Maria Cataleta

Institution: LUMSA University (Rome)

Period of stay: 14 July 2025-21 August 2025

Contact: m.cataleta@lumsa.it

Profile: 

Assistant professor of International criminal law and International protection of human rights at LUMSA University in Italy. Associate researcher at the Laboratoire de Droit International et Européen at Université Cote d'Azur in France.

Research Area:

International criminal law

Research Title:

Genocidal sexual violence

Research Outline:

The topic of the research is genocidal rape, a crucial topic at the present giving the resurgence of war conflicts in the last years, with the conflicts in Ukraine and in Gaza. During armed conflicts many crimes are committed and gender-based crimes are one of these. Gender-based crimes in wartime are different from peacetime. International criminal tribunals have established many times that sexual violence can constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, but few times they have recognized it as genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the case Akayesu and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the case Tadić have defined genocidal sexual violence as an act presenting the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

In genocidal sexual violence, the act presents the same mens rea demanded for genocide, that is the specific intent to destroy a particular community group of people. Law has the function to provide justice, but justice needs a law which gives an exact definition for certain conducts, also throught a victim orientated interpretation. Sexual violence is not explicitly included in the list of acts provided for in Art. 2 of the Genocide Convention, thus the classification of genocidal sexual violence still remains in the power of judges and prosecutors.

Publications:

"La gioventù africana e la piaga del reclutamento. Il caso emblematico dei Mayi Mayi", Rivista di Filosofia dei diritti umani, n. 67/2024 ;
« La protection des enfants face aux crimes rituels au Gabon », co-author Beddiar N., Revue LexSociété, 2022 ;
« The crime of aggressionin the Ukrainian war », Europa Ethnica, Volume 3/4, 2022 ;
« The Prohibition of Prosecution of Child Soldiers : a Desirable Emerging Rule of Customary International Law », Chinese Journal of International Law, Vol. 21 n. 4, 2022;
"« Les « Enfants de la Creuse », en quête d'une réparation de la mémoire", co-author Beddiar N., Annuaire de Justice transitionnelle 2022, 2023;
"La guerra dei due mondi. Una breve analisi del conflitto in Ucraina", Editoriale Scientifica, 2023;
"Human Algorithms and Artificial Human Minds : the Humanization of AI in an European Perspective", Ordine Internazionale e Diritti Umani . Vol. 5, 2022 ;
"The Kosovo Specialist Chambers. The last resort for justice in Kosovo?", co-author Loiero C., Nuova Editrice Universitaria, 2022;
« Le Cambodge face à son passé : le régime Khmer Rouge sur le banc des accusés », co-author Beddiar N., Rivista Internazionale di Sociologia Giuridica e Diritti Umani, 2021;
"Diritti umani e algoritmi. Dal Regolamento UE sui dati al progetto di Regolamento UE sull'intelligenza artificiale", Nuova Editrice Universitaria, 2021 ;
"Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, an Unequal Struggle", co-author Cataleta A., CIFILE Journal of International Law, 2020;
"The Fragility of Human Rights Facing AI", East-West Center (USA), 2020;
“La protection d’un droit supérieur, le droit à la vie, obligation positive des Etats - Affaire Garofalo”, Revue du Droit Public et de la Science Politique en France et à l’étranger, n. 1/2015;
"Le droits de la défence devant la Court pénale internationale", L'Harmattan, 2016;
"Il Tribunale Speciale per il Libano", Editoriale Scientifica, 2014.
She is the author of about 120 publications in scientific journals and magazines.

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