Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Ireland was happy to be associated yesterday with an event on Burma/Myanmar organized by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security to look at issues around sexual violence in conflict. The Special Representative and a representative of Burmese civil society, Ms. K'nyaw Paw, participated in the event.

Conflict-related sexual violence is a particularly heinous and barbaric crime. It is undoubtedly underreported, yet even so the recent Secretary-General's report (S/2014/181) presents an extensive catalogue of crimes that are ongoing in 20 different country situations in conflict and in post-conflict settings. The victims — women and girls, men and boys — are invariably among the most vulnerable in their societies.

Indonesia stands for zero tolerance of sexual violence against all citizens — women, children and men — in armed conflict. To that end, the effort should not be limited to focusing on improving the prosecution and elimination of impunity against cases of sexual violence in conflict.

Sexual violence is a repugnant and criminal phenomenon that is closely linked to insecurity and the impunity associated with a weak institutional framework for the rule of law. Those issues have been very present in earlier debates of the Council, as well as those, in other contexts, in the General Assembly, including the work in progress on the post-2015 development agenda.

In our own internal conflict, which ended more than 17 years ago, there remain victims and consequences of the atrocities committed, and that has helped us to produce legislation on violence against women and girls so that they can live in a stable and democratic society.

Secondly, it is well known that sexual violence is a prevalent element in most armed conflicts and is sometimes even used as a tactic of warfare. Recent events in South Sudan, where radio broadcasts were used to incite sexual violence, are a stark reminder of that appalling reality. Most perpetrators still go unpunished and are not held accountable for their actions. Those actions destroy the lives of women, children and whole communities.

Progress has been made in the fight against sexual violence in conflict since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions. However, sexual violence has not been eliminated. It is time to take stock of what has been achieved. Implementation and the consolidation of measures to prevent and end conflict-related sexual violence have to be our main objectives.

Germany has recently ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, which has clear provisions related to serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children. We would like to call on all States to follow our example and sign and ratify the Treaty in a timely manner.

Fourthly, data collection is essential for our ability to prevent, protect and respond and is the precondition for any justice and accountability mechanism at the national and international levels. Women protection advisers therefore need to be deployed and monitoring and reporting arrangements should be established in all relevant peacekeeping and special political missions.

First, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of the effective and meaningful participation of women, in the interest of promoting gender equality, which is the essence of resolution 1325 (2000), and of ending sexual violence. Women themselves know best what they and their children need in order to feel safe, to protect themselves and their families, and to rebuild their lives and their communities after a crisis.