蘑菇视频

Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests and Participants,

It is a great honor for me to open the first International Conference of Prosecutors on Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. I am particularly grateful to the Government of the Netherlands, for hosting us, in this historic building-the Peace Palace. I thank the Governments of France and the United Kingdom for co-sponsoring this event and warmly welcome all of you, especially the prosecutors from over 30 Member States who have joined us. I commend your work which embody the fight against impunity for crimes of conflict-related sexual violence.

Conflict-related sexual violence is a deeply traumatic crime with devastating consequences for survivors鈥� physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Yet, one of the most enduring realities of CRSV is that very few cases result in arrest, prosecution, and conviction of perpetrators. While some ground-breaking convictions have emerged from international, hybrid and national courts and tribunals around the world, they still remain the rare exception. Prosecution of sexual violence is unlike prosecution of other crimes. These crimes pose unique challenges for prosecutors and other professionals in the criminal justice system and often involve uniquely vulnerable victims. I commend your commitment and dedication to help remedy the historical neglect of these crimes-especially those of you who come from conflict and post-conflict countries.

We gather here at a time of unprecedented global crisis where multilateral institutions and the rules-based international order are challenged; where human rights and rule of law institutions are being trampled with sexual violence persisting as a cheap and effective tactic of war, terror, torture, and political repression. The annual report of the Secretary-General for the year 2023, shows an increase of 49 percent in the number of cases of conflict-related sexual violence, from the previous year.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I meet survivors during all my field missions and everywhere, justice is what they ask most but receive least. 聽We are gathered here for the next two days to explore how, through consistent prosecution, we can advance the goals of justice, victim safety and offender accountability. Conflict-related sexual violence is not a cultural phenomenon; not an inevitable consequence of war; and not a lesser crime. While States bear the legal responsibility to end impunity and to prosecute all those responsible for crimes of conflict-related sexual violence, to date, we have seen very few perpetrators ever brought to justice. Impunity thus remains the global norm and accountability the rare exception.

While the consistent, rigorous prosecution of these crimes can translate into prevention and deterrence, lack of political will to enforce applicable law sends the opposite signal, emboldening perpetrators and demoralizing survivors, by implying it is futile, and even dangerous, to report. Unpunished crime is repeated crime. And we know that sexual violence offences have the highest rates of impunity and recidivism. Yet, the normative framework is clear and categorical, and the institutional architecture well-established. Almost 15 years ago, through the adoption of resolution 1888 (2009), the United Nations Security Council established my mandate. It urged States to bring perpetrators to justice, to ensure that survivors have access to justice, are treated with dignity throughout the justice process and are protected and receive redress for their suffering. To that end it created the United Nations 鈥淭eam of experts鈥� with the aim of assisting national authorities to strengthen the rule of law; addressing impunity, including by the strengthening of national capacity; enhancing criminal accountability for perpetrators, as well as responsiveness to victims and judicial capacity.

Since I took office in 2017, reversing the culture of impunity into a culture of justice and accountability as a deterrent, has been one of my strategic priorities for the mandate. The intervening years have shown us how, through effective partnerships with national authorities, civil society organizations, grassroots practitioners, service-providers, and survivors themselves, backed by the requisite level of political resolve and financial resources, it is possible for the Team of Experts to deliver on its mandate of providing justice, protection and assistance to survivors to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods in the wake of these crimes. A few examples of the work of the Team of Experts include the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they have provided technical support which have resulted in the prosecution of several emblematic cases with perpetrators convicted on charges of sexual crimes as crimes against humanity. In Guinea, after a decade of technical support, a trial was opened in September 2022 against a former President and several Ministers for mass rapes which occurred 13 years ago, giving survivors hope of justice and reparations. In Central African Republic, a first domestic criminal session focusing on sexual violence was held in Bangui in 2020 with the Special Criminal Court delivering its first verdict on charges of sexual violence. In Nigeria, in 2022 for the first time, charges of sexual violence used as a tactic of terrorism, have been brought against some elements of Boko Haram. Nevertheless, we recognize that these successes remain ad hoc. Fifteen years since the creation of the mandate, accountability continues to lag behind and justice remains elusive for the majority of victims. Prosecuting international crimes, are fraught with multiple challenges from shame and stigma which prevents survivors from speaking about these crimes, to lack of trust in judicial institutions and criminal justice processes, in addition to myths that sexual violence cases are too difficult to prosecute and are 鈥渦nwinnable鈥� with the legal and factual challenges 鈥渋nsurmountable鈥�.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Impunity contributes to these crimes being viewed as less serious. When sexual violence is not addressed, it is 鈥榥ormalized鈥� in post-conflict contexts, often resulting in increased levels of violence against women. On the other hand, prosecutions are necessary to demonstrate the intolerance for such crimes. Accountability is critical to building a more just society and to redirecting the shame and stigma suffered by victims towards the perpetrators.

We are gathered here in a common effort to seek to improve the response to sexual violence crimes. Some of you have broken new grounds and set influential precedents, which can provide key lessons to practitioners in other national systems and must be used to promote accountability at the domestic level. I thank you for sharing your experiences over the next three days. This experience-sharing will give all of us renewed energy and conviction that we can reverse the prevailing impunity and deliver justice to survivors and honor our global commitments. Together we can build on these successes, make them the norm rather than the exception and deliver on the promise made to survivor that justice is attainable. And with justice we can end this scourge once and for all.