Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

In conclusion, my homeland, Syria, would like to seriously deal with those horrendous and egregious violations of human rights. Syria would like to cooperate with the United Nations, especially with Ms. Zainab Bangura, in order to expose the true events unfolding in Syria in a manner free of sensationalism and politicization and divorced from the agenda of influential Powers in this international Organization.

Thirdly, and finally, Switzerland heeds the Secretary-General's call for the recruitment of women's protection advisers as members of United Nations assessment teams. We draw attention to the Justice Rapid Response initiative. It is an intergovernmental support mechanism that can provide the international community and the Security Council with rapidly deployable expertise.

We welcome the Special Representative's commitment to continuing the work started by her predecessor. We think that recognizing sexual violence as a tactic and a consequence of war remains vital to undertaking the real preventive action that is so urgently needed.

We note with interest the important link that the report makes between sexual violence and active population displacement. It brings to light the link between sexual violence and forced displacement and the exploitation of natural resources. The Secretary- General makes useful recommendations. Allow me to highlight three of those.

We furthermore welcome the fact that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General has added to her priorities the fostering of national ownership, leadership and responsibility in combating sexual violence.

The Human Security Report Project, in its report entitled “Sexual violence, education and war: beyond the mainstream narrative”, provides a valuable recommendation in that regard. It highlights the need to better understand what causes the differences in wartime sexual violence rates from one conflict to another.

That leads me to my second point, on reparations. They can have a transformative effect and should be an integral part of post-conflict transition initiatives. As UN-Women explained in a recent document, reparations are the most victim-centred transitional justice measures. In that connection, we are obliged to think beyond the traditional approach.

In conclusion, I would like to recall the significant thematic connection between the discussions on sexual violence in armed conflict and the protection of civilians. We commend the fact that the Security Council takes into account the link between those two topics through a consistent approach.

First, we strongly welcome the fact that the Secretary-General expresses the need for the women and girls who have been victims of rape to have access to emergency contraception and safe abortion services. They should not be forced to continue a pregnancy as a result of a serious crime against them. All too often, they receive no reparation or any kind of support from their own communities or from the international community.

In that context, I would like to underscore that the Sudan's framework cooperation agreement with South Sudan will have a positive impact in promoting cooperation and assisting women in both countries, in addition to eliminating sexual violence in conflict.