WUNRN
UNITED NATIONS - NATIONS UNIES
Direct Link to Full 21-Page 2014 Text: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Press/GuidanceNoteReparationsJune-2014.pdf
Guidance Note of the UN Secretary-General:
Reparations for Conflict‐Related
Sexual Violence
_______________________________
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14919&LangID=E
UN
ASSISTANT S-G FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, SIMONOVIC STATEMENT
ON REPARATIONS GUIDANCE NOTE FOR CONFLICT-RELATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE
I am honoured to be here with
you today for the launch of the Secretary General’s Guidance Note on
Reparations for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, which OHCHR jointly
coordinated with UN Women. I would also like to thank SRSG Bangura in her
capacity as Chair of the UN Action Network against Sexual Violence in Conflict
for the valuable inputs that her Office and the Network made to the process.
Conflict-related sexual violence is deeply rooted in gender-based
discrimination and in its worst forms systematically used to subjugate and
humiliate victims. The stigma attached to it exposes victims to life-long
disempowerment and marginalization. It also creates hurdles in the path to
justice, fuelling a vicious cycle of impunity.
In addressing sexual violence, it is important that we place victims at the
centre and ensure that their right to an effective remedy and reparations is
fulfilled. Yet, this has been one of the most neglected aspects in the response
to sexual violence.
Reparations
are particularly important for victims of sexual violence. They have the
potential to break the cycle of silence around this crime while empowering
victims to come forward and restore a sense of dignity and justice.
The Secretary-General Guidance Note on Reparations for Conflict-Related Sexual
Violence provides a comprehensive overview of the principles to be applied in a
reparations programme. Let me briefly highlight some of them:
Firstly, reparations programmes must be accessible and inclusive. This implies
that they must be sensitive to the difficulties that victims, especially women
and children, may face in effectively participating in reparations programmes,
for example, literacy and linguistic barriers. Similarly, reparations
programmes must be flexible in terms of application deadlines, bearing in mind
that stigma, fear of exposure or trauma may hinder victims in coming
forward. For example, in Sierra Leone and Timor Leste, the truth
commissions decided that the potential list of victims should be kept open in
order to ensure the widest possible access.
Secondly, it is crucial that reparation programmes be designed with the
participation of victims, including the immediate family or dependants of the
direct victim, and persons who have suffered harm. These persons are best placed
to determine the forms of reparations that should apply to their situation,
whether individual, collective, material and / or symbolic. Effective
participation of victims requires outreach and awareness-raising activities. In
DRC, Uganda, Nepal and Kosovo for example OHCHR has engaged with local
stakeholders, to ensure that victims’ voices are heard in developing reparation
programmes. In the case of Uganda we have conducted research and developed
trainings with the Human Rights Commission while ensuring the inclusion of
victims in conflict affected communities. In the case of Kosovo, victims
considered that in order to address the harm suffered they needed medical and
psychological care, financial compensation, additional monetary support to
assist with the education of their children and an official declaration aimed
at restoring their dignity and reputation.
Thirdly, reparations should have the potential to transform the structural
conditions within society that allowed the violence to happen in the first
place. Priority should therefore be given to reparations that can empower
victims and offer opportunities traditionally denied to them. In DRC, the UN
Joint Human Rights Office provided five grants to local NGOs to ensure victims
receive psychosocial therapy, medical insurance, school fees, training and
supplies for small business opportunities. In addition, it supported the
construction of transit houses or shelters that provide lodging, food and
advisory services for the victims awaiting trial in Bukavu and Shabunda. The
victims who benefitted from these projects reported the positive changes in
their lives when for example they were able to start their own business or go
back to school. Despite these efforts, there are many victims whose right to reparations
is not yet fulfilled. In 2012, I met with victims of sexual violence in
Shabunda and visited an NGO-run legal clinic established to facilitate their
access to justice. Until then, no victims had received any reparations - just a
goat or two as a result of an out-of-court settlement. Unfortunately I am
hearing that up until today no victim of sexual violence in the DRC has
effectively received any reparations. This unacceptable situation has to
change.
In recent years, progress has been made in defining the framework for just and
effective reparations, including through the Basic Principles and Guidelines on
the Right to a Remedy and Reparations for Victims of Gross Violations of
International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International
Humanitarian Law, the report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against
women entitled Reparations for Women subject to Violence, and now this Guidance
Note. However, implementation continues to be a challenge.
While lack of resources has often been cited as an impediment to the
implementation, it should be recalled that States have a legal responsibility,
under international law, to provide a remedy and reparations for victims,
including victims of conflict-related sexual violence. International cooperation
and assistance can help but should not be seen as a substitute for the role of
the State. Good practices, such as those that we will hear from Colombia,
should be followed.
In the national and international justice arena, we have gone a long way in
recognising conflict-related sexual violence as a war crime, a crime against
humanity or an element constituent of genocide. In the international dialogue
on accountability for conflict-related sexual violence, reparations must be
treated as equally important as prosecution.
Some victims have waited for a long time -even decades- to get reparations.
However, recent reparations initiatives, clearly indicate that it is never too
late for justice. However, the sooner it comes, the sooner the healing process
for victims can start and the sooner their sense of dignity be regained.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________