UN denounces rape as weapon of war
NEW YORK, 19 June 2008: Diplomats from around the world on Thursday urged an end to the persistent plague of sexual violence during armed conflicts at a meeting at UN headquarters.
– Rape is a crime that can never be condoned. Yet women and girls in conflict situations around the world have been subjected to widespread and deliberate acts of sexual violence, said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
She was chairing debate in the UN Security Council to demand an immediate end to the use of rape and all acts of sexual violence against women as weapons of war.
After the day-long debate, at the initiative of the United States, which chairs the 15-member council this month, the council uanimously adopted a resolution that “demands the immediate and complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence against civilians with immediate effect.”
The text directs that the UN secretary general prepare an action plan for collecting data on the use of sexual violence in armed conflict and then reporting that information to the council.
Rice cited the example of Burma where she said “soldiers have regularly raped women and girls even as young as eight years old”.
Rice also referred to widespread acts of sexual violence in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan.
Human rights groups have repeatedly denounced the horrific cases of rapes and other brutal acts of sexual violence against women by all parties in the conflict in DR Congo, particularly in the Kivu region.
Rice also highlighted acts of sexual violence perpetrated by UN peacekeepers in several countries around the world.
– As an international community we have a special responsibility to punish perpetrators of sexual violence who are representatives of international organizations, she noted.
In his remarks, UN chief Ban Ki-moon stressed the world body was “profoundly committed” to its zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation or abuse by our own personnel.”
– Violence against women has reached unspeakable and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict, he said.
– We have to view this problem in the broader context of womens empowerment … We must do far more to involve women in conflict prevention, peace negotiations and recovery after the guns fall silent, concluded he.
Kilde: The Push Journal
