General Women, Peace and Security

A book entitled — which means “sunny” in English —published in Croatia in 2011, contains the testimonies of imprisoned women against whom the crime of rape was committed during the war in Croatia. Sunny has also become a strong civil movement in Croatia during recent years, with courageous women finally breaking the social and intimacy barriers that occur in cases of war-time rape.

Thirdly, special attention should be given to addressing the root causes of sexual violence in armed conflict. To prevent and curb sexual violence in armed conflict, punishment and monitoring have to be strengthened. It is also important to tackle the root causes that are the breeding ground for conflicts.

In recent years, thanks to the joint efforts of the United Nations and the international community, countries in conflict have achieved substantial progress in preventing fighting sexual violence and supporting the rights of women in conflict. However, in many armed conflicts in today's world, vulnerable groups, including women, continue to bear the brunt of the consequences of war.

First, the fight against sexual violence and armed conflict should depend mainly on the efforts of the affected countries. Relevant national Governments bear the primary responsibility for implementing Council resolutions and fighting sexual violence in conflict. The international community, including the United Nations, should fully respect the sovereignty and will of the affected countries.

China condemns and opposes all violence against civilians in armed conflict, including sexual violence. We call for the comprehensive implementation of the Councils resolutions and urge the parties to conflict to respect international human rights law and relevant international law, immediately stop all sexual violence and take concrete actions to protect the security and rights of vulnerable groups, including women and children.

Secondly, in addressing issues involving women and peace and security, including sexual violence, the relevant organs of the United Nations should respect the division of labour and work in a concerted manner.

Preventive measures should be explicitly reflected in the processes of security sector reform, of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, and of justice reform initiatives in areas such as capacity and policing.

Chile welcomes the policy and operational recommendations for preventing and eradicating this type of violence, and stresses that primary responsibility in this area belongs to the States concerned.

Chile supports the systematic inclusion of the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence and its follow-up in the relevant country-specific resolutions and in the mandates of special political and peacekeeping missions. These missions, commissions of inquiry and other related mechanisms should consider including women protection advisers.

We would like to highlight the priority that the Secretary-General has accorded this subject since the publication in 2006 of his report on the “In-depth study on all forms of violence against women” (A/61/122/Add.1), which addressed sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.