Scourge of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict “Far from Being Rooted out，”Security Council Told

Scourge of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict “Far from Being Rooted out，”

Security Council Told

安理會稱武裝沖突中的性暴力“遠沒有被根除”

Despite some positive developments across the United Nations system， the task of protecting civilians has become more onerous as conflicts have become increasingly vicious， with the brutalization of women a deplorable persisting trend， a senior UN relief official said today， as she urged the Security Council to press all conflict parties to abide by their international obligations towards civilian protection.

Briefing the Council's open debate， which focused on the vulnerabilities of conflict-affected women and girls， Deputy UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kyung-Wha Kang said that from Syria， Iraq， Yemen and Libya， to the Central African Republic， the Democratic Republic of the Congo， Nigeria， South Sudan， Sudan， Ukraine and many others， civilians caught up in armed conflict are being killed and maimed， fleeing their homes and fearing for their lives.

Joined at the Council by Helen Durham， Director for International Law and Policy for the International Committee of the Red Cross （ICRC）， and Iwad Elman， of the NGO Working Group on Women， Peace and Security， Mr. Kang said that currently， the average length of conflict-related displacement is now 17 years.

Spotlighting several troubling examples of the “consistent and persistent” brutalization women face， Ms. Kang said that as militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant （ISIL） have captured territory in Iraq and Syria， they have used and punished women to demonstrate their power. Women have been repeatedly raped， forced into marriage and sold into slavery. Nigerian women and girls have given harrowing accounts of their experiences at the hands of Boko Haram， she added.

To facilitate these efforts on the ground， 17 Women Protection Advisers have been deployed to six UN peacekeeping operations and embedded in the Offices of the Special Representatives. In South Sudan， the UN Mission regularly consults displaced women in the POC sites through consultation groups which have been formed. Those consultations help to ensure that prevention and protection strategies led by the mission take into account the perceptions and security needs of women.

Yet much remained to be done， she said， and while the primary responsibility for protecting and assisting civilians affected by armed conflict lies with the parties to the conflict， many parties have demonstrated complete disregard for their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law.

As such， conflict parties must be pressed to do more to comply with their legal obligations and ensure accountability whenever such obligations are violated. But the responsibility does not lie solely with the parties themselves.

The efforts of humanitarian workers and peacekeepers are no substitute for timely and resolute political action to prevent and resolve conflict. And women must be full participants in the process， Ms. Kang stressed， as she urged stakeholders to be more attuned to the specific threats that civilians are facing and the risk of escalation of violence and violations， often manifested through heightened discrimination and repression of minorities， including against women and girls.

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