Statement of the United Kingdom at the May 15 Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Displacement
We can also not forget the stories that we heard in that dusty camp of internally displaced persons in northern Nigeria: stories of women whose daughters had been abducted by Boko Haram, most likely forced into marriage and sexual slavery. And yet, as the Secretary-General’s report (S/2016/361) clearly shows, those messages are not getting through. Not enough is being done. Women and girls, men and boys, are still being subjected to sexual violence every day:
PP
We know what needs to happen. We need to make ending sexual violence a key part of ceasefire deals. We need fewer women at kitchen tables and more women at negotiating tables. And we need even more women serving in uniform, because for too many survivors a man in uniform is someone to fear, not someone to trust. That is a lesson that needs to be heeded by Governments, by armed forces and, yes, by the United Nations and its peacekeepers too.
Implementation
Ultimately, if we want to address the appalling use of sexual violence by — and, indeed, by State actors — we need to look “bigger”; we need to look broader. We need to recognize that terrorists and State actors are enabled to carry out those sick acts when peace and security have broken down and when the Council has failed to uphold its duties enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. What happens in the Council, whether votes in favour or vetoes against, has a very real bearing on that insecurity. Let us then make sure that tackling sexual violence is not something that we talk about only once a year at this debate, but in every single Security Council item where it is relevant, starting with the upcoming Al-Qaida sanctions regime review.
Justice
In Mali, where survivors are forced to withdraw complaints so that the perpetrators can escape justice; in Syria, where not a single person has been prosecuted for Da’esh’s vile acts; and in South Sudan, where we see the continuing abhorrent use of rape as a sickening means of punishing communities.
We cannot, however, be deterred. We must all play our part and do everything within our power to ensure that those crimes are reported, that survivors are cared for and that perpetrators, whether terrorists or State actors, are held to account. That is why the United Kingdom, in partnership with the United Nations Team of Experts and Justice Rapid Response, is carrying out a campaign to tackle the stigma that so often surrounds the survivors of sexual violence. It is why we worked with over 200 civil society experts to produce the international protocol that helps document those crimes. And it is why we are now developing the principles for global action to be launched at the General Assembly later this year. This is a new tool, developed, again, with civil society, but also with United Nations agencies and Member States, to help policymakers and international organizations tackle stigma through their own work.