An Appraisal of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for the Award of Reparations to Victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Abstract

Nigeria has been in a state of internal armed conflict since 2013. Since the outbreak of Boko Haram led armed conflict, the number of reported cases of sexual violence against women and girls has been on the rise. the abduction of these categories of vulnerable non-participant victims of the conflict have also become common-place. The crime of sexual violence is committed not only in host communities but in camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and detention centres, where the victims are meant to be protected by law enforcement authorities. Although the armed conflict is not over, there is a gradual abatement thereof and some of the victims that had been displaced are gradually returning back to their homes while others remain in IDP camps . as part of post-conflict transitional justice mechanisms, it is significant that the victims of dreadful acts of sexual violence are identified and their injuries redressed in a system of reparations. Nigeria is a party to many international treaties that protect the rights of persons against sexual violence and in some cases, provide the right to reparations. Nigeria, therefore, has the legal obligation to implement the rights stipulated in these treaties. There are other domestic legal frameworks and policies that support the right of reparations to victims of armed conflict and projecting these is poised at creating awareness for the implementation of these rights.