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The United States announced it will allocate 650.000 US $ to the ICTR

The United States announced it will donate 650,000 US $ to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which is earmarked for the prosecution of "mass rape and sexual crimes". Previously, the ICTR has received five million US $ in private contributions from Americans.

The announcement was made by Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Arrairs, John Shattuck, earlier this month during the visit to Arusha of State Secretary Warren Christopher.

Sexual crimes were not prosecuted in the war crime tribunals of Nuremberg and Tokyo. However, the Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia has identified a number of counts of rape and sexual assualt. "The vigorous prosecution of these kinds of offences is very much a first initiative in international criminal justice", said Chief Prosecutor Loise Arbour. "We are investigating sexual violence, sexual assault, and will continue to do so in the context of our mandate in Rwanda."

In July this year, the Prosecutor's Office in Kigali set up a Sexual Assault Advisory Committee chaired by an American woman. The 12 members (nine women and three men) are investigators, Legal Officers and Assistant Trial Attorneys working for the Tribunal in Kigali. The members of the Committee provide a balanced representation of Africa, the United States and Europe.

For information only - Not an official document

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