蘑菇视频

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I arrive here in Addis Ababa directly from Guinea, Conakry 鈥� with heavy heart, yet hopeful. Last Wednesday I attended the long-awaited opening of the trials of former military and civilian officials related to the 28 September 2009 stadium massacre, where 156 people were slaughtered, and 109 women who had gathered for a peaceful political rally, were raped. I have met the women who survived this brutal sexual violence several times since I was appointed as the 蘑菇视频 Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in 2017. I witnessed once again their enduring trauma, and the pain and humiliation of justice delayed for 13 years. But the opening of the trials, after more than a decade of their courage and perseverance, is a beacon of hope: the promise that justice, even when delayed, can never be denied.

The case of Guinea is not the only beacon of hope and manifestation of political will to address conflict-related sexual violence in Africa in recent years:

In 2020, I had the honor to appoint Her Excellency, Denise Nyak茅ru Tshisekedi, the First Lady of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the first Champion for the Fight Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to invigorate the implementation of the formal commitments of the Government of the DRC to address this problem in the context of on-going conflict, and to support my mandate globally. Through the First Lady鈥檚 focus and determination, unprecedented progress has been made in the establishment last year of a National Reparations Fund for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, and the adoption of a Reparations Law anticipated by the end of this year. Reparations are what victims of sexual violence around the world demand most, yet such awards are rarely made, and reparations are hardly ever enshrined in national legislation. A survivor-centered approach to justice requires us to acknowledge that punishing criminals is not enough, that justice is hollow until redress is delivered to the survivors. I have also engaged with President Touad茅ra of the Central African Republic who promptly committed to a high-level appointment to tackle conflict-related sexual violence. The experience of a specialized police unit for the protection of women and children in the DRC also informed the development of the Unit茅 mixte d鈥檌ntervention rapide et de r茅pression des violences sexuelles (UMIRR) in the Central African Republic. In Mali, my Office is also supporting national authorities on the basis of a Joint Communique. At the same time, in 2018, several non-state armed groups who were signatories to the peace process issued Unilateral Communiques in which they committed to preventing sexual violence by their combatants. They were motivated at the time by the credible threat of targeted measures in the context of the United Nations Security Council sanctions regime for Mali. The armed groups understood that their credibility as signatories to the peace process required them to acknowledge and address credible reports of sexual violence being perpetrated by their soldiers. While states bear the primary responsibility to protect citizens and civilians and we continue to forge formal agreements with national authorities to address sexual violence, it must be emphasized that non-State armed groups constitute the majority of the perpetrators. Therefore, the collective challenge that we face today is how to enforce the compliance of non-state actors with international law.

Excellencies,

Conflict-related sexual violence is not just synonymous with 鈥渞ape鈥�, but also encompasses 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, girls, men or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. It also encompasses trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual violence or exploitation, when linked with situations of conflict. Unfortunately, many of these manifestations of conflict-related sexual violence have been observed in the context of conflicts in Africa. Understanding these different faces of sexual violence is critical to ensuring effective and tailored responses.

In 2014, my predecessor Mme. Zainab Hawa Bangura, signed with the then African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, the 蘑菇视频-AU Framework of Cooperation Concerning the Prevention and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Africa. This agreement aimed among its priorities to combat impunity; build the capacity of national justice and security sector institutions; and enhance the delivery of services to survivors. In 2019, prior to the massive global disruptions related to COVID-19 pandemic, I began a conversation with Commissioner Bankole on the review, revision and re-affirmation of the 2014 Framework of Cooperation. And in July 2019, I also had the honor to address the African Union Peace and Security Council for the first time. In the Communique issued following the meeting, the Council agreed, and I quote 鈥渢o dedicate an annual open session to conflict-related sexual violence, which will serve as an annual forum for taking stock of progress made and challenges faced in the efforts aimed at ending sexual violence in armed conflicts in Africa鈥�.

I urge the Peace and Security Council to re-affirm this decision and institute such an annual open session, which can serve as an annual review of progress toward the implementation of a revised 蘑菇视频-AU Framework of Cooperation Concerning the Prevention and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Africa.

In conclusion, Excellencies, I would like to make four recommendations:

• Firstly, we should put our collective emphasis on justice and accountability, as a central pillar of deterrence and prevention of sexual violence.
• Secondly, in order to enact a survivor-centered and more comprehensive approach to justice, we should make a concerted push to ensure survivors receive reparations, whether individual or collective, material or symbolic.
• Thirdly, we should establish a framework for knowledge sharing and technical exchange among African countries in order to better leverage experience, lessons learned and good practice.
• Finally, I urge common purpose between the AU Peace and Security Council and the 蘑菇视频 Security Council to enforce compliance of non-state actors, using all the tools at your collective disposal.

Conflict-related sexual violence is preventable, not inevitable. If sexual violence can be planned, it can be punished; if it can be commanded it can be controlled. Political leadership and political courage will be critical in removing these atrocities from our daily headlines and consigning them, once and for all, to the annals of history.

Thank you.