From March 26 to 28, 2024, with PJI’s support, the Office of the Special Representative for the Secretary General For Sexual Violence in Conflict, through its Team Of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, convened the first ever international conference of prosecutors focusing on accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) crimes.
At the conference, public prosecutors from nearly 30 countries convened to share experiences, knowledge, and suggestions relating to CRSV cases that they had been investigating and prosecuting in their own national jurisdictions. PJI served on the advisory committee for this conference and supported the Team of Experts in their preparation of the substantive sessions. We also supported the engagement of prosecutors from Kenya, Kosovo, and Guatemala with whom we have worked for many years. The PJI team attended the conference and directly supported the Team of Experts and the prosecutors present to ensure strong connections were made.
At the event, the Team of Experts highlighted success stories relating to domestic prosecution of sexual violence as an international crime. Of the four cases they highlighted, two were cases PJI had supported: the Sepur Zarco case in Guatemala and the Baby Pendo case in Kenya.
Watch the fifteen-minute documentary about the Sepur Zarco case. The Sepur Zarco case was the very first case involving sexual slavery as a crime against humanity to be prosecuted in a national court; the PJI team is honored to have accompanied the prosecutors in this powerful case.
A similar documentary about the Baby Pendo case will be released imminently. The Baby Pendo case is the first crimes against humanity case to be brought in the Kenyan national courts. It is also the first such case alleging crimes committed in the context of post-election violence, and the first to use a theory of command responsibility, a form of legal responsibility being applied in this case under the Kenyan 2008 International Crimes Act.
Max Marcus co-chaired a panel on Securing Protection for Victims and Witnesses and also participated in a panel about the Baby Pendo case and post-election violence in Kenya, along with our Kenyan colleagues present. PJI was proud to play a role in helping prosecutors from multiple jurisdictions share valuable information and experiences with each other.
The convening of international prosecutors enabled PJI to host a gathering which brought together prosecutors from three of the jurisdictions where PJI has provided long-term accompaniment: Guatemala, Kosovo, and Kenya. This was the first opportunity for PJI to bring its partners together from different jurisdictions and, with support of an interpreter, the prosecutors were able to meet and share their experiences in a more private setting.
Read the Team of Experts Report on the conference.