Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

For Rwanda's part, we have adopted a range of policies to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. One of the foremost priorities is to protect and rehabilitate the dignity of victims. That figures prominently in our national action plan on the implementation of the resolution 1325 (2000).

During the 1994 genocide perpetrated against Tutsis, women and girls were forced to endure inhuman and degrading atrocities. That memory and history inspire Rwanda in our unyielding and heartfelt commitment to eradicate sexual violence as a weapon of war and genocide. Tens of thousands of Rwandan women and young girls were raped and left for dead during the months of April to July 1994.

We believe that attempts to expand the interpretation of the relevant scope pertaining to armed conflict and post-conflict situations that has been agreed in intergovernmental processes and laid down in resolutions of the Security Council are unjustified.

The diverse nature of violence in armed conflict requires us to pay particular attention to all of its manifestations. We should base our consideration of the issue of women, peace and security on a comprehensive approach, as stipulated in resolution 1325 (2000). Sexual violence is one such manifestation of cause, warranting firm condemnation and harsh punishment.

It is important that the primary responsibility in protecting civilians in their territory be borne by Governments. Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States is a fundamental and indivisible principle of the United Nations work. These principles will be vigorously upheld when they can foster the development of effective international cooperation in combating sexual violence.

It is important for all structures involved in the matter to avoid excessive bureaucracy, which replaces the real fight against sexual violence in armed conflict. We consider that it is not possible to combat sexual violence in armed conflict without the active involvement of national authorities in the process.

We welcome the declaration of the Group of Eight (G-8) on preventing sexual violence in conflict, adopted in April under the United Kingdom presidency of the G-8. As the declaration recognizes, sexual violence represents one of the most serious forms of violation or abuse of international humanitarian law and human rights law, and there should be no safe haven for perpetrators of such crimes.

We believe that political will is crucial. The lack of adequate national capacity to investigate and prosecute sexual violence may also be one of the main challenges to ensuring accountability for crimes of conflict-related sexual violence. We welcome the fact that the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict has been focusing its efforts on strengthening the capacity of national rule of law and justice actors.

Thirdly, fighting impunity and ensuring accountability should be given critical importance in ceasefire and post-conflict reconstruction processes. Ending impunity is crucial if a society recovering from conflict is to come to terms with the past and to prevent future abuses. Sexual violence should be included in the definition of acts prohibited by ceasefires and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring.

The Security Council should play its role by referring serious sexual violence to the ICC and by adopting targeted and graduated measures of relevant sanctions committees.