Statement of the Kazakhstan at the May 15 Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Implementation
States should also be helped to implement resolution 1325 (2000) and other subsequent resolutions, including 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013), to counter violence at all levels and across all segments of society. We need to ensure accountability for all cases of sexual violence in conflict and bring an end to impunity. States need to work with Security Council sanctions committees, which should include sexual violence as a designated criterion for sanctions and the freezing of assets and finances of organized networks. Information sharing should take place not only across committees, but also across countries.
This scourge therefore requires cross-national interventions. All efforts of UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, with UN-Women as the lead agency, require coordination with regional and subregional structures. These must be coordinated with international organizations, especially the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as well as Interpol, and parliamentary religious leaders, non-governmental organizations and civil society. The object is not only to identify and monitor such abuse, but to take action against perpetrators, change extremist narratives, promote education at all levels, and create awareness around the empowerment of women.
Kazakhstan calls on all to abide by the international principles of the rule of law and human rights and to fully implement the relevant Security Council resolutions.
Human Rights
Sexual violence affects every aspect of a survivor’s life, child and adult. The victims of human trafficking and sexual violence should receive full, competent and speedy attention and support, with increased access to health care, social support, legal assistance and social economic reintegration. Kazakhstan shares the conviction in the dignity and empowerment of women with other Member States and will join the international community in every multilateral action to promote these essential elements for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the new agenda for peace.
Peacekeeping
We also fully support the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on all forms of sexual exploitation and strongly believe that preventing sexual abuse by peacekeepers should be an absolute priority. All peacekeeping missions need to have protection as a fundamental element in their mandates, with a greater employment of women military and police officers with full training prior to deployment.
Kazakhstan is presently contributing by fielding its highly qualified military observers with gender competence to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, and we are working on expanding this deployment in the future.
Justice
The State has the primary responsibility of enhancing legislation to respond to sexual violence and other atrocity crimes, and of strengthening their law enforcement and criminal justice system. In addition, national legislative responses around the world should also be harmonized with United Nations standards to be made compatible for cross-regional action. In that regard, we commend the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in conflict for its continued technical assistance to Member States.
SGBV
Today sexual violence in conflict must be fully addressed in all its dimensions, as it is linked, directly or indirectly, to the nature of conflict, the profile of the perpetrators and the nature of violence in its horrific forms. The escalation of sexual violence in conflict has reached alarming and unprecedented proportions. Sexual violence is aggravated by transnational crimes and human trafficking and has become a tactic of war, a core element of the ideology of terrorist groups and a source of their income.