Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Thirdly, the Council must receive regular reports on the protection of civilians and be informed as soon as possible of situations where there are human rights violations against civilians.

The challenges we face remain numerous. There have been serious breaches, notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this summer, when massive sexual violence was perpetrated while our forces were present in the zone. But the Council and the Organization assumed responsibility for the failure and immediately took measures to strengthen its early warning and prevention capacities.

Despite all the efforts exerted by the United Nations, including the Security Council, civilians around the world are still suffering in massive numbers. The measures adopted so far have proved to fall short of addressing the wider implications of attacks against civilians, their impact on international peace and security and their humanitarian impacts.

Recent tragic incidents, notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which the lives and safety of civilians have been so grossly disregarded by armed militias are a tragic reminder of both the importance of protecting civilians where we are mandated to do so and of the immense complexities that this entails.

In the Sudan, in the crucial period leading up to the referendum, the United Nations Mission in the Sudan has finalized, in consultation with the country team, a strategy for the protection of civilians, which strengthens the coordination between the Mission's civilian and military components and envisages joint mapping processes of protection needs, actors and potential emergencies.

However, despite the increased attention of this Council, the prevalence of civilian casualties and the number of people affected by armed conflict are still appalling.

Chile condemns the recurring attacks on camps for refugees and internally displaced persons and on humanitarian personnel. We also reject the use of sexual violence and forced displacement as tactics of war, the widespread recruitment of children, the proliferation in the illicit traffic and undue use of small arms and light weapons, and the danger represented by anti-personnel landmines and unexploded ordinance left over from warfare.

My delegation also agrees that while significant advances have been made in the past decade to develop a comprehensive policy and an institutional framework for the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and that while such discussions continue, urgent measures should be taken to stem the tide of human rights violations on the ground.

Women and children continue to suffer extreme violence during conflicts. Recent events in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo illustrate failures in the areas of both prevention and response. We should bear in mind that the struggle against impunity is an integral element of the protection of civilians, which cannot be addressed seriously without prosecuting those responsible for serious crimes.

Mass rapes in Kibua in Eastern Congo in July and August this year have demonstrated the massive challenges we still face in preventing and responding to such atrocious crimes. As the presidential statement rightly underlines, peacekeeping missions must communicate with the local communities and must be equipped with the necessary capacities to do so.