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With that stark reality in mind, the Maldives believes that the United Nations, and especially the Security Council, should comprehensively adapt its prevention, protection and recovery efforts to the increasingly asymmetric threats posed by non-State, extremist and terrorist armed groups through sexual violence. The Maldives welcomes resolutions 2242 (2015) and 2331 (2016), which make clear the Council’s recognition of the fact that sexual violence is frequently used as a tactic of terrorism and provide a clear starting point for deepening the strategic alignment of efforts against sexual violence, both across the United Nations and among Member States. They make it clear that the obligations to abide by the protections afforded by international human rights law apply to State and non-State actors alike, and that it is incumbent on all parties to respect their provisions.

In that regard, the Maldives welcomes and fully endorses the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the Security Council employ all means at its disposal to ensure that all parties to a conflict comply with international law regarding protection against sexual violence. In turn, that should be enforced through the systematic monitoring of compliance, the implementation of legislative and institutional arrangements and, when violations do occur, by referring matters to the International Criminal Court.