SGBV

In spite of the efforts made at the national and international levels, women and girls continue to be subjected to deliberate attacks and are victims of rape, gender-based violence, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, genital mutilation, human trafficking, forced marriages and pregnancies and sexual exploitation and abuse. The victims of sexual violence in conflict situations endure irreversible physical and psychological trauma and, on many occasions, suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/ AIDS. That situation is of particular concern in the case of forced pregnancy, given the impact of such diseases on the health of mother and child and the stigmatization and social exclusion they face and of which they are the primary victims.

Attacks on hospitals and humanitarian personnel are not the only form of violations of international law but they prevent the victims of sexual violence, as well as newborns and pregnant women, from having access to health services and sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion services as well as the medication needed to ensure their survival. I urge parties to armed conflict to comply with their international obligations, in particular with the provisions of resolution 2286 (2016), whose implementation is crucial to alleviating the suffering of the weakest.

Likewise, we must deploy additional efforts to ensure the sexual and reproductive rights of women in conflict situations, as well as provide comprehensive, non- discriminatory health-care services and psychological support to victims. Similarly, we deem it crucial to step up the efforts of the United Nations as a whole and of Member States to prevent and respond to sexual violence against women in refugee camps, which currently poses a major challenge.