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Towards The Elimination Of Sexual Violence In Conflict

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June 19 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2015. Its goal is to shed light on the issue of conflict-related sexual violence. The sort of violence it focuses on includes:

rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked (temporally, geographically or causally) to a conflict.”

The date was deliberately chosen to commemorate UN Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008) which first recognized the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, rather than an unintended consequence of war. 

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This year’s theme for the day focuses on the survivor-centered approach to counter, prevent, and alleviate conflict-related violence in conflict and post-conflict situations. “The survivor-centered approach, aimed to alleviate stigma and mend the social fabric, should infuse all post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.”The day will be used to foster solidarity with survivors. The 2019 commemoration also marks the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of the mandate and Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. 

In recent months, the issue of sexual violence in conflict has received renewed attention. This has come thanks to the activism of 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Nadia Murad, a survivor of Daesh atrocities and an advocate on behalf of the Yazidi community, and Dr. Mukwege, a Congolese physician who has spent large parts of his medical career helping victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Furthermore, at the end of April 2019, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2467 (2019) which was meant to provide for concrete commitments to fight the use of sexual violence in armed conflict. Understandably, this is not the first time the UN has called for action to address the issue. However, as the practice continues, the UN demands that various actors take (more) ownership over their commitments to end it. 

Among others, Resolution 2467 places significant emphasis on the need to combat the ever-growing impunity for rape and sexual violence in war. Resolution 2467 stresses the need to take a survivor-centered approach in addressing sexual violence in conflict, and a more holistic approach to justice and accountability. This includes the provision of reparations for survivors and livelihood support that would enable them to rebuild their lives after the sexual abuse they suffered. Resolution 2467 calls upon member states to “strengthen legislation and enhance investigation and prosecution of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations consistent with fair trial guarantees under international law.” This may include “enacting.. victim and witness protection laws and providing… legal aid for survivors, and establishing… specialized police units and courts to address such crimes.”  Indeed, addressing the issue of impunity is a crucial step towards fighting the perception that the use of rape and sexual violence in armed conflicts is a perfect crime for which the perpetrator will not face justice.

Furthermore, Resolution 2467 “encourages leaders at the national and local level, including community, religious and traditional leaders, as appropriate and where they exist, to play a more active role in advocating within communities against sexual violence in conflict.” This is a crucial step towards prevention of sexual violence in conflict to engage all levels of the international community and to teach that the use of sexual violence is not acceptable, whether in conflict or in peace. Religious leaders must play an important role here. Indeed, atrocities such as those perpetrated by Daesh highlight glaring religious illiteracy that allows the widespread and systematic use of the crime. It has become clear from interviews with some Daesh foreign fighters or their family members, that many of them believed that using rape and sexual violence against Yazidi women was justified by the Quran. When asked questions about it, they were not able to identify the relevant passages and relied on statements made by others that served only to support their interpretation, justifying the use of sexual violence. 

It must be made clear, once and for all, that sexual violence, whenever and wherever it occurs, is a crime and cannot be justified. Sexual violence in armed conflicts must be subject to an absolute prohibition, the same status that the crime of torture currently enjoys. Impunity for the crime has no place in 21st century. 

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