General Women, Peace and Security

Although I have spoken of our failure in Syria, the fight against sexual violence has also had its share of victories. First, we have put an end to silence. From a silent form of evil that was understood to be an inherent part of war, we have made sexual violence an issue affecting international peace and security.

We must also say that in some regions of the world we continue to undertake peaceful means of conflict resolution, building a culture of peace and new forms of coexistence, as well as a clear position for achieving global disarmament. As members of the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, we are contributing to the creation of a true region of peace.

Moreover, it is a paradox of our time that, although the growing technological sophistication has not resolved the basic problems of a large part of the world population in achieving sustainable development, it has provided weapons of mass destruction. And there is still no end to poverty and inequality.

Lastly, Ecuador again insists upon the need to come up with multilateral and global strategies that fight the underlying causes of war and conflict and bring to light warmongering policies, adopting measures that bring an end to them and subjecting them to international law.

It must be acknowledged that armed conflict and violence are often generated by inequality among States that themselves have been generally affected by an unjust international economic system, various forms of social exclusion, religious intolerance and ethnic and gender discrimination.

In the case of Ecuador, our armed forces are considered to be an institution that protect the rights, freedoms and guarantees of all our citizens — men and women. We therefore look at defence as a public good that integrates human rights, international humanitarian law, gender equity and multiculturalism in a cross-cutting manner.

I would like to highlight the importance of the issue before us — sexual violence — which particularly affects women in conflict situations and is an issue that gravely affects human rights. In that respect, this debate should directly involve the General Assembly.

We strongly advocate further support for the agenda on women and peace and security at all levels, national, regional and global, and today's debate is a good and valuable step in that direction. As indicated in the Secretary-General's latest report (S/2014/181), sexual violence in conflict is one of the greatest and most persistent injustices in the world today. It is also one of the most neglected.

Viewed in the broader context, sexual violence is one of the symptoms of a distorted social order characterized by conflict, injustice and insecurity. Sexual violence adds to ethnic and other divisions, reinforcing insecurity and instability, and leaves its victims with terrible physical and psychological wounds, pain and humiliation.

As a member of the group of global champions of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, Croatia will spare no effort to take a more prominent role in preventing and combating sexual violence in war and conflict and to continue to give its firm support to all areas of the women and peace and security agenda.