Throughout the twentieth century, the international community has witnessed many human rights violations that have also constituted violations of international humanitarian law. Two of the worst violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law occurred in the territories of the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda in the last decade of the twentieth century.
The large scale of killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence, 'ethnic cleansing', genocide and other types of crimes committed in these two regions of the world impelled the international community to bring those responsible for such crimes to justice.
