Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

We recognize the importance of women's access to justice in conflict and post-conflict settings, including through gender-responsive legal, judicial and security sector reform and other mechanisms. In that regard, my delegation appreciates the commendable work undertaken by the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict.

We also reaffirm our commitment to support efforts by the Secretary-General towards the implementation of the policy of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

The Secretary-General's report (S/2013/149) underscores the reality that sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict settings remains systemic and widespread, where women and girls continue to bear the greater burden of the consequences of conflict.

My delegation supports the recommendation by the Secretary-General that sexual violence in conflict be reflected in all the relevant country resolutions, as well as in authorizations and renewals of the mandates of peacekeeping and special political missions.

My delegation notes with concern the emerging challenges highlighted in the report of the Secretary- General. They include, among others, increasing incidents of sexual violence committed against men and boys, particularly in the context of detention, the practice of forced marriage by armed groups, and the linkages between sexual violence and illicit natural resource extraction.

My delegation is pleased at the progress made on the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements and on their potential to serve as an early-warning and conflict-prevention tool. A continuous review of the impact that women protection advisers make in the field would be instructive for closing the protection gaps in the context of sexual violence in conflict.

Justice for the victims of serious violations of international human rights law is an essential requirement for the sustainable peace, security and development of States emerging from armed conflict, where the rule of law must enjoy primacy and be scrupulously upheld.

We just completed the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women last month, whose agreed conclusions speak of how violent the world has become. Seven out of 10 women suffer from gender violence. Sexual violence, unfortunately, has gone viral. Two out of three women in Solomon Islands suffer from gender-based violence.

The elimination of gender-based violence is a shared responsibility. We are tackling the issues, working with all stakeholders to address the issue of rape and sexual violence with a strong campaign to prevent it, protect victims and deal with perpetrators. Solomon Islands has institutionalized Government- wide structures to deal with the issue nationally, working with all the relevant stakeholders.

That also speaks of the rich experience that the women of my country have gained during the height of our ethnic conflict. They appealed for peace, as women in parts of the country suffered from sexual violence.