Thank you Mr. Chair for giving me the floor.
Experience has shown time and again that violence against women, and in particular sexual violence, is aggravated in situations of conflict. The most recent examples of the conflicts in the Central African Republic and in South Sudan remind us of that sad reality. As a result of conflict, crumbling State institutions lead to the further weakening of the rule of law and the security sector. It is needless to say that the lack of accountability goes hand in hand with impunity and fuels the vicious circle of human rights abuses and sexual violence.
A comprehensive approach to end sexual violence must be adopted in order to both prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict. Cooperation between the different actors is key and must be further strengthened. These actors involve affected States – as the primary responsibility for the protection of their population lies with them –, the UN system, the international community/the donors and the operational partners on the ground. Given the time limit, allow me to briefly outline 4 points:
1) Beyond the political commitment, States must take concrete time-bound measures to end sexual violence. National Action Plans offer an effective tool for governments to articulate priorities and coordinate the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 at national level. Where they exist, national policies should be reviewed and possible gaps in implementation identified.
2) Capacity building has to be further strengthened, in particular in the justice sector so as to enable concerned States to investigate and prosecute those responsible for war crimes. The international community can supplement national efforts by deploying justice experts, specifically trained in the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender based violence in conflict.
3) Sufficient funding is needed, especially to ensure that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial and mental health services are available for survivors of sexual violence in conflict.
4) Finally, the Security Council in its resolution 2106 (2013) has called for more timely, objective, accurate and reliable information as a basis for prevention and response and has asked that the establishment and implementation of monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements (MARA) on conflict related-sexual violence should be accelerated. The Security Council has to remain consistent in its approach and ensure that the provisions of its thematic resolutions are properly translated in its country-specific resolutions, most notably by requesting the strengthening of the MARA and the deployment of women protection advisors. The Security Council should also make sure that the question of sexual violence is properly addressed in the establishment and review of peacekeeping and political mandates, as well as in the work of its relevant sanctions committees.
Thank you.