Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

With regard to the engagement of all segments of society to combat sexual violence, our belief is that men and boys must be socialized and engaged as partners to create a culture of peace, tolerance and respect for women. That includes ending the stigmatization of victims and instilling a change of attitude and behaviour in men and boys.

While we remain convinced that more needs be done to address such ongoing atrocities, my delegation also wishes to emphasise the responsibility of States to comply with their relevant obligations to end impunity, and to effectively use all available means to enforce accountability by prosecuting all perpetrators of such crimes.

We remain deeply concerned that, despite repeated condemnations by the international community of sexual violence in conflict situations, such acts continue to occur, and in some situations have even become systematic and widespread, with women and children constituting the majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict. We call on all perpetrators of such heinous acts to find it in their hearts to stop such crimes.

We begin by reaffirming the importance that Botswana attaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of women and children, as well as our commitment to address all forms of violence against women, including sexual violence.

To that end, I wish to express the support of my delegation for the work of UN-Women, as well as the mandates of the Secretary-General's Special Representatives on Sexual Violence in Conflict and on Children and Armed Conflict.

Sexual violence in armed conflict represents one of the most heinous violations or abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The prevention of sexual violence in armed conflict is therefore a matter both of upholding universal human rights and of maintaining international security, in keeping with relevant Security Council resolutions.

In that regard, I wish to state categorically that impunity for sexual violence, including by armed groups, is unacceptable and can never be tolerated. To that end, my delegation wishes to underscore the importance of ending impunity for such acts as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking sustainable peace, justice and security.

Botswana therefore pledges to work with the international community as it seeks to find ways to stop violence against women and children in the context of conflict. We welcome the Council's unanimous adoption this morning of a new resolution on women and peace and security (resolution 2106 (2013)). We remain optimistic that, given our collective will, especially in the Security Council, we will end such shameful crimes against humanity.

Botswana believes that efforts to end sexual violence must also promote women's active and equal participation in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, transitional justice and security sector reform processes. In that regard, we strongly support the involvement of women in peace negotiations, peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

We recognize the positive steps in holding perpetrators to account at all levels. However, we believe that greater efforts need to be undertaken in this regard, including through the work of the International Criminal Court, the ad hoc tribunals and the national tribunals.