Justice

Accountability is a key ingredient in our joint efforts to eradicate conflict-related sexual violence. International criminal justice mechanisms have significantly advanced the efforts to fight impunity — as illustrated, for example, by the 1998 Akayesu judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which found that sexual assault constituted an act of genocide; or the 2016 Bemba judgment of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where the principle of command responsibility was invoked to find Bemba criminally responsible for rape committed by his subordinates. Those judgments send the clear message that impunity for sexual violence as a tool of war is not an option. We commend the Prosecutor of the ICC for prioritizing sexual and gender-based crimes in many of her ongoing investigations.

We have to look for other options where the ICC has no jurisdiction. In the case of Syria, the accountability mechanism established by the General Assembly currently offers the only promising path towards accountability and justice for the Syrian people. Its terms of reference note the need for dedicated expertise on sexual violence. We call on all States to continue their political and financial support for the mechanism.