Bosnia and Herzegovina attaches the utmost importance to confronting the grave issue of sexual violence and is particularly encouraged by the commitment of the Security Council to keep the matter on its agenda. That commitment was unequivocally demonstrated by the adoption of resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1894 (2009), which have paved the way for concrete action aimed at preventing sexual violence.

We welcome the recent arrests and extraditions of persons responsible for sexual violence and would like to encourage all countries concerned to take the necessary steps to bring them to justice.

We welcome the appointment of the leader of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and encourage Member States affected by armed conflict to seek the support of the Team.

We hope that the information generated through the new system will help the Council when it considers its reactions to widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. From our point of view, possible reactions include the imposition of targeted measures, the establishment of commissions of inquiry and referrals to the International Criminal Court.

We are concerned by the high numbers of governmental security forces directly involved in sexual violence. The conditionality policy of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an important step in the right direction and should be extended to all United Nations peacekeeping missions.

United Nations peacekeeping missions must also strengthen their prevention and protection capacities. We welcome efforts under way to develop scenariobased training materials, such as curricula based on the publication entitled “Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: An Analytical Inventory of Peacekeeping Practice”.

The past two years have seen progress in the fight against sexual violence, in particular through the appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. At the same time, the levels of sexual violence in many conflicts around the world remain alarmingly high. Women and children continue to fall victim to sexual violence used as a deliberate means of warfare on a daily basis.

The extremely negative effect of sexual violence on peace processes, reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction clearly makes that crime a security threat. Sexual violence is not a mere by-product of war; it is more often than not a deliberate tactic of warfare. The Council, alongside affected States, has a clear responsibility to use all tools at its disposal to put an end to this scourge.

Madame President, please rest assured that my delegation will remain closely engaged in issues of protection of civilians, among them in particular the protection from and prevention of sexual violence, after our membership in this body ends. We are looking forward to continuing our work with interested delegations and the United Nations system.

Let me first of all thank you, Madame, and your delegation for your outstanding work, which led to the adoption by consensus of resolution 1960 (2010) before us today. The resolution brings significant added value to the fight against sexual violence in armed conflict. We greatly appreciate the Secretary-General's unwavering commitment to this cause.