Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

The various forms of violence, discrimination and gender inequality against women and girls are the product of a number of factors having political and economic roots that aggravate inequality. This is a priority matter for the world today, in particular when, because of armed conflicts of varying scales, women are considerably and disproportionately impacted by war more than ever.

That brings me to my second and final point. In places where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war, the Council needs to address more fundamental needs — the protection of women and accountability for those who commit abuses. Let us consider South Sudan, which has already been mentioned.

In spite of the efforts made at the national and international levels, women and girls continue to be subjected to deliberate attacks and are victims of rape, gender-based violence, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, genital mutilation, human trafficking, forced marriages and pregnancies and sexual exploitation and abuse.

In Guatemala, a national court prosecuted and convicted people on charges of sexual slavery during armed conflict, a first for a domestic court anywhere. In the past year, the International

Criminal Court secured its first conviction for sexual and gender-based crimes. And in Senegal, the trial of Hissène Habré saw the first conviction of a former Head of State for personally committing rape as an international crime.

Conflicts are always accompanied by violence against women and girls. We are aware of cases of trafficking in persons on temporarily occupied territories, sexual violence and exploitation, and the use of minors in military activities, which are incompatible with human rights law and unacceptable in our contemporary world and goes against the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by the Russian Federation. .

Women and girls have endured some of the greatest acts of humiliation by being subjected to such degrading acts as rape and other forms of sexual violence and abuse during conflicts. In most instances, sexual exploitation, violence and abuse are even used as weapons of war.

Terrorism and extremism are real threats, and violations of women’s rights, as well as sexual violence against women, are intrinsically linked with the strategic objectives and ideologies of extremist groups. United Nations-led investigations have uncovered the use of sexual and gender-based crimes by Da’esh and Boko Haram as tactics of those terrorist and extremist groups.

On the other hand, in accordance with resolution 1325 (2000), all actors should take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situations of armed conflict. Coordinated and consolidated efforts are also necessary to prevent women and girls from becoming victims of human trafficking.

When we look at the world’s trouble spots, we can see that women and children continue to suffer disproportionately in times of conflict and in post- conflict situations. The peace and security challenges have not lessened and in some cases have been exacerbated and have grown in complexity, bringing great suffering to those affected, in particular women and children.

Secondly, non-State armed groups must be considered in the implementation of the agenda on women and peace and security. Switzerland continues its efforts to facilitate direct dialogue with those groups, which must recognize the principles of international humanitarian law and commit to respecting existing rules, including those regarding sexual and gender-based violence.