Implementation

The European Union continues to implement its dedicated policy on women, peace and security, including through close cooperation with other international and regional organizations. In that regard, we welcome the designation of Ms. Bineta Diop as the African Union Commission Chairperson's Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security.

Reporting, monitoring and information-sharing should be based on intensifying the establishment and use of monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements in the context of country-specific resolutions and mandates. It also depends on increasing the deployment of women protection advisers in the relevant peacekeeping missions.

In South Sudan, we are very concerned about the recent reports from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan of targeted killings of civilians based on their ethnic origins and hate messages calling for sexual violence against people on the basis of the community they belong to. We are also concerned about women's participation in conflict prevention, resolution, protection and peacebuilding processes.

Conflict-related violence continues to claim lives and lead to serious and irreparable consequences for its survivors, their communities and their families, including children born of rape. That is clearly reflected in the alarming information in the latest report submitted by the Secretary-General (S/2014/181).

Concerning access to justice and accountability, crimes of sexual violence must be prosecuted and punished under national and international law. In that regard, we emphasize the significant advances made in international law by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the non-permanent international criminal tribunals relating to combating sexual violence in conflict, as well as national efforts to implement the Statute.

Moreover, it is a paradox of our time that, although the growing technological sophistication has not resolved the basic problems of a large part of the world population in achieving sustainable development, it has provided weapons of mass destruction. And there is still no end to poverty and inequality.

I would like to highlight the importance of the issue before us — sexual violence — which particularly affects women in conflict situations and is an issue that gravely affects human rights. In that respect, this debate should directly involve the General Assembly.

Through the extensive experience of war and post-conflict management that Croatia unfortunately gained on its own territory, we may be able to make a significant contribution to wider global efforts to prevent and combat sexual violence in war and conflict.

Croatia is of the opinion that more can and must be done to combat the issue of sexual violence in conflict, and particularly to address the prevailing culture of impunity for such crimes. The non-reporting of sexual violence in war and conflict is another key problem, since it affects not only social perceptions of what is in fact a widespread problem, but also the work of all the relevant bodies and institutions.

In recent years, thanks to the joint efforts of the United Nations and the international community, countries in conflict have achieved substantial progress in preventing fighting sexual violence and supporting the rights of women in conflict. However, in many armed conflicts in today's world, vulnerable groups, including women, continue to bear the brunt of the consequences of war.