SC/10977
Security Council
6948th Meeting (AM & PM)
Council Also Hears from Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict; NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security; 60 Delegations in Day-long Debate
Despite success in cracking the silence around the systematic use of sexual violence as a war tactic, it persisted as one of the world’s most vicious crimes, destroying individual lives and terrorizing communities, delegates in the Security Council stressed today, calling on the 15-member body to ratchet up pressure on perpetrators and use its full means to prevent its occurrence.
“To succeed, we must use all the tools at our disposal,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, launching the Council’s day-long debate on women and peace and security. That included peacekeeping and political missions, mediation efforts, initiatives to protect human rights and deliver humanitarian assistance, as well as the work of everyone involved in building post-conflict peace.
For their part, United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — together with country teams — were establishing Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements, which he hoped could be completed before the end of the year.
The need could not be more urgent. Drawing attention to his latest report (document S/2013/149), Mr. Ban said that the negative effects of wartime rape persisted long after the guns had fallen silent. Although such violence disproportionately affected women and girls, men and boys were also targeted. Other trends underscored the need to address sexual violence during ceasefire negotiations, peace processes and security sector reform. Against that backdrop, he looked forward to the Council’s sustained leadership to prevent such abuse.
Broadly agreeing, Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said the Council must send an unequivocal message that “sexual violence in conflict will not be tolerated and the full force of international order will be brought to bear to ensure accountability”. For too long, women had borne the “crippling” effects — physical, psychological, social and economic — of wartime rape. They were often ostracized from their communities and families, and left destitute with their children.
Over the last five years, the Council had helped to usher in a “paradigm shift” that had altered the approach to addressing that crime. Stressing the importance of prevention, she urged engaging national stakeholders to foster national responsibility for the problem. The Council’s efforts could only complement national measuresand she rallied delegates to seize the opportunity for change. “May this be a decisive moment — our moment to put an end to this crime that is a blight on our collective humanity,” she implored.
Throughout the day, more than 60 speakers took the floor to decry the atrocities that women were forced to endure — rape, trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced pregnancy and female genital mutilation among them — as well as the entrenched discrimination that excluded them from negotiating tables and made them vulnerable to sexual violence, even in times of peace. Impunity was simply not acceptable, many said, stressing that there was no “real” security without women’s security.
Saran Keïta Diakité, speaking on behalf of the non-governmental Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, as well as the Résseau Paix et Sécurité des Femmes d’Espace, said prevention of sexual violence — and the underlying causes of conflict itself — was the most powerful instrument available. As she had seen in Mali, there was a devastating link between the flow of arms and the perpetration of sexual abuse. The Working Group had advocated for a gender-sensitive arms trade treaty, not because women were vulnerable, but because they were targeted. Sufficient resources must be devoted to women-led civil society organizations, particularly those providing services to survivors.
While the United Nations had made great strides, more support was needed to ensure that gains were not lost, they said. For its part, the Council could consider putting in place a procedure to monitor commitments by parties to conflict under its resolution 1960 (2010). It also could develop ways to apply sanctions where no sanctions committee was in place.
“It is a broken society that fails to protect its most vulnerable citizens from sexual violence,” said Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda, whose country holds the Council’s Presidency for April. As Rwanda recoiled from the horrors of 1994, it had worked assiduously to instil a culture of respect — including within the military and police force — which had prompted a “profound” attitude shift. De-stigmatizing sexual violence was also key to achieving post-genocide justice. It was time to move beyond expressions of outrage and make measurable progress towards “a world where the bodies of women are no longer considered a battlefield”.
The challenge, some said, lay in formalizing various processes to ensure they became integral parts of national and regional actions. On that point, the representative of Papua New Guinea recalled the efforts of women in Bougainville, an island affected by a long and bloody civil conflict, in pushing for peace. The Bougainville Peace Agreements confirmed the notion that “women are agents of change” in peace and security. There was more to be done, he said, acknowledging support from the United Nations in work to prioritize gender equality.
In a similar vein, Vanda Pignato, First Lady and Ministerial Secretary for Social Inclusion of El Salvador, said her country’s civil war had been followed by two decades in which attention to human rights and gender equality were “not high” on the Government’s agenda. But today, with international help, El Salvador had seen changes, including a 50 per cent drop in the incidence of femicide last year. Further support, especially from the United Nations, was needed so momentum was not lost.
Hailing one success in the fight against impunity, Guatemala’s representative was encouraged by the change in the treatment of sexual violence by the International Criminal Court, as seen in the cases of Bosco Ntaganda and Jean-Pierre Bemba. Both had set jurisprudence vis-à-vis the responsibility of commanders for sexual violence as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Those changes complemented the work of national courts and mixed tribunals to fight deeply rooted discriminatory practices, and further, combated the perception that it was useless to denounce such crimes.
Also participating in the debate today was the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway (on behalf of the Nordic countries).
Additional speakers included the representatives of Republic of Korea, United States, China, Argentina, Pakistan, France, Togo, Russian Federation, Morocco, Luxembourg, Australia, United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Canada (in his national capacity and on behalf of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security), Botswana, Japan, Syria, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Solomon Islands, Viet Nam, Switzerland, Spain, Egypt, Netherlands, Estonia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Italy, Chile, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, United Republic of Tanzania, Ireland, Fiji, Sudan, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand, Qatar, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, India, Afghanistan and Turkey.
The Permanent Observer of the Holy See also spoke, as did the Head of the European Union delegation.
The representative of Syria took the floor a second time.
The meeting began at 10:13 a.m. and adjourned at 5:36 p.m.