Aparajita Roy Chowdhury Department: School of Law Supervisor: Solange -Purpose: to examine the actions of women in positions of power who have been accused of being responsible for inciting international crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. -Research is often focused on women as victims of crimes during times of war and conflict, but my research attempts to explore the role of women as the perpetrators instead of victims, thus disproving the notion that only men are capable of inciting such crimes. -This is a relatively new area of international law and is thus based mainly on opinions derived through meetings and discussions. Additionally, I was able to increase my knowledge of the general functioning of the international criminal law system throughout the research process. Introduction -The starting point was to conduct a case study of the indictments of three women: 1) Pauline Nyiramasuhuko (Rwanda) 2) Biljana Plavsic (Yugoslavia) 3) Simone Gbagbo (Ivory Coast) -The remaining research and exploration of the issue was done by: 1) Meeting with individuals who work on International Criminal Court (ICC) cases in The Hague. 2) Remote interviews with academics and professionals concerned with gender in transitional justice and NGOs such as Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice and United Nations Women. 3) Published material including academic journals, books and press releases. -Since this is a relatively new area of international criminal law, it is not possible to collect empirical data and thus the project simply explores the opinions and observations reflected by the research sources and is not intended to be conclusive. -I have attempted to provide a discussion of potential future implications by discussing and evaluating the different perspectives that I have encountered in the process. -The conflicting views given from some of my interviewees was thought-provoking, such as: -Aisling Swaine (UN Women, New York) believes that women likely to incite such crimes are those who were victims of the socio-cultural issues surrounding women in times of conflict and their situation may have affected their perception of what is right and wrong. -On the other hand, Silke Studzinsky (ICC, The Hague) believes the issue is concerned with positions of responsibility in general, and that if women are put in such positions, they may take harsh measures to preserve and protect their power. -Recognition of the fact that women in decision-making positions can be responsible for inciting large-scale international crimes; even if it is in a supportive role (as a close relative or colleague). This leads us to the question - does supporting the ideals of another constitute criminal behavior? -The improvement of women’s position in society can lead them to be increasingly willing to utilize their influence to retain their power, which may include using criminal methods to do so. A recurring question asked throughout the process was how women were able to use sexual violence as a tool during conflict when they can empathize with those suffering through it. -Some believe that men and women should be prosecuted differently by the ICC – it is to be considered whether this would be legally fair, and why it may be necessary.