WUNRN
Via International Women's
Tribune Center - IWTC
( New York , June 11, 2008 ) – The United Nations Security Council should effectively address sexual violence in conflict as a weapon of war and its destabilizing impact on communities, Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Tribune Center said today.
On
June 11, 2008 , high-ranking military officials from countries involved in
peacekeeping missions and women from war-torn countries will make
recommendations to the UN Security Council on how to stop sexual violence in
war.
“During wartime, it’s often more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier,”
said Marianne Mollman, women’s rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. “As the
guardian of international peace and security, it’s the Security Council’s job
to deal effectively with the persistent problem of sexual violence in armed
conflict.”
Thousands of women and girls have been victims of sexual violence in many
conflicts around the world for many years. Even UN peacekeepers have been
implicated in committing rape.
On May 27-28, UN military experts, government officials, and women’s rights
representatives met in Wilton Park near London to discuss concrete proposals
for improving the UN’s record on preventing sexual violence through its
peacekeeping operations.
Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Tribune Center said that the
Security Council should provide peacekeepers with a clear mandate to prevent
sexual violence.
“UN peacekeepers are charged with the protection of civilians, but they are not
always told explicitly that this means stopping sexual violence,” said Mavic
Cabrera-Balleza of the International Women’s Tribune Centre. “And the demands
on peacekeeping troops are so great that they may ignore anything they are not
asked explicitly to do. The Council should provide clear mandates on this key
issue.”
Women’s groups from conflict zones have long promoted a stronger participation
of women in peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts as a way to ensure that
violence directed at women during and after a conflict is adequately dealt
with. In January 2008, numerous women’s organizations from the Democratic
Republic of Congo put together a short list of recommendations in this regard.
Their focus was justice, health services, democratic participation, and
accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence.
“Solutions work best when developed in consultation with those who are most
affected,” said Mollmann. “The Security Council should consult closely with the
women’s groups working on the front lines in seeking solutions to deal more
systematically with sexual violence in wartime.”
Over the past decade, UN peacekeepers have been implicated in committing sexual
violence against the very populations they were charged with protecting. The
United Nations has admitted to some abuses and has announced a zero-tolerance
policy regarding such sexual exploitation and abuse, but has yet to put into
place a system to effectively prevent the violence. This has raised concerns
among human rights and women’s rights groups about the UN’s ability to prevent
sexual violence committed by others.
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