Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Canada
Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Canada (Extract 1)
We must ensure that related expertise, including gender advisers and women protection advisers, are provided with the access and resources needed to fulfil their critical tasks in peacekeeping operations. Cooperation with local civil society organizations can also help identify precursors, risks and prevention and protection strategies for sexual violence in conflict.
Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Canada (Extract 2)
Justice and accountability are means of prevention. Indeed, a climate of impunity discourages reporting, undermines assistance and abets further violations. We therefore call for accountability for crimes of sexual violence in armed conflict. This in turn requires effective investigation and documentation, legal assistance for the victims of sexual violence, and adequate legal and evidentiary frameworks to prosecute such crimes [...] In contrast, it is disconcerting that not a single member of Da’esh or Boko Haram has been prosecuted for sexual violence crimes to date. We emphatically call on the Security Council to explicitly include sexual violence as a designation criterion within United Nations sanctions regimes where such crimes are persistently perpetrated. Relevant sanctions committees should also be supported by dedicated gender and sexual violence expertise and draw on information from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Canada (Extract 3)
Fundamentally, we are of the view that systemic gender-based discrimination, such as the exclusion of women from political life, economic marginalization and discriminatory systems of both formal and informal law, is conducive to sexual violence in conflict. Any serious effort to address sexual violence in conflict must confront this fact.
Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Canada (Extract 4)
Among its five objectives, Canada’s national action plan on women and peace and security focuses on preventing, responding to and ending impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse. It seeks to meet the specific needs of women and girls in humanitarian settings, including the upholding of their sexual rights and access to sexual and reproductive health services.