General Women, Peace and Security

Despite chronic underreporting and difficulties of access, we know more about the nature and scope of the problem than ever before. The Secretary-General's report (S/2014/181), the information-collection mechanisms on which it is based, and the steadfast leadership shown by Special Representative Bangura are all welcome developments.

As members of the Security Council, however, we must do our part by exercising proper oversight and pushing for the full implementation of the objectives we set, mission by mission. In that connection, I note that women protection advisers were deployed last year to Somalia and Mali, and are expected this year in the Sudan, South Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic.

The Secretary-General's report is alarming. He is right — this crime is as destructive as any bomb. With data from all over the world, the report demonstrates that sexual violence is prevalent and a matter of profound importance to international peace and security. When unpunished, such crimes sow the seeds for future conflict, perpetuate violence and undermine the prospects for sustainable development.

Today I want to make three particular points. First, preventing and redressing sexual violence in conflict is integral to the wider work on conflict prevention and a moral duty for the Governments and citizens of a civilized world. As Special Representative Bangura put it, it is a great moral duty of our time.

Thirdly, as noted in the report, my Foreign Secretary and the whole British Government remain committed to this cause. In just over six weeks time, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, will co-chair the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Secondly, the United Nations leading role in this is absolutely critical. The breadth of United Nations activity is impressive and it is also having an impact. The United Kingdom supports all the United Nations work and encourages United Nations agencies to deliver as one in their efforts to support States in fulfilling their responsibilities.

Collectively we must change the calculus of anyone who thinks that they can use the fog of war as cover to get away with rape and other forms of sexual abuse. We must shift the stigma for such crimes from the victim to the perpetrator. We must ensure there is nowhere to hide for those guilty of grave violations of human rights. We must, as Special Representative Bangura said, hold perpetrators accountable.

Trinidad and Tobago is situated in a region that continues to experience the scourge caused by the diversion of small arms and light weapons from legal markets to the illicit trade, which has led to an increase in criminal activity in the Caribbean Community. It should be noted that women and girls are disproportionately affected by that illicit trade.

In conclusion, Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to working with other Member States as well as its partners at the regional, hemispheric and global levels to promote the involvement of women as equal partners in matters related to peace and security, including at all levels of the decision-making processes.

We welcome the programmes for training and consciousness-raising as well as the monitoring measures such as those being pursued within the framework of human rights due diligence policy of the African Union Mission in Somalia. Regular reports on sexual and gender-based violence along with a zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis the perpetrators of such crimes are indispensable.