Central Front Partial Award—Ethiopia's Claims
Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission
Partial Award, Ethiopia's Claim 5 (2004)
During the Eritrea-Ethiopia War, soldiers on both sides raped civilians, with opportunistic rapes occurring especially frequently in areas where large troop concentrations were stationed for extended periods near dense civilian populations disproportionately composed of women, children, and the elderly; two such areas, Irob Wereda in Ethiopia and Senafe Town in Eritrea, experienced particularly high rates of these rapes. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia brought claims before the Claims Commission alleging the other's forces committed sexual violence violating international humanitarian law, though neither alleged the other used rape as a deliberate instrument of war policy.
Whether international humanitarian law obligates a government engaged in armed conflict to take effective measures preventing its soldiers from raping civilians, particularly in areas where large troop concentrations are stationed near dense civilian populations for extended periods.