Statement of the USG at the May 15 Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict
CP
seen as merely a women’s issue or a lesser evil in a false hierarchy of human rights violations. Instead, it is rightly viewed as a legitimate threat to security and durable peace that requires an operational, security and justice response, in addition to ensuring multidimensional services for survivors of such crimes.
Secretary-General António Guterres has placed priority on prevention. The sexual violence in conflict mandate — through the strategic leadership of successive Special representatives, the engagement of Member States and partnerships between the United Nations family and civil society — shows how timely and reliable information and analysis may be leveraged for prevention.
Justice
A robust legislative framework now exists, including a series of precise Security Council resolutions that give us new tools to drive change and progress. We are beginning to see some accountability at the international and national levels. There is a gradual shift from a reality in which it is cost free to rape a woman, child or man in conflict to one where there are consequences for anyone who commits, commands or condones such crimes. We see greater national ownership, leadership and responsibility. More Governments are formally committing to take action. Regional organizations are working in concert with the United Nations to add to this effort. This is all much-needed good news.
SGBV
As the report (S/2017/249) of Secretary-General makes clear, we are also confronted by new challenges. Sexual violence is increasingly used as a tactic of terrorism, employed by extremist groups in places such as Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria and Mali to advance their military, economic and ideological ends. The same litany of horrors echoes across the accounts of the Yazidi captives of Da’esh, Nigerian girls who fled from Boko Haram, the tales of Somali women liberated from Al-Shabaab and depictions of women’s lives in northern Mali under the extremist group Ansar Eddine. These groups are using sexual violence for strategic purposes. They are obscenely incentivizing the recruitment of young men through the promise of wives and sex slaves. They are outrageously boosting profiting through the sale, trade and trafficking of women and girls. It is therefore essential that considerations of protecting and empowering women and girls feature in our counter-terrorism and our countering violent extremism architecture.
Displacement
The mass migration crisis and massive displacement of populations due to protracted conflicts worldwide has heightened the risk of sexual violence. We see the acute vulnerability of refugees and internally displaced persons not only within camps or settlements, but at every stage of displacement, and how sexual violence may be a significant factor driving vulnerable from their homes and communities.
HR
Sexual violence is a uniquely heart-wrenching crime because victims, instead of the perpetrators, often bear the stigma. Those who commit these heinous crimes often escape justice. Meanwhile, their victims are often forced to live with the shame of having been raped and rejected by their families and communities. Worst still, many children are born of rape and sentenced to a life of discrimination, exclusion and stigma. Mental health issues such as depression, flashbacks, challenges in re-establishing intimate relationships, and fear are some of the long-term psychological consequences of this crime. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS and other health challenges, are common, and survivors often find themselves doubly victimized.