Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this event on strategic collaboration and partnership with the private sector, as part of my determination to expand the circle of allies for this mandate. I am truly grateful for your positive response to our invitation. I know that some of you have travelled long distances to join us. Your presence is testimony to your support of my mandate, and commitment to the cause of eradicating conflict-related sexual violence.
I would like to recognize the CEO of Committed to Good, Alice Laugher, who has joined us from Dubai. 聽CTG is a humanitarian staffing organisation with a focus on women鈥檚 empowerment and social impact that operates in conflict-affected regions. I am grateful for the formidable work undertaken by CTG, in collaboration with 蘑菇视频 Action, in developing a White Paper on avenues for private sector engagement and collaboration in the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence. I have no doubt that this paper, with its 7 key action points, will pave the way for enhanced partnership between my Office and a wide array of private sector actors. I also warmly welcome Mr Anu Mohan, the CEO of Global Tree Fund SA, who has also travelled from Dubai to be with us. In January, my Office signed a Cooperation Agreement with GTF whose business activities are related to environmental and ecological protection. Pursuant to this agreement, GTF undertakes to prioritize the recruitment of vulnerable, marginalized, and at-risk groups of women as part of its efforts to accelerate progress towards SDGs 5 and 8, on gender equality, and inclusive and sustainable employment. I also welcome Mr Patrick Weill, President of Biblioth猫ques Sans Fronti猫res, or Libraries Without Borders, which works to bolster access to information and education, including for crisis-affected and refugee communities, with which 蘑菇视频 Action has recently partnered, and thank him for showcasing their innovative Ideas Box, which will be adapted to serve survivors through a series of projects with 蘑菇视频 Action. I am pleased to announce that I will be signing a Cooperation Agreement with BSF in the coming weeks. Last but not least, I would like to welcome Florence Bulte, the Chief Sustainability Officer of the Chalhoub Group, with which we have advanced discussion on the empowerment of women in conflict-affected countries. You will hear first-hand from all of these remarkable people, all committed to do good for the survivors of this heinous crime.
Today, with the world facing a record number of conflicts, an epidemic of coups and military takeovers, unprecedented levels of forced displacement, and the continued use of sexual violence as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism, and political repression, with profound and enduring consequences for survivors, the need to expand the circle of allies and stakeholders is urgent, and I view the private sector as an indispensable partner. As we have been hearing this week at the 蘑菇视频 General Assembly, we have reached an inflection point, and must urgently consolidate progress on global development goals or risk their unravelling and reversal. As the Secretary General rightly puts it: 鈥淗umanity faces a stark and urgent choice: breakdown or breakthrough. The choices we make 鈥� or fail to make 鈥� today could result in further breakdown and a future of perpetual crises, or a breakthrough to a better, more sustainable, peaceful future for our people and planet鈥�.
In terms of my mandate, you may be surprised to hear that although sexual violence in conflict is a crime as old as war itself, it was only in 2008, that the issue was elevated onto the agenda of the Security Council, through the adoption of resolution 1820, which recognized sexual violence as a tactic of war, and a crime of international concern. For the first time, the Security Council saw war through the eyes of women and girls whose bodies have been part of the battlefield and treated sexual violence not only as a violation of individual human rights, but also as a threat to collective security, and an impediment to the restoration of peace. The following year, the Security Council adopted resolution 1888, which created my mandate to translate this policy breakthrough into practice.
The reality is that despite repeated condemnation by the international community, sexual violence continues to plague conflicts, and is committed with appalling brutality. In a recent briefing to the Security Council, I cited the case of a woman in Tigray, Ethiopia, who was raped by 27 Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. In Southern Unity in South Sudan where 131 cases of rape and gang rape were documented for the period of February to May 2022, one of the victims was as young as 8, while a 9-year-old girl was gang-raped to death. Yet, we are talking about a crime which is planned, pre-meditated, and therefore preventable. Sexual violence is never an accident; it is neither collateral damage nor an inevitable by-product of war.
This is why my three strategic priorities for the mandate are:
- Prevention and deterrence
- a survivor-centered approach; and
- addressing the root causes of CRSV – including structural gender inequality, discrimination, poverty and marginalization.
