Croatia

The latest report of the Secretary-General (S/2013/149) paints a grim picture. Women and girls suffer from sexual violence in armed conflict. Victims are often left alone and unprotected when pursuing legal action, or are otherwise effectively denied access to justice. Perpetrators benefit from a climate of impunity. It is essential that we address the problem comprehensively. In my own country, in the heart of Europe, rape was used as a method of intimidation and terror during the aggression to which we were exposed at the beginning of the 1990s. Today, Croatia's strong commitment to gender equality, domestically and internationally, is well established. Our work on the agenda of women and peace and security is a key priority, and we are ready to contribute.

Women are often victims of armed conflict, but they can also play a central role in preventing and resolving violent conf licts, as actors in conf lict resolution and peacebuilding. The continued high incidence of horrific sexual violence against women and girls in conflicts demands the international community's attention as a human rights matter and as a question of ensuring respect for international humanitarian law. It is an issue that bears directly on peace and security. The Council's landmark resolution, 1325 (2000), is still not being fully implemented.

A special effort is required to tackle the culture of impunity head-on. We can no longer tolerate impunity for the worst acts of violence against women and girls, as set forth in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. I wish to pay special tribute to all women and girl victims of the brutal violence in Syria. We must all join forces to end impunity for such crimes. The Statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly states that rape and other forms of sexual violence can be prosecuted as war crimes or crimes against humanity. Amnesties should not extend to crimes of sexual violence.

We need much greater progress in ensuring the adequate participation of women in peace talks. The inclusion of relevant issues in peace agreements is the exception rather than the rule. Peace accords that fail to include women in post-conflict governance often neglect their access to economic opportunities, justice and reparations. We need to have more women as lead negotiators and ensure adequate gender expertise for peace processes.

Sexual violence is linked to the illicit extraction of natural resources and leads to the displacement of civilian populations. Armed groups use forced marriages, rape and sexual slavery as tactics during detentions or interrogation. The plight of children born of wartime rape, about which there is little or no information available and therefore no meaningful programmatic intervention, is a matter of our deepest concern.