Department of Law and Legal Studies will be hosting a JurisTalk on Thursday, January 17, 2019
11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Loeb Building B454.
Professor Annie Bunting (York University) will be delivering a talk entitled:
Gender Politics, Masculinity, and the International Crime of “Forced Marriage”
Abstract:
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) released its much anticipated decision in the trial of two Khmer Rouge commanders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, on November 16, 2018 – case 002/02. While the ECCC only released a summary of their judgement in advance of the full decision, it includes its historic verdict and reasoning. First, the Court found the two accused guilty of genocide against the Cham and Vietnamese during the Democratic Kampuchea period (para 26). Second, the ECCC found the accused guilty of the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts of forced marriage and rape in forced marriage (para 39). Reflecting on these recent developments in international law and qualitative research in Uganda, this paper will critically examine gender politics, masculinity and forced marriage. I explore the views of victim survivors – both men and women – on the current prosecution of Dominic Ongwen at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, including the crime of forced marriage. The Ongwen case will be used as the central story around which the potential and limitations of international criminal law for gender justice will be explored.