Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Nevertheless, we are far from done with our work. The scale and intractable nature of sexual violence in current conflicts are intolerable. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the mobilization of the international community, sexual violence remains ubiquitous. Committed by all parties, it is carried out by the Mouvement du 23 mars and by the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC).

It is known that the regime and its militias have used sexual violence to terrorize the population since the crisis began. Today, given the militarization and radicalization of the conflict, Syrian women are being silenced, whether in Syria itself, where they continue to be targeted by the Syrian regime, or in refugee camps, where forced marriages continue and their vulnerability is magnified.

In my opinion, and in conclusion, four actions must be continued in the fight against sexual violence. These four actions seek four goals, the so-called “four Ps” rule: preventing violence, protecting victims, prosecuting perpetrators, and women's participation in the peace and reconstruction process.

In Mali, the President of the Republic has underscored that the French intervention was in fact also based on the need to defend the rights of female victims of violence. The deployment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, the political process currently under way and the elections to come will, we hope, assist in re-establishing peace and stability in the country.

In conclusion, I wish to underscore that, in addition to the indescribable savagery of sexual violence that has been addressed here, it is also important to recall the tragic observation made recently by the World Health Organization that one in every three women worldwide has been subjected to domestic or sexual violence. No region has been spared from the violence.

We should like to see United Nations reports, particularly that of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as the information conveyed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which contains tangible information on the crimes I have just described, to militate for a swift referral to the International Criminal Court.

With regard to ensuring women's leadership and the participation of women in peace processes and conflict resolution, those processes should also recognize explicitly the need to address crimes of sexual violence, as they lay the foundation for future institution-building and political and legal reforms.

With regard to ensuring the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence and punishing perpetrators of crimes against women and girls under national and international law, we emphasize the significant advancement in international law made by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which includes sexual violence in the definition of crimes, in particular as a crime against humanity, and note that the ICC, as well as the non-perm

With regard to ensuring adequate information, fact- finding and documentation, sexual violence in conflict remains universally underreported. Inter alia, that is the result of the threats faced by those who come forward to report this crime. We reiterate the need to take all measures for the protection of survivors, human rights defenders and journalists, who contribute to collecting information on sexual violence.

We must raise awareness and combat the normalization of sexual violence, including beyond the end of the conflict, to counter stigmatization, shame and fear of social exclusion, which perpetuate the underreporting of sexual violence. We continue to underline the importance of the continued deployment of women's and child protection advisers.