Since taking office in 2017, my moral compass has been the survivors. I stand guided by their priorities.聽 One such priority, as frequently articulated by survivors I meet in warzones around the world, is economic empowerment. They make the link between their physical insecurity and economic and food insecurity and share with me how economic support fosters self-sufficiency, self-esteem, and resilience, which in turn reduces their exposure to risk, and how dignified access to safe work bolsters their perceived worth and value in the eyes of their community. As my Office has documented in its reports, rural women undertaking livelihood and sustenance activities in isolated, insecure regions are one of the groups at greatest risk of sexual violence, notably while collecting fuel, fodder, and firewood, or while traveling to fields, marketplaces, and waterpoints. Due to physical and psychological trauma, stigma, and fear of retaliation, survivors are often unable to return to work or to resume livelihood activities to support themselves and their families, which pushes them deeper into poverty. Moreover, the narrowing of economic opportunities in conflict settings can expose women and girls to myriad forms of gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, so-called 鈥渟urvival sex鈥�, forced prostitution, and intimate partner violence, which spikes in communities under stress. In war-torn and displacement settings, desperate families have resorted to negative coping mechanisms, such as transactional sex and early/child marriage, in an attempt to mitigate economic hardships. Even in contexts where women constitute the backbone of the agricultural economy, they disproportionately lack modern tools and technology, lawful title to land and property, and equitable access to credit and markets. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a widening of the gendered poverty gap, leaving women and women-headed households in an ever-more precarious position.
It is my priority to amplify their voices. We all know how women disproportionately bear the burden of war. 聽Their secondary status within the labour force, their predominance in the informal economy, their lesser access to productive assets and information, and their extensive caregiving and domestic responsibilities, make them extremely economically vulnerable during and in the wake of conflict. Reversing this trend is a priority. Indeed, we cannot solve the problem of patriarchal power, without solving the feminization of poverty. Reducing gender inequalities in fragile or conflict situations, can pay dividends for social stability and economic development. We know the extent to which women鈥檚 economic empowerment contributes to improved outcomes in terms of public health, education, good governance, and social cohesion. Analysis shows clearly that improving gender equality can raise economic growth, enhance financial stability, and make societies more resistant to violence and conflict. Gender equitable countries are more peaceful and prosperous; and diversity in decision-making processes improves outcomes for all.
Over the years, the mandate has also explored links with corporate social responsibility principles, in alignment with the SDGs and 蘑菇视频 Global Compact. For instance, our advocacy has highlighted the nexus between sexual violence and conflict minerals in settings such as eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic, where mining sites have been flashpoints for sexual violence, calling for due diligence obligations to be respected in terms of supply chains and the practice of extractive industries. Indeed, ethical approaches to foreign investment and divestment must be conflict and gender-informed, and support the pursuit of positive peace, which is sustained through inclusivity, shared prosperity, and social justice. Private sector actors have the means to make a major difference to women鈥檚 economic inclusion in conflict and post-conflict settings. Where private sector partnerships have been established, there are dividends for women鈥檚 economic empowerment and by extension peace and security. The private sector has the financial power and advocacy clout to help forge a more gender-equal and peaceful world, and to positively contribute to peace-building. After all, you share many of the same interests and goals as governments in terms of creating more resilient and prosperous societies and markets, since business also needs stability in order to thrive.
It is in this spirit that I have knocked at your doors and sought your support. I know your power of innovation and ability to pioneer solutions to the most pressing global challenges of our time. 聽This includes the threat of wartime sexual violence, as a driver of forced displacement, used to seize control of contested territory and resources, that has led to the dispossession of land, assets, and identity, as well as conflict-driven trafficking in persons, including for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and to generate revenue for combatants and armed groups, which is an integral part of the political economy of war. The weapon of rape is powered by the divisive force of shame and stigma, which can shred the social fabric, turning victims into outcasts, condemning them to futures of isolation and indigence. Survivors and their dependants urgently need socioeconomic reintegration support, yet nowhere is the level of resources equal to the scale of the challenge.
Allow me to conclude by stressing that for me the private sector is not defined only by multinational corporations and industry giants 鈥� unleashing the transformative capacity of the private sector is not possible without small and medium-sized enterprises and social enterprises. I count on your remarkable entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, and am confident that by working together, we can achieve greater scale and impact, and advance more sophisticated 鈥渙utside the box鈥� solutions to common challenges, than any given sector working alone. To be a global force for good, in the service of survivors, we must align our core competencies and comparative advantages for a force-multiplier effect, that will improve real lives and livelihoods. The survivors are watching and waiting. We cannot afford to fail them.
On that note, I am pleased to launch the White Paper on Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Private Sector Opportunities for Engagement, and now turn to Alice Laugher, CEO of Committed to Good, to share her perspective on private sector mobilization in support of the aims of this mandate moving forward.
Thank you.