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We study the role of international tribunals, like the International Criminal Court (ICC), as an effective way of reducing the number and/or gravity of crimes against humanity. The action of the ICC is directed against leaders that promote or tolerate these kinds of crimes, that is, political authorities, army commanders, civil leaders, etc. In order to simulate the action of the ICC we build a hierarchical society where the most important leaders have the highest connectivity and can spread their points of view, or their orders, through a chain of less but still highly connected deputy chiefs or opinion chieftains. In this way, if they practice misconduct, corruption, or any kind of discriminatory or criminal actions against individuals or groups, it would very difficult and improbable that they will be prosecuted by the courts of their own country. It is to alleviate this situation that the ICC was created. Its mission is to process and condemn crimes against humanity though a supranational organism that can act on criminal leaders in any country. In this study, the action of the ICC is simulated by removing the corrupt leader and replacing it by a \"decent\" one. However, as the action of the corrupt leader could have spread among the population by the time the ICC acts, we try to determine if a unique action of the ICC is sufficient or if further actions are required, depending on the degree of deterioration of the human rights in the hypothetical country. The results evidence the positive effect of the ICC action with a relatively low number of interventions. The effect of the ICC is also compared with the action of the local national judiciary system.

We conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature between 1996 and 2013 on rape in war-ridden Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to better understand the interest of the scientific community in describing the magnitude and characteristics of the problem. The literature search was conducted in French and English using several databases (Pubmed, PsycInfo, Sapphire, BDSP, Embase, Rero, and Web of Science) with the key words “rape and DRC” combined with several Medical Subject Headings concepts. Our systematic review yielded 2,087 references, among which only 27 are original studies, that is 20 are based on population surveys and the remaining 7 are original data based on case studies and reviews. Ten studies provided prevalence rates of rape victims, 18 provided specific information on the profile of the victims, 10 reported that most of the perpetrators of rape were military personnel, 14 referred to the negligence of the government in protecting victims, and 10 reported a lack of competent health-care facilities. The awareness of rape in conflict-ridden DRC is still limited as reported in the scientific literature: Published scientific papers are scarce. Yet more research would probably help mobilize local authorities and the international community against this basic human rights violation.

Sexual torture constitutes any act of sexual violence which qualifies as torture. Public awareness of the widespread use of sexual torture as a weapon of war greatly increased after the war in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Sexual torture has serious mental, physical and sexual health consequences. Attention to date has focused more on the sexual torture of women than of men, partly due to gender stereotypes. This paper describes the circumstances in which sexual torture occurs, its causes and consequences, and the development of international law addressing it. It presents data from a study in 2000 in Croatia, where the number of men who were sexually tortured appears to have been substantial. Based on in-depth interviews with 16 health professionals and data from the medical records of three centres providing care to refugees and victims of torture, the study found evidence of rape and other forced sexual acts, full or partial castration, genital beatings and electroshock. Few men admit being sexually tortured or seek help, and professionals may fail to recognise cases. Few perpetrators have been prosecuted, mainly due to lack of political will. The silence that envelopes sexual torture of men in the aftermath of the war in Croatia stands in strange contrast to the public nature of the crimes themselves. Le terme « torture sexuelle » désigne tout acte sexuel correspondant à la définition de la torture. L'opinion a pris conscience de l'utilisation de la torture sexuelle comme arme de guerre après le conflit en ex-Yougoslavie, au début des années 90. Les tortures sexuelles ont de graves conséquences mentales, physiques et génésiques. Jusqu'à présent, on a davantage parlé des tortures sexuelles sur les femmes que sur les hommes, partiellement en raison de stéréotypes sexuels. Cet article décrit les circonstances de la torture sexuelle, ses causes et conséquences, et le développement du droit international dans ce domaine. Il présente les conclusions d'une étude réalisée en 2000 en Croatie, où beaucoup d'hommes auraient subi des tortures sexuelles. Des entretiens avec 16 professionnels de la santé et les dossiers médicaux de trois centres soignant des réfugiés et des victimes de la torture ont révélé des indices de viols et d'autres agressions sexuelles, de castration totale ou partielle, de chocs électriques et de coups sur les organes génitaux. Rares sont les hommes qui admettent avoir subi des tortures sexuelles ou qui demandent de l'aide, et les professionnels ne décèlent pas toujours les cas. Peu de responsables ont été jugés, principalement par manque de volonté politique. Le silence qui entoure les tortures sexuelles masculines au lendemain de la guerre en Croatie tranche étrangement avec la nature publique des crimes. La tortura sexual constituye cualquier acto de violencia sexual que se califica como tortura. La conciencia pública del uso amplio de la tortura sexual como un arma de guerra creció enormemente después de la guerra en la antigua Yugoslavia a principios de los años 90. La tortura sexual tiene graves consecuencias para la salud mental, fı́sica y sexual. Hasta la fecha, se ha puesto más atención en la tortura sexual de las mujeres que de los hombres, debido en parte a los estereotipos de género. Este artı́culo describe las circunstancias en que ocurre la tortura sexual, sus causas y consecuencias, y el desarrollo de la ley internacional que la aborda. Presenta datos de un estudio del año 2000 en Croacia, donde pareciera que el número de hombres torturados sexualmente sea significativo. Basado en entrevistas en profundidad con 16 profesionales de salud y datos de los archivos médicos de tres centros que atienden a refugiados y vı́ctimas de tortura, se encontró evidencia de violación y otros actos sexuales forzados, castración total o parcial, golpes y electrochoques en los genitales. Pocos hombres admiten haber sido torturados sexualmente o buscan ayuda, y es posible que los profesionales no reconozcan los casos. Se han procesado pocos perpetradores, por falta de voluntad polı́tica. El silencio que cubre la tortura sexual de hombres en la posguerra en Croacia es un contraste extraño ante el carácter público de los crı́menes mismos.

