Sexual Violence in Conflict & Beyond-International Symposium-Brussels Call to Action

Brussels Call to Action to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond

We, the representatives of governments, the European Commission, civil society and the United Nations, met in Brussels from 21 to 23 June 2006 to strengthen our shared commitment and action to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.

We, the participants of the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, express our appreciation to the Government of Belgium, the European Commission and the United Nations Population Fund for organizing this symposium and bringing increased attention to this issue, which is fundamental to development, human rights, and peace and security. In addition to the delegations from conflict-affected countries, our ranks included heads of United Nations agencies and European Institutions, non-governmental organizations, human rights activists, researchers, ministers and other government officials, field-based humanitarian workers, parliamentarians, representatives from the International Criminal Court, military and police officers, war correspondents and other members of the media.

We take note of the obligations and commitments articulated in numerous international and regional instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, Security Council resolutions 1308 and 1325, European Council conclusions, the European Consensus on Development, the European Union Africa Strategy, the resolutions of the European Parliament on the role of women in the peaceful resolution of conflict, and the European Parliament report on the situation of women in armed conflict and their role in reconstruction and democratic processes in countries after a conflict.

We have heard during the past three days from representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Palestine, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Uganda about the immediate and long-term impact of sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence during conflict, as well as conflict-based violence resulting from occupation. We were presented with evidence from these delegations of the widespread prevalence of this violence and its devastating effects on survivors, families and communities, and entire nations attempting to build and maintain peace and engage in recovery and reconstruction.

We are deeply concerned that the response to sexual violence in conflict and beyond is grossly inadequate when compared to the scope of the phenomenon and agree with the report of the independent experts on women, war and peace "that the standards of protection for women affected by conflict are glaring in their inadequacy, as is the international response."

We recognize the urgency of addressing sexual and gender-based violence as a priority. We also recognize that effective prevention and response require long-term, holistic and coordinated efforts by multiple stakeholders that address the health, education, economic, legal, psychosocial and security concerns of affected populations.

We acknowledge that the lack of consistent political action and reliable funding to address sexual violence in conflict and recovery is hindering efforts to protect and effectively respond to the needs of vulnerable populations.

This symposium comes at a time when sexual violence is increasingly recognized as a human rights violation and development issue in countries affected by conflict. The United Nations has taken up the issue in the Security Council, in high-level reports on issues ranging from peacebuilding to United Nations reform, and in new frameworks and guidelines for humanitarian action. The International Criminal Court has recognized rape in conflict situations as a war crime and/or crime against humanity, and a growing number of post-conflict countries are taking steps to address in their legal and policy frameworks the provisions outlined in United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, war and peace.

This Call to Action is for governments, European Institutions, the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, and civil society to prioritize the issue of sexual violence against women and girls, in particular, and also against men and boys, in all humanitarian, peacebuilding and development frameworks and programming in countries affected by conflict. This Call to Action builds on existing agreements and recognizes that these efforts should address not only sexual violence but all forms of gender-based violence that endanger civilians in conflict as well as in peacetime. This Call to Action builds on existing agreements and calls for their immediate and urgent implementation. There must be zero tolerance for acts of sexual and gender-based violence, and zero tolerance for complacency by governments and other institutions responsible for the safety and well-being of women, men and children affected by conflict.

Brussels Call to Action

We, the delegates to the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, call for urgent and long-term action to:
1. Prevent sexual and gender-based violence by promoting gender equity and equality and the economic, social and political empowerment of women.
2. Enhance mechanisms for regional and subregional collaboration of governments, donors, international organizations and civil society to address sexual and gender-based violence, with special attention to highly volatile areas.
3. Incorporate sexual violence prevention and protection into all aspects of humanitarian assistance including food, fuel, water and sanitation, and shelter as prescribed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines for gender-based interventions in humanitarian settings.
4. Prevent and respond to sexual violence in all planning and funding frameworks for humanitarian response, peacebuilding, recovery, development and political dialogue, and link relief and development funding to ensure the continuity of sexual violence prevention and response.
5. Strengthen accountability frameworks and systematic monitoring and reporting on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 and relevant resolutions adopted by the European Council.
6. Intensify international, regional and national efforts to end impunity for perpetrators by strengthening the legal and judicial systems and by enacting and enforcing legislation, and provide national judicial systems with the necessary resources to prosecute cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
7. Recognize the right and ensure access to material and symbolic reparation, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition for all survivors.
8. Develop national action plans to address sexual and gender-based violence that identify comprehensive programmes and opportunities for action across sectors, including sexual and reproductive health and the prevention, treatment and care for HIV/AIDS; education and life skills; human rights; justice; security sector reform; and socioeconomic recovery and livelihood support.
9. Ensure the full and active participation of youth, women and other vulnerable populations, including refugees and internally displaced persons, in the development of comprehensive national action plans to address sexual and gender-based violence.
10. Include in national plans the prevention of gender-based violence as an indicator of good governance to be used as an element in determining access to funding, including incentive tranches.
11. Build and strengthen ownership of all national frameworks and develop the capacity of country partners, governmental and non-governmental organizations, particularly women's organizations, and the United Nations system to ensure the centrality of sexual and gender-based violence in poverty reduction strategy papers, sector-wide approaches, country and regional strategy papers, consolidated appeals processes, post-conflict needs assessments and national transitional strategies, and common country assessments/United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks.
12. Ensure specific protection mechanisms for especially vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied and separated children and persons with disabilities.
13. Strengthen behaviour change communication and other measures to preserve and restore positive social values and change harmful beliefs and practices to protect against sexual and gender-based violence and strengthen the protective capacities of families and communities.
14. Incorporate strategies to prevent and respond to sexual violence in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and in security sector reform processes, and ensure the full engagement of the security sector, including police and army, to prevent and respond to sexual violence in a sensitive and effective manner.
15. Urge all nations providing troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
16. Develop awareness of humanitarian laws, human rights and gender equality for humanitarian workers and peacekeepers and enforce the United Nations code of conduct on zero tolerance for sexual abuse and exploitation.
17. Develop comprehensive awareness-raising strategies on the nature, scope and seriousness of sexual and gender-based violence at all levels to ensure the protection of survivors from discrimination and stigmatization, and engage men and boys, as well as government officials, community and religious leaders, the media, women's groups and other opinion makers in promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of women and children.
18. Develop a comprehensive methodology and tools to assess the scope and nature of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected countries and specify budgetary and cost implications.
19. Undertake comprehensive, ethically and methodologically sound, qualitative and quantitative research on the nature, scope, impact, root causes and contributing factors of sexual and gender-based violence, and develop ongoing data collection, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting systems, including gender budgeting.
20. Invest in the capacity-building of all stakeholders involved in the prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and beyond.
21. Empower the media to educate and advocate against sexual and gender-based violence.

Together we call for a broad partnership of governments, civil society, the United Nations and other organizations to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in all its forms in conflict and beyond.

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