Chile takes a positive view of the following recommendations in the report. The first is to invite the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to exchange pertinent information with the Council and its relevant sanctions committees.

Chile attaches great importance to the issue of conflict-related sexual violence, which usually affects highly vulnerable groups and which represents a threat to security and a persistent obstacle to peacebuilding, including in situations addressed by the Council. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which my country has ratified, defines six types of sexual violence as crimes against humanity.

Believing as we do in the merit of the principles underpinning those resolutions, we welcome the Secretary-General's comprehensive report (S/2010/604) on this subject. We also wish to highlight the role played by Ms. Margot Wallström's in fulfilling her mandate as the Secretary-General's Special Representative. We urge her to continue to work actively and collaboratively while avoiding duplication of efforts addressed in other mandates.

To conclude, we are encouraged by the additional measures proposed in the Secretary-General's report. Canada calls on the Security Council to take action today to respond to the report's recommendations so that the international community can undertake active and coordinated efforts to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence.

The prevention of and response to sexual violence should also be included in the mandates of all United Nations peacekeeping missions. To that end, the Council must design and implement mandates to support peace efforts that better respond to all forms of violence against civilians, and ensure that strategies for combating sexual violence in conflict are integrated into the work of United Nations country teams.

Systematic data collection on grave violations of women's and girls' human rights, including on sexual violence, is of the utmost importance in effective monitoring and response.

In this sense, preventing, addressing and eliminating sexual violence requires cultural, societal and institutional changes. Canada calls on Member States and the United Nations system to ensure that Ms. Wallström's Office is adequately resourced and capable of timely action to support such changes.

In addition, as recognized in resolution 1820 (2008), we also strongly support the exclusion of crimes of sexual violence from amnesty provisions in the context of peace processes.

For those reasons, networks among United Nations peacekeepers, local and international non-governmental organizations and women's networks must be strengthened to facilitate the establishment of early warning mechanisms on conflict-related sexual violence.

Canada's long-standing support for the rights and well-being of women and girls in situations of conflict is reflected through our continuing active implementation of Council resolutions, including through strong advocacy work, significant international programming addressing sexual violence, support for civil society and efforts to strengthen international criminal justice mechanisms.