The report of the Secretary-General contained in document S/2012/33 gives the impression that no action has been taken against perpetrators of sexual violence in Nepal. That is not corroborated by facts on the ground. Perpetrators of sexual violence have been punished by the judiciary.
Allow me to address the issue of women in promoting peace and security and what we have been trying to do to enhance the empowerment of women in general in the post-conflict situation. Nepal has come a long way after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006 in terms of ensuring women's participation at the decision-making level.
The adoption of resolution 1960 (2010) in December 2010 was one element of a series of initiatives aimed at bolstering the existing legal toolkit for tackling conflict-related sexual violence. We believe that the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements established under that resolution should allow for the collection of objective, reliable and credible data on acts of sexual violence.
The report of the Secretary-General also takes stock of situations of sexual violence in several regions of the world and of the measures taken by the parties in conflict to put an end to those acts by identifying those responsible, combating impunity of the perpetrators and masterminds, and making available medical, psychological and social assistance for victims and their families.
Our debate today gives us the opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the commitments made under resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1960 (2010), as well as the progress achieved in the implementation of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements established in line with resolution 1960 (2010).
We support the recommendation of the Secretary General that sexual violence be included in the definition of acts that are prohibited under ceasefire agreements and peace and reconciliation processes. To date, only a few such agreements address this issue. If it is not addressed in an integrated way, there is a risk that sexual violence will continue to be used as a weapon of war.
One of the main challenges confronting the international community with regard to sexual violence in armed conflicts is to bring those responsible to justice in order to put an end to the culture of impunity. To that end, the Security Council must take robust measures against all those who are involved in committing those deplorable acts, in a manner consistent with international law.
My delegation would like to reiterate the importance that access be provided to health care, to psychosocial support, to legal assistance and to socio-economic reintegration services for victims.
We welcome the start of implementation in the field, of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements and hope that the difficulties remaining in collecting and verifying information and in establishing shared databases will soon be resolved.
