Does conjugal rights form part of basic human rights? The ICTR has their own opinion.

Today I read an article on the BBC news that stated that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has finally granted conjugal rights to detainees at their detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania. Even though I tend to be a very serious human rights lawyer, I couldn't help but be humoured at decision. It should also be noted that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has granted these conjugal rights to detainees a long time ago.

I visited the ICTR in 2006 and picked up on their immense respect for human rights, despite the fact that the Rwandan government were quite conservative in their interpretation for upholding human rights. I am bit surprised at the fact that it took the ICTR so long to grant conjugal rights to detainees. In the media coverage it was reported that the Registrar for the ICTR decided to uphold the basic human rights of the detainees and grant them conjugal rights. For those of you who are not aware of what this right entails, it means that the detainees can now have sexual relations with their spouses and/ or partners.

My question thus, does sexual relations between spouses and partners constitute a right? I guess if you prescribe to a progressive and liberal school of thought you would say yes and if you are a conservative thinker you might think the opposite (especially in relation to detainees).

Even though I consider myself to be a student of liberal thought, I still have doubts whether sexual relations between spouses can constitute a right. If its a right, it will definitely give less value to the reality of marital rape. I know that this was not the thought behind the ICTR and ICTY granting these rights to detainees. However, there is thus far no evidence of placing limitations on conjugal rights to detainees. So, if their spouses would come over for a visit and refuse them sexual relations, they can enforce this on them and claim that it is their right to have sexual relations, because the Court has granted them this right.

That is only in relation to spouses. What about those girl/boyfriends of detainees. If sexual relations cannot be theorised into a right for spouses, then it can definitely not be theorised into a right for partners.

It would probably be expected that the Rwandan population would voice their outrage against this decision by the ICTR, as they already claimed in the past that the detainees are living a life of luxury, as if they are in a hotel. I am not a conservative, so conjugal rights could be fine and well, as long as its termed in or around the following lines:

"The detainees are granted conjugal rights with their spouses/ partners, subject to the consent of their spouses/ partners." This would thus not make conjugal rights an absolute right, but rather conditional to consent.