Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Belgium continues to give political and operational priority to the fight against all forms of violence against civilians during and after armed conflict, with particular focus on sexual violence. In that regard, my country encourages States to include the fight against sexual violence in their transitional justice mechanisms and penal law, and to consider the fight against sexual violence as their responsibility.

We pay tribute to reasonable initiatives to strengthen international support to combat sexual violence in conflict. Belarus calls for us not to replace real partnerships with unity that is merely on paper, and to avoid hasty and irresponsible actions that may devalue the noble idea of combatting this scourge.

We believe that a thorough investigation of all acts of sexual violence and the immediate punishment of perpetrators are crucial in combatting this scourge. That violence can be eliminated only through coherent collective efforts by the international community — Member States, international organizations and civil society.

We are grateful to the Secretary-General and his Special Representative on Sexual Violence for their personal commitment and leadership in the fight against violence against women. We also believe that UN Women and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights should play an important role in combating violence against women and protecting women's rights.

We also consider it inadmissible that members of the international community that have done a great deal, including specifically in combatting violence against women and children, have been placed in an artificially created situation and forced to justify themselves for failing to appear on a list of countries who combat sexual violence.

Today, it is clear that there is no State in the world that would not endeavour to put an end to violence against women. The question is not who is right, who is for, who is against violence. Today, the question is how and in what way can come together through our collective efforts.

In that context, we are seriously concerned about recent incidents — be they deliberate or unintentional — that replace the painstaking and time-consuming work on the formation of such a partnership with vociferous media campaigns based on documents drawn up by an inner circle and hastily gathered expressions of support for them.

Belarus condemns all forms of violence, including in conflict situations, particularly against the most vulnerable segments of society — women and children. As with any other country, Belarus has zero tolerance for that scourge. Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2106 (2013) adopted in June, have created a clear legal framework for responding to sexual violence in conflict and prohibited its use as a weapon of war.

We have proposed to focus our debate on women, the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict-affected situations. In recent times, the Security Council has paid increasing attention to the issue, acknowledging that combating impunity, addressing past violations, rebuilding the justice sector and asserting the principles of the rule of law underpin efforts to build peace and stability in the aftermath of conflict.

Austria appreciates the Security Council's increased attention to violence against journalists in situations of armed conflict. As the Secretary-General's report rightly points out, female journalists often face gender-specific risks of violence and intimidation.