The impact of sexual violence in conflict can be measured in the overwhelming pain it has inflicted on women and men, in the devastation it has wrought in communities and in the instability it continues to foster throughout entire regions. Israel believes that Member States, individually and collectively, must take firm action to curb this serious threat to human dignity and peace.

Israel welcomes the Secretary-General's report of 24 November (S/2010/604) and commends him for his efforts and leadership on this issue. The report documents how widespread acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence — too often committed with impunity — continue to plague many zones of conflict.

Israel strongly supports the mandate that created the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and recognizes that Special Representative Wallström will play a pivotal role in addressing the issue. The newly formed UN Women, led by Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, also has a central role to play and is well positioned to work with the entire United Nations system.

In the 10 years since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), we have seen some positive steps to prevent sexual violence in conflict. Unfortunately, overall progress is slow. Israel joined the list of sponsors of resolution 1960 (2010), recognizing the urgent need for collective action on this pressing issue. As a co-sponsor of the previous resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009), Israel remains deeply committed to their full implementation.

“Depending on the circumstances of the offence, sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, an act of torture or a constituent act of genocide” (S/2010/604, para. 4).

This is an urgent and necessary debate. Amid the glow of the holiday season, it is all the more difficult for our imaginations to comprehend the horror and brutality of sexual violence on the scale to which the Secretary-General's report (S/2010/604) attests. The contrast could not be more shocking between the civility of our lives here and the depravity of sexual violence so widely associated with conflict.

The recent deployment of Irish defence forces with the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad has left us with some reflections.

Our extensive engagement in United Nations peacekeeping has taught us that the triggers for sexual violence and the entry points for influence are different from one case to another. But there are some common points. In all situations, active monitoring and timely reporting are critical. Without them, early warnings will be missed, policymaking will not be properly founded, and perpetrators will slip through the cracks.

Let me conclude by reiterating our unequivocal support for Special Representative of the Secretary- General Wallström and her Office, as well as our appreciation for the incremental steps that are being taken by the Security Council on this issue. The perpetrators of crimes of sexual violence now know that they are caught in the headlamps of Security Council attention.

Ireland is already seeking to take these recommendations forward. For example, sexual and gender-based violence has been incorporated as an indicator into an Irish Government-funded early warning/early response system in Timor-Leste.