European Union

The latest report of the Secretary-General to the Council (S/2013/149) reaffirms the pervasiveness of sexual violence and its interconnection with various aspects of the maintenance of peace and security. We note, in that regard, the attention drawn to the nexus between sexual violence and the illicit extraction of natural resources, the forcible displacement of civilian populations and the inadequacy of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and security sector reform efforts.

Sexual violence has, in addition to its devastating impact on survivors, a broad and long-lasting effect on communities and on States as a whole for generations, not least through the plight of the children born as a result of rape. Sexual violence continues to be perpetrated as a tactic of war, including against men and boys and in the context of detention and interrogation, on which further information is needed.

Sexual violence in conflict remains prevalent, yet universally under-reported. That is, inter alia, the result of threats faced by those who come forward to report such crimes. We underline the need to take all measures necessary to protect survivors, witnesses, humanitarian workers, medical personnel, human rights defenders and journalists who contribute to aiding survivors and collect information on sexual violence. The European Union's guidelines on human rights defenders devote particular attention to vulnerable human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders and those working on conflict issues.

We welcome the report (S/2012/732) of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Council's resolutions on women and peace and security and the recommendations contained therein. We note positively the further establishment of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence. We also welcome the continued and systematic deployment of women's protection advisers. The European Union supports the swift deployment of human rights observers in Mali by the African Union and the United Nations and provides financial support for the deployment of independent human rights observers. The European Union training mission in Mali will include training on gender and human rights.

The European Union continues to implement its dedicated policy on women, peace and security adopted in 2008. The European Union support to various initiatives related to women, peace and security amounts to approximately €200 million a year. The European Union is envisaging increased funding for prevention and response efforts, such as programming to combat gender-based violence, including sexual violence, from the first phase of conflict and in humanitarian emergencies.

The European Union and its member States highly appreciate the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the United Nations Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, including its coordination with other international entities such as Justice Rapid Response and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, as well as the recent commitments of the Group of Eight to do more to address impunity for sexual violence in conflict, including the endorsement of the development of an international protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict. We continue to support its efforts, as well as those of the United Nations system, Member States and all actors involved in preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence.