Secondly, when sexual violence constitutes a crime against humanity, a war cr...

Secondly, when sexual violence constitutes a crime against humanity, a war crime or even genocide, it has to be subject to punishment and has to be excluded from amnesty provisions. Whenever States are not willing or capable to fulfil their responsibility to prosecute perpetrators accordingly, the international community must react in order to prevent a culture of impunity, as was recently stressed at the Group of Eight meeting in the United Kingdom. Regional justice mechanisms and the International Criminal Court (ICC) can also play an important role. We also welcome the work of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict in Special Representative of the Secretary- General Bangura's Office in this regard.