Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Iraq is witnessing the most violent terrorist attacks in the world perpetrated by lethal terrorist groups. The people in the areas under the control of such gangs have experienced the most savage and horrendous criminal practices committed against, in particular, women and children.

The spread of violent extremism and takfiri ideology, which have no respect for women, threatens in an unprecedented way the life and rights of women and girls in our region. Women and girls have suffered the most and been targeted for systematic sexual exploitation and slavery, rape and other forms of violence by extremists and terrorists groups, such as Da’esh and Boko Haram.

Coordination among United Nations bodies should respect and make full use of their respective mandates and competencies, particularly those whose work is relevant in promoting women’s empowerment and gender equalities in all sectors, including the prevention of gender-based violence in conflict situations. Sexual violence conducted by members of peacekeepers has been a particular concern.

We reiterate that the prevention and protection of women against gender violence and sexual abuse require the involvement of all, including men and boys. We strongly condemn cases of sexual violence and the fact that it continues to be used as a tactic of intimidation or terrorism. We also condemn violence and sexual abuse in peacekeeping operations. We demand the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy.

Guatemala is striving to combat impunity and to bring the perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice. In that regard, early this year we brought to justice two soldiers who were responsible for the sexual enslavement of 15 Quechi women in the military base of Sepur Zarco. Although it took 32 years to bring this case to trial, we believe that it is worth mentioning because access to justice should be guaranteed for all Guatemalans.

Having condemned any violence against local civilian populations, the Georgian Government created an ad hoc inter-agency investigation team, involving not only the representative of the Office of the Prosecutor and the Minister of Defence, but also experts on human rights and child protection services, as well as psychologists.

At the same time, we need to address the current challenges in peacekeeping in a comprehensive and transparent way that acknowledges the centrality of the protection of civilians. Georgia is fully committed to a zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping and to ensuring the full accountability of perpetrators, by responding to alleged crimes in a survivor-centred manner.

We cannot speak of peace without taking concrete steps to outlaw violence against women. It is sad, indeed tragic, that women and girls are still subjected to rape and other forms of violence. Women are the soft targets in any conflict, and now we are witnessing the alarming rate at which the rape of women is being used as a weapon of war.

Every topic diverges into a number of smaller issues; for example, violence against women breaks down into matters such as stereotyping, conflict-zone violence, sexual violence and extremist violence. If we focus only on sexual violence, for instance, we start looking at questions of identification, prevention, detection and victim support.