UN chief seeks women peacekeepers to counter sexual violence

June 21, 2008 – (The Age) UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants more women peacekeepers and police to help counter "the abominable practice of sexual violence" resulting from armed conflicts.

Mr Ban told a Security Council hearing on women and security that sexual violence posed a grave threat to the safety of females in areas recovering from armed conflict.

He called for future UN mandates to include provisions protecting women and children, adding that he wanted more qualified women to act as peacekeepers and provide leadership.

His comments came as UN peacekeepers in Darfur said the biggest problem confronting the blighted region was the systematic rape of women and children as young as four. Aid groups suggest rape is used as a weapon of "ethnic cleansing".

"Send me your female troops, your police, your civilian personnel and your senior diplomats and I will ensure that they are all considered; that qualified candidates are rostered; and that the maximum number are deployed to the field as quickly as humanly possible," Mr Ban said.

"Violence against women has reached unspeakable and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict."

He said national authorities had to respond to this "silent war" and they would be provided with UN support. Women should be involved in conflict prevention and as agents of peace rather than as victims.

Mr Ban said he supported a zero tolerance policy for UN personnel accused of sexual violence. He said he would strengthen the code of conduct so that it held accountable individuals and their supervisors.

The Security Council yesterday adopted a US-sponsored statement condemning sexual violence as a tactic of war and intimidation against civilians.

Australia's ambassador to the UN, Robert Hill, said that sexual violence by UN personnel had undermined the credibility of the organisation. Where UN disciplinary measures were unable to prosecute offenders, action should be taken by countries of origin.

He said that Australian detachments to UN missions already had a significant female presence. "Almost 20% of Australian police and military personnel currently involved in peacekeeping missions are women," Mr Hill said. "Not only are women deployed by Australia, they often hold senior roles within these missions."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that in Burma soldiers regularly raped women and girls as young as eight. Dr Rice said sexual violence had transcended individual crimes to become a matter of national security.

From:http://www.theage.com.au/world/un-chief-seeks-women-peacekeepers-to-counter-sexual-violence-20080620-2u85.html