At the outset, I would like to thank the Secretary-General, the Foreign Secre...

At the outset, I would like to thank the Secretary-General, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Ms. Zainab Bangura, Ms. Angelina Jolie and Ms. Jane Adong Anywar. I would also like to thank you, Mr. President, for holding this open debate on sexual violence against women, an issue of great interest to Member States in general, and one that has recently acquired a special dimension in view of the levels of violence being perpetrated against women in my country, particularly since the documented number of cases of rape committed by armed terrorist groups is about 37,000 in Damascus and its environs alone, according to the estimates of Syria's national reconciliation committee, and the number of women who have been kidnapped has reached about 1,000 to date.