Implementation

Bosnia and Herzegovina attaches the utmost importance to confronting the grave issue of sexual violence and is particularly encouraged by the commitment of the Security Council to keep the matter on its agenda. That commitment was unequivocally demonstrated by the adoption of resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1894 (2009), which have paved the way for concrete action aimed at preventing sexual violence.

We welcome the recent arrests and extraditions of persons responsible for sexual violence and would like to encourage all countries concerned to take the necessary steps to bring them to justice.

We welcome the appointment of the leader of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and encourage Member States affected by armed conflict to seek the support of the Team.

We hope that the information generated through the new system will help the Council when it considers its reactions to widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. From our point of view, possible reactions include the imposition of targeted measures, the establishment of commissions of inquiry and referrals to the International Criminal Court.

We are concerned by the high numbers of governmental security forces directly involved in sexual violence. The conditionality policy of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an important step in the right direction and should be extended to all United Nations peacekeeping missions.

The extremely negative effect of sexual violence on peace processes, reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction clearly makes that crime a security threat. Sexual violence is not a mere by-product of war; it is more often than not a deliberate tactic of warfare. The Council, alongside affected States, has a clear responsibility to use all tools at its disposal to put an end to this scourge.

Let me first of all thank you, Madame, and your delegation for your outstanding work, which led to the adoption by consensus of resolution 1960 (2010) before us today. The resolution brings significant added value to the fight against sexual violence in armed conflict. We greatly appreciate the Secretary-General's unwavering commitment to this cause.

Let me add that my delegation will continue to support the idea of establishing a Council working group in order to be able to afford a similar level of attention and response to the issue of sexual violence as is currently and rightly granted to children in armed conflict. This is a matter of credibility for the Security Council.

I would like to say a special word of welcome and thanks to Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral Wallström and her team for their extremely significant contribution to the implementation of resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009).

We were very pleased to support the joint analytical inventory developed by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United Nations Development Fund for Women under the auspices of the inter-agency network United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. This is a key tool for the Organization to use in improving its ability to protect civilians from conflict-related sexual violence as part of peacekeeping operations.