South Africa attaches great significance to the subject matter under consider...

South Africa attaches great significance to the subject matter under consideration, and we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Secretary-General, the Special Representative and the entire United Nations team that continues to work hard to ensure that this scourge is completely eradicated. We would like to commend the excellent job done by the United Nations and the Special Representative to highlight the challenges of sexual violence in conflict-affected areas. Africa continues to bear the brunt of this evil, given its high share of the number of conflict areas. This scourge has to be completely eradicated sooner than later.

South Africa remains deeply concerned about the continuing trends of sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, in particular the deliberate targeting of civilians, especially children. It is a fact that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the scourge of violence.