tanzania)
- in Liberia, workshops to train persons in treating trauma conditions induced by violence and rape through singing and story-telling (including traditional tales) were used to stimulate discussion and to challenge participants to point out their own prejudices. This training has become an integral part of the training of mid-wives organised by the Ministry of Health (Catholic Relief Services)
- involve men in activities linked to the prevention of sexual violence. These activities are destined to both men and women, particularly in refugee camps (UNHCR)
- envisage the creation of a fund to be financed by voluntary contributions destined to indemnify victims (CPI)
- videotaping local trials to show them to victims ( local NGO in Kivu)

The Manifesto [download]

Why a Manifesto ?

The idea is, basically, for Advocacy to offer fresh opportunities for collective action on the part of the political, military, religious and local or traditional leaders. The manifesto will represent, for its signatories, a moral commitment, complementary to those undertaken by countries both at the international and national levels. It will provide civil society with a tool with which to attract, in a direct and personalised manner, the attention of all authorities concerned with the causes of rape as a tactic of war, including local customary authorities.

It is also a means of positioning the problem of rape as a tactic of war not merely as a violation of women's rights as such, but as a breach of fundamental human rights, with no distinction of gender, so that men and women alike would combat this practice in their various walks of life.

Who will be the signatories ?

The signatories will be all those who, as much in their functions as in their personal lives, can contribute by their action and influence to bring an end to this crime.

Examples of envisaged signatories :

At the international level : the Sec. Gen. of the UN, the commanders-in- chief of international forces (NATO, UN forces...) ; religious leaders having international stature, general managers of multinational firms engaged in countries at war, investors...

At the national level (in France and other countries) : the Head of State, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the head of the Opposition Parties, the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces, the heads of the main religious communities, the customary or traditional leaders, directors or managers of the big commercial firms operating in the zones of conflict, investors...

At the regional and local level : the prefects/administrative authorities, military chiefs, heads of militias, personalities having a certain stature like religious leaders, hospital managers, presidents of university, directors of secondary schools...

One year after the manifesto's signature, and once the necessary commitments have been made, the bearers of the Manifesto, in conjunction with the international secretariat, will evaluate the progress made and consult with the signatories on the matter. A public statement would then be envisaged, containing information as to what precisely has been undertaken and what results have been obtained.

An International observatory of rape as a tactic of war

There is need to create a data base of legal information, media coverage and examples of advocacy actions taken in this field. The Caritas network could contribute greatly to the creation of such a data base. In collaboration with a university or a research centre (initially in France), SC could gather and exploit an international data base for research and training in this specific advocacy field, including the transmission of NGO and IO reports on the subject and targeted communication with the media... Within this framework, it would also be possible to draw up a geographical map showing the areas of conflict where the practice of rape as a tactic of war is uncontested (this type of map does not exist at present, as opposed to that relating to other practices like arms trafficking or the presence of child soldiers in conflicts...), to produce synthetic reports, including guidelines for descriptions of actions, loans granted, donors, evaluation of the results…), communication tools…

The Manifesto : modus operandi

- set up a network of local associations and university scholars or teachers (including both men and women) involved in the legal, medical and psycho-sociological fields . Inform the Observatory's secretariat.
- identify the persons or targets to be mobilised : corporations or other legal entities, leaders in the political, administrative and military spheres ;
- define a few specific actions to be proposed to the future signatories ;
- elaborate a plan of action for communication purposes ;
- launch a process to solicit signatures ;
- keep the Observatory’s secretariat informed of the initiatives taken and their evolution.