Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

The European Union supports the United Nations in its efforts to combat violence against women, including the work of the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström.

The EU calls on the Security Council and all States Members of the United Nations to redouble their efforts, notably in the fight against impunity. Often, amnesty is given in the name of peace to combatants who have used sexual torture or sexual violence as a tactic of war. But there can be no sustainable peace without prosecution of perpetrators and justice for victims.

Perpetrators should be held accountable. Data collection and follow-up on the prosecution of sexual offenders requires urgent strengthening.

In closing, the European Union reiterates its strong support for the work of the United Nations in combating sexual violence in armed conflict and warmly welcomes the Secretary-General's report and most particularly the resolution adopted yesterday.

I would now like to briefly elaborate on some recent European Union activities undertaken in response to resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009), and complementing individual actions by EU member States. Fighting all forms of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls, including in armed conflict but not excluding other situations of concern, is among the key objectives of the EU's human rights policy in external relations.

EU crisis management missions, 13 of which are currently ongoing, all have advisers or focal points on gender, and many carry out specific actions in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.

Continuing evidence of daily sexual violence in armed conflict and fragile countries underscores the need to intensify our efforts to prevent and combat such violence. Although attention has been focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo, alarming reports have also been coming from other countries, including countries that are not on the Council's current agenda.

At the Security Council's open debate on the subject held on 26 October, the European Union reiterated its firm call for the reinforcement of global monitoring of situations pertaining to sexual violence in armed conflict. The recommendations of the Secretary-General in the current report provide concrete suggestions in that regard, and the European Union fully endorses those recommendations.

Women's full enjoyment of all human rights has been a priority of the Human Security Network since its inception. While it is crucial to this agenda that we maintain momentum in the fight against sexual violence, we also underline the importance of women's empowerment as part of the solution.

We particularly welcome the adoption of a new resolution on sexual violence in conflict. We express our hope that efforts to combat sexual violence in situations of armed conflict and its aftermath will be strengthened in a manner that will support a coherent and comprehensive United Nations response consistent with the conceptualization of the newly-created UN Women.