GIRLS IN WAR

There is still little awareness of the extreme suffering that armed conflict inflicts on girls or the many roles girls are often forced to play during conflict and long after. Girls are often abducted for sexual and other purposes by armed groups and forces. They face a variety of threats, including rape and forced prostitution. The work of the Special Rapporteur on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict and that of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women have drawn attention to the human rights violations, including sexual slavery, which are perpetrated against women and girls in times of armed conflict. The United Nations Population Fund has documented the frequent reports of trafficking in women and girls in Kosovo. During the war in Sierra Leone, women and girls were subjected to systematic rape and sexual abuse. These experiences often result in psychosocial scars, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

The social stigma attached to girls' experiences makes them reluctant to seek medical assistance or emotional support. They are often not adequately catered for in post-conflict Educational and vocational training opportunities. Their special needs are rarely provided for in demobilization and reintegration programmes. Unaccompanied or orphaned girls are at greater risk of sexual abuse. As a result of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, an estimated 45,000 households were headed by children, 90 per cent of them girls. However, under Rwandan law, girls could not inherit land. Following his visit to Rwanda in February 1999, and building on the earlier work of several non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict engaged in a dialogue with the Government, urging them to introduce legislation that would allow girls to inherit farms and other properties. In November 1999, the Government did enact legislation to this effect.

The United Nations system is addressing the needs of girls affected by armed conflict in several ways. The Department for Disarmament Affairs, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Division for the Advancement of Women are collaborating on issues of gender and disarmament and will pay particular attention to the plight of female Child Soldiers. The results of a study by the Quaker United Nations Office on the experiences and needs of female Child Soldiers has provided badly needed information required for programme planning. The training of United Nations peacekeeping staff will include the gender-related provisions of human rights and humanitarian law. Moreover, all United Nations personnel in the field, whether in humanitarian, development or peacekeeping roles, in peacetime or conflict situations, will be expected to adhere to a strict code of conduct that requires dignified and respectful interaction with all elements of the civilian population. Allegations of sexual exploitation or abuse attributed to United Nations personnel will be swiftly investigated.

More fundamentally, the facade of Impunity for the perpetrators of Sexual Violence against children in wartime is finally crumbling. The International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have obtained several convictions for Sexual Violence and rape. A recent case tried by the Tribunal for Rwanda resulted in a conviction for genocide and crimes against humanity for acts that included the rape of a very young girl. As noted above, particularly grave forms of Sexual Violence, including rape, sexual slavery and enforced prostitution, constitute war crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Gender issues are being addressed throughout the procedures that will govern the Court, largely owing to the efforts of non-governmental organizations such as the Women's Gender Justice Caucus, supported by UNIFEM.