Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: South Korea (Extract 5)

We need to enhance the capacity of governments to respond to sexual violence in conflict. Given that fragile and conflict-affected states often lack the capacity to address this crime, they need to be supported by the international community to build their own national capacities. The Republic of Korea, for its part, has continued to take concrete initiatives to contribute to helping build capacities of governments as well as women and girls in fragile and conflict-affected states. In particular, we have carried out Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects aimed at supporting empowerment of women and gender equality. In 2015, we launched the “Better Life for Girls Initiative” that employs a gender-focused approach to empower girls in developing countries. We have also continuously supported gender-sensitive peacebuilding projects of various international organizations, such as UN Women’s ‘Building Back Better’ project and UNDP’s work on gender and human rights.