Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

We commend the Council's efforts to provide greater assistance to populations at risk. These efforts are strengthened by the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The effective implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) will undoubtedly help us to provide better protection for women.

Secondly, in light of the need to share best practices and lessons from the past, we must definitely learn from the tragic and heinous accident of mass rapes that were committed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this year, which provided us with many lessons, including that the early warning system needs to be strengthened, communication between local people and peacekeeping missions needs to be developed, tro

Fourthly, the protection of women and children is a priority. Japan appreciates the active discussions at the ministerial open debate on women and peace and security last month (S/PV.6411) and supports the utilization by the United Nations and Member States of a set of indicators in implementing resolution 1325 (2000).

Notwithstanding the pronounced focus on the issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflicts over the past decade, the deplorable fact remains: civilians continue to fall victim to violence.

This is the reality facing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in our daily work in far too many armed conflicts and other situations of violence around the world. The reality is that, in some places, men, women and children are being killed or raped, forced out of their homes, losing all their possessions and living in a state of fear. Hospitals are being bombed and health workers attacked.

In that regard, on 24 September 2010, Ghana co-sponsored a ministerial meeting on the responsibility to protect under the theme “Fulfilling the responsibility to protect: strengthening our capacities to prevent and halt mass atrocities”. What emerged was the clear commitment of participating Member States to prevent and halt atrocious crimes and the need for intervention by the international community.

Ghana, which has remained among the top 10 contributing countries in peacekeeping and has also fulfilled its obligations with respect to the ratification of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, is particularly concerned about the reported involvement in that regard of peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel deployed by the United Nations to prevent, recognize and respond to sexual violence and other forms of violence against civ

We welcome the most recent report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians (S/2010/579) and the conclusions and proposed practical steps contained therein. We agree on the need to develop quality benchmarks for the implementation of protection mandates by peacekeeping missions and on the need to assess and implement best practice.

Germany fully aligns itself with the statement just made by the European Union. Let me thank Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos for her statement on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today. I also thank Ms. Pillay, Mr. Le Roy and Director General Daccord for their contributions.

The adoption of resolution 1923 (2010), which extended MINURCAT's mandate until 31 December, also addressed the demand for the protection of civilians.