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Remarks by Ms. Pramila Patten Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

NATO Digital Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

19 June 2020

 

Distinguished Colleagues,

I am delighted to join this Digital Dialogue and to reflect on the collaboration between NATO and the United Nations and the role of the security sector in preventing conflict-related sexual violence.

Even though we have witnessed significant progress on this agenda in the past decade, the unacceptable reality that still confronts us today is that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war and tactic of terrorism in too many conflicts around the world. The Secretary-General in his annual reports covers 19 situations of concern and lists more than 50 state and non-sate parties who systematically commit sexual violence.

Unfortunately, national security actors – the very institutions who bear the primary responsibility to protect their populations – are often among the worst perpetrators of violations against their own citizens. That is why this mandate has focused particular attention over the years on the role of the security sector in the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence.

Since the establishment by the United Nations Security Council of the mandate that I now lead, we have witnessed a fundamental transformation in the way this problem is understood, and on that basis the manner in which it must be addressed. Sexual violence is now viewed as a legitimate threat to maintenance of international peace and security, which therefore requires an operational security and justice response, combined with comprehensive services for survivors.

Among other significant advances, this shift has led to the expansion of the circle of stakeholders beyond the traditional gender experts, to now also engage multilateral security institutions such as NATO, uniformed peacekeepers, mediators, ceasefire monitors, war crimes prosecutors, military justice officials, security sector reform practitioners, in fact the full range of civilian protection actors.

A robust legal framework is now in place at the international level to address conflict related sexual violence, including a series of ground-breaking Security Council resolutions that establish a global regime to enforce compliance with international law, essentially putting in place a prevention framework. The latest of these resolutions, 2467 adopted in 2019, articulates for the first time the imperative of a survivor-centred approach in all aspects of our response.

At the United Nations we have been especially encouraged by the fact that the NATO Military Guidelines on the Prevention of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, endorsed by the nations in 2016, not only cross-reference the framework of Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, but go further by making explicit references to NATO’s role in reinforcing the compliance regime established by the Security Council through resolutions 1960 and 2106 on sexual violence in conflict. The guidelines represent a concrete opportunity to deepen the engagement between NATO and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ at strategic and operational levels.

Specifically, they refer to NATO’s contribution to the Security Council mandated monitoring, reporting and analysis arrangements, which provide timely information as a basis for remedial action at all levels. The guidelines also indicate that NATO operations, where appropriate, may facilitate engagement between the United Nations and parties to conflict in order to gain concrete commitments for the prevention of sexual violence.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ is working on the basis of such commitments in several priority settings. The action plans being developed on the basis of the formal agreements centre on driving internal accountability for sexual violence. This typically entails the issuance and enforcement of command orders prohibiting sexual violence, and the training and mentoring of military justice actors to investigate and prosecute such crimes. It involves the signing of undertakings by commanders to reinforce their individual and command responsibility, and the creation of specialised units to handle sexual and gender-based violence cases. Some of the armed forces we are working with have committed to consider the undertakings signed by commanders as one of the requirements for promotion and deployment for operations. Beyond the specific measures to address sexual violence, we are taking the opportunity to advocate more broadly for gender sensitive and gender inclusive security sectors, including the issue of recruitment, promotion and retention of women in the armed forces.

Ensuring that those who commit, command or condone sexual violence are held to account is a critical aspect of deterrence and ultimately prevention. I consider the strengthening of the cooperation between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and NATO in this area in particular as essential.

Beyond justice and accountability, we now have a clearer sense of what the security response should entail, including more effective preventive action by peacekeepers and other military personnel, and ensuring that sexual violence considerations are taken into account in Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) processes under Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ or NATO auspices, as well as in ceasefire monitoring and verification which is often also undertaken by military personnel.

It is my hope that such considerations will be duly reflected in NATO’s CRSV Policy the development of which I understand is being considered this year. My Office stands prepared to support the development of such a policy to ensure appropriate synergies.

Experience from our security sector engagements thus far demonstrates that sexual violence crimes can only be addressed comprehensively and sustainably when national authorities – both political and security sector leaders at the highest levels – actually commit to lead the response. Therefore, we will continue to place emphasis on fostering national ownership and responsibility, and on gaining specific commitments from the political leaders of our priority countries. In this regard, the concerted advocacy of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, NATO and other multilateral institutions with national authorities remains critical.

Going forward, I believe that it is important to continue to reinforce our strategic and operational level relationships particularly in common priority situations such as Iraq and Afghanistan where NATO is also engaged.

In the context of Iraq, the NATO training and advisory mission for Iraqi Forces represents an opportunity to deepen the repertoire of the national security forces on the prevention of CRSV. This is consistent with the Joint Communique between the Government of Iraq and the United Nations signed in 2016.

Furthermore, I would like to encourage NATO missions in such places as Afghanistan and Iraq to facilitate as appropriate links for designated Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ actors with specific commanders and parties to conflict, both state and non-state actors, in line with the NATO military guidelines.

I also recommend that CRSV considerations are explicitly reflected in the context of NATO’s counter terrorism approach and strategies, in recognition that sexual violence is deployed as a tactic of terrorism as articulated in Security Council resolutions 2242, 2331 and 2467.

I would like to encourage NATO’s Senior Enlisted Leaders, who are attached to the respective heads of armed services (Army, Navy, Airforce) Chiefs of Staff and who are responsible for translating strategic level decisions into operational instructions and training for the force, to continue to address CRSV including in the context of their annual seminar.

And finally, we may also consider having CRSV as an agenda item for discussion in future Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-NATO Staff Talks, as a way to focus institutional collaboration.

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At this critical juncture it is essential that we turn the unprecedented political momentum that has been generated in the past decade into solutions on the ground. This includes ensuring that military and other security sector leaders become more consistently engaged in order to bring the full weight of the security sector behind the agenda to prevent CRSV.