UN Security Council Addresses Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Women, Peace, and Security

Condemnation of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

• 🌍 The Security Council signatories of the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security express their full support for the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
• 💔 The 2024 Secretary General's report highlights that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) remains a persistent feature of war, two and a half decades after Resolution 1325.
• 🚫 CRSV is unequivocally condemned when used by both state and non-state actors, with disturbing reports of attacks in detention centers, humanitarian corridors, and against victims as young as one year old.

Impact on Survivors and Legal Systems

• ⚖️ These crimes continue where legal systems fail, justice is denied, and survivors face stigma and fear of reprisals.
• 🚺 Women and girls are disproportionately affected, facing direct targeting and long-term impacts on their health, education, livelihoods, and participation in public life.
• 🆘 The trauma of sexual violence is intensified by displacement, poverty, and lack of access to essential services, including legal, psychological, and sexual and reproductive health.

Calls for Accountability and Prevention

• ✊ There is a call for an end to impunity for sexual and gender-based violence, demanding accountability as the norm for these crimes to shift shame to perpetrators and break cycles of violence.
• 💰 Sustained, flexible, and predictable funding for victim and survivor-centered responses is urgently needed, including through the multi-partner trust fund on CRSV.
• 🕊️ Peace operations must retain strong gender-responsive mandates, and CRSV should be a standalone criterion in UN sanctions regimes.

Moving Towards Prevention and Innovation

• 🚀 The focus must shift from condemnation to prevention, accountability, and innovation.
• 🤝 Bold, coordinated strategies are needed to guarantee access to inclusive, life-saving, multi-sectoral services, even in shrinking humanitarian spaces.
• 📈 This includes protecting health infrastructure, supporting women-led organizations, and enhancing gender-sensitive early warning systems.
• 🗣️ Women and girls must have opportunities to lead and contribute safely to inclusive, gender-responsive politics that protect their rights and promote gender equality.
• ✨ Survivors are not alone; their voices matter, their rights must be upheld, and their leadership is essential for lasting peace.