SECURITY COUNCIL, IN DAY-LONG DEBATE, URGED TO STRENGTHEN MEASURES TO END RAPE IN WAR ZONES

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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 17 Apr 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Subject: SECURITY COUNCIL, IN DAY-LONG DEBATE, URGED TO STRENGTHEN
MEASURES TO END RAPE IN WAR ZONES
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

SECURITY COUNCIL, IN DAY-LONG DEBATE, URGED TO STRENGTHEN MEASURES TO
END RAPE IN WAR ZONESNew York, Apr 17 2013 1:00PMConflict-related
sexual violence, horrific in itself, is also an impediment to national
reconciliation and development, top United Nations officials told the
Security Council at the start of a day-long debate, urging increased
political and financial pressure on those who commit, command or
condone sexual violence in war zones.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
<"http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6744">told the
15-member Security Council that while preventing sexual violence is a
primary responsibility of Governments, the international community
must strengthen its collective efforts to root out its causes and
prevent sexual attacks, which primarily target women and girls, but
also affect men and boys.

"To succeed, we must use all the tools at our disposal. This includes
our peacekeeping and political missions, our mediation efforts and our
efforts to protect human rights and deliver humanitarian assistance,"
Mr. Ban told the meeting, which was presided over by Rwandan Foreign
Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, whose country holds the rotating
Presidency of the Security Council for April.

"It encompasses the work of all those involved in building peace in
the aftermath of conflict, from restoring the rule of law and
advancing gender equality to promoting early recovery and longer-term
development," he added.

Mr. Ban highlighted efforts in peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South
Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to establish
monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements in coordination with
UN Country Teams, to be completed "by the end of the year."

These efforts, combined with other tools, such as the updated human
rights database of Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights
(OHCHR) and the protection monitoring project of the UN refugee agency
(UNHCR), will better place the UN "to systematically identify trends
and patterns and thereby become better at preventing these crimes."

Also addressing the Security Council, Mr. Ban's Special Representative
on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, outlined the
Secretary-General's latest report on the topic which reviews 22
conflict areas – conflict, post-conflict and situations of concern –
which include Mali for the first time.

Among the key themes in the report, Ms. Bangura said, was the nexus
that includes sexual violence and the illicit extraction of natural
resources.

In her remarks, she also discussed sexual violence as a driver of
civilian displacement and as an interrogation tactic, as well as the
plight of women forced into marriage and sexual slavery by armed
groups and children born of wartime rape, on whom there is little or
no information and as such no meaningful programmatic interventions.

"The report emphasizes the urgency of ensuring that sexual violence
considerations are explicitly and consistently reflected in peace
processes and peace agreements, and in all Security Sector Reform and
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration processes in which the
United Nations is involved," Ms. Bangura told the Security Council.

She also pointed to the need to continue UN-efforts to address the
negative effects of war-time rape, particularly "critical health,
psycho-social, legal and other interventions" that survivors of sexual
health must have to rebuild their lives.

In addition, Ms. Bangura stressed that the international community
must throw a more concerted spotlight on the perpetrators.

"The continued engagement of the Security Council must serve as an
unequivocal statement of intent: sexual violence in conflict will not
be tolerated, and the full force of international order will be
brought to bear to ensure accountability for such crimes," she said.

Ms. Bangura also urged the Council to "raise the cost and
consequences" for those who commit rape, which, she maintained,
remains largely "cost-free".

"Sexual violence has been used through the ages precisely because it
is such a cheap and devastating weapon, but more deadly than any bomb.
We can and must reverse this reality, making it a massive liability to
commit, command or condone sexual violence in conflict," she said,
adding that however great the commitment of the UN, it cannot
substitute for the political will and action of national authorities.

Among other key recommendations in the Secretary-General's report is a
collective call to include the fight against conflict-related sexual
violence at the forefront of peace efforts.

"Let us make the commitment around this table today that in situations
where sexual violence is a concern, there will never again be a peace
agreement, ceasefire agreement, or ceasefire verification mechanism
that does not include sexual violence prevention and response as a
part of its rationale and definition," Ms. Bangura urged.

"This includes the agreements that must eventually be concluded in
Mali and Syria, to bring an end to these conflicts," she added.

Ms. Bangura said she plans to take up invitations by the authorities
of Syria, Mali and South Sudan to visit those countries "as soon as
possible."Apr 17 2013 1:00PM
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