In June 2020, the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Nadia’s Initiative, and Institute for International Criminal Investigations launched the Murad Code. The Code is a global consultative initiative aimed at building and supporting a community of better practice for addressing conflict-related sexual violence.
The Murad Code is named after Nadia Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking Nadia Murad. Nadia Murad is herself a survivor of sexual violence used by Daesh as a weapon of war. She has since escaped enslavement in Iraq and has became a powerful advocate for the Yazidi community. She has worked tirelessly to highlight the issue of religious persecution and sexual violence used as a weapon of war. Nadia Murad is a powerful witness and an example of how a survivor of such atrocities can be empowered through advocacy. Imagine if her story had never been heard.
Nadia Murad, Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist, speaking during the United Nations Security Council ... [+]
The Murad Code is part of a project which incorporates three other initiatives aimed at addressing existing issues with documenting sexual violence in conflict. They are the Murad Code, a commentary and a “Survivor’s Charter.”
The Murad Code is designed as a universal code of conduct for those collecting information and evidence from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The document has been presented in draft form as the “Draft Global Code of Conduct for Investigating and Documenting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence”. It is now being presented for global consultations before it will be officially adopted.
The commentary to the code incorporates helpful resources, guidelines and international law sources, to assist with interpretation and implementation of the code. The Survivor’s Charter, a document prepared by survivors, identifies some of the wishes of the survivors on how such documenting should be conducted.
The initiative deals with issues that have concerned survivors of sexual violence in conflict over the years. They touch on the safety, use and effectiveness of documentation, including:
• “repeated and unnecessary re-interviewing of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence
• interviews carried out by untrained or unskilled interviewers with rushed, ineffective, unsafe or otherwise harmful methods
• documenters being unaware of the ways in which such methods can cause harm to or re-traumatize survivors
• unclear or rushed informed consent procedures which do not give survivors the full information on options and risks, or the time and space to make their own choices
• survivors not receiving promised feedback on outcomes
• lack of medical and psycho-social support which survivors may require following their experiences or because of the effects of re-traumatizing interviews
• insufficient planning and mitigation measures regarding security and other risks and local contexts, including meeting survivors in places where the interview can be observed, overheard or interrupted by others.”
As the authors of the initiative emphasize: “Ineffective, unsafe or otherwise unethical documentation practices, however well-intentioned, cause or amplify harm suffered by survivors. While often not recognized, it also harms their chances to access justice. It undermines respect for other human rights of survivors and may undermine their trust in the rule of law and other governance and crisis-response systems.”
The Murad Code has great potential. It would be a powerful tool to improve the experiences of women and girls subjected to rape and sexual violence in war as they seek justice against the perpetrators. The Murad Code guides authorities through a more humane approach to evidence gathering. It helps to avoid subjecting victims to further trauma and ensures that they are empowered to seek justice. The final Murad Code, the Commentary and the Survivor’s Charter will be launched in 2021.