Objective—This study describes epidemiologic patterns of mortality due to suicide, homicide, and war for the world in order to serve as a benchmark against which to measure future progress and to raise awareness about violence as a global public health problem. Setting—The world and its eight major regions. Method—Data were derived from The Global Burden of Disease series and the US National Center for Health Statistics to estimate crude rates, age adjusted rates, sex rate ratios, and the health burden for suicide, homicide, and war related deaths for the world and its eight major regions in 1990. Results—In 1990, an estimated 1 851 000 people died from violence (35.3 per 100 000) in the world. There were an estimated 786 000 suicides. Overall suicide rates ranged from 3.4 per 100 000 in Sub-Saharan Africa to 30.4 per 100 000 in China. There were an estimated 563 000 homicides. Overall homicide rates ranged from 1.0 per 100 000 in established market economies to 44.8 per 100 000 in Sub-Saharan Africa with peaks among males aged 15–24 years old, and among females aged 0–4 years old. There were an estimated 502 000 war related deaths with peaks in rates for both sexes among people aged 0–4, 15–29, and 60–69 years old. Conclusion—The number of violence related deaths in the world is unacceptably high. Coordinated prevention and control efforts are urgently needed.

With over 7700 landmine survivors registered in Colombia since 2002, of which 35% are civilians, landmines on average claim three victims a day. [...] although new legislation aimed at strengthening landmine victim rights, education campaigns about mine risks, and demining operations have helped to reduce landmine casualty rates in Colombia, assistance to civilian survivors remains inadequate and patchy. [...] if mine victim assistance is to be improved, eff ective data collection and monitoring systems of landmine survivors need to be implemented, bottlenecks removed, and greater priority placed on training specialist medical staff.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), based on interviews with people in the country, the Sri Lankan Government has repeatedly shelled areas crowded with civilians, including a government-declared safe zone and several hospitals. The report suggests that several factors have contributed to these in equal ities including violence, an economic embargo, human rights violations by all parties, shortages of health staff and medical supplies, and discrimination against Tamils.

The UN's announcement that cluster bombs were used on Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital created major inter national concern, but the re mark was later withdrawn2 and the UN resident coordinator extended an apology.

Observers say that the LTTE has been defeated in military terms but the government, concerned about the group reforming, has carried on its onslaught, while 50 000 mainly Tamil civilians remain trapped in the ever-shrinking conflict zone-now a tiny 3 km? strip in Mullaitivu in the northern Vanni region. Jonathan Goodhand, a senior lecturer in development practice at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK, says that while \"aid gives space for donors to negotiate principles of aid delivery, access, impartiality, and space for humanitarian action, it won't be able to induce behavioural change in the Sri Lankan Government\".

By contrast, 50 km north in Calonga, a shiny district hospital with graceful nurses in starched blue and white uniforms offers a range of medical services, though inpatients pay 500 Ugandan shillings (US$030) for their first visit. In addition to the obvious physical challenges confronting northern Uganda-grinding poverty and its close association with poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, the constant battle against malaria and HIV-there is another kind of public-health concern that is emerging among northern communities trying to rehabilitate after the civil war: mental health.