Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to participate in this panel as indeed addressing impunity and its linkages with peace and security are among the most pressing challenges faced by the region.

A decade ago, the Security Council adopted the ground-breaking resolution 1820 (2008), which elevated the issue of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on its agenda to a threat to security and an impediment to the restoration of peace.

Sadly, the region is home to some of Africa’s most intractable and turbulent conflicts with the dynamics of conflict and the classical boundaries between “home-front” and “battle-front” having significantly changed. One of the most devastating forms of extreme hostility waged against civilians in the region is conflict-related sexual violence. While women and girls are often the primary targets, CRSV is also strategically perpetrated against men and boys.

Conflict-related sexual violence occurs in homes, fields, places of detention, military sites, and camps for refugees and displaced persons. It occurs at the height of armed conflict, during population displacement, and continues after conflict.

Perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict include members of official armed and security forces, paramilitary groups, non-State armed groups, humanitarian and peacekeeping personnel, and civilians.

My role as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict is to:

  • provide coherent and strategic leadership,
  • work effectively to strengthen existing United Nations coordination mechanisms, and
  • engage in advocacy efforts with governments, including military and judicial representatives, as well as with all parties to armed conflict, in order to address sexual violence in armed conflict.

My mandate was established in 2009 by Security Council Resolution 1888 which was adopted out of a deep concern that despite its repeated condemnation of sexual violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict, such acts continue to occur, and in some situations have become systematic or widespread.

Security Council Resolution 1888 is extremely important as it:

  • Recalls the responsibilities of States to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and notes with concern that only limited numbers of perpetrators of sexual violence have been brought to justice.
  • Reaffirms that ending impunity is essential if a society in conflict or recovering from conflict is to come to terms with past abuses committed against civilians affected by armed conflict and to prevent future such abuses.
  • Stresses the necessity for all States and non-State parties to conflicts to comply fully with their obligations under applicable international law, including the prohibition on all forms of sexual violence.
  • Recognizes the need for civilian and military leaders, consistent with the principle of command responsibility, to demonstrate commitment and political will to prevent sexual violence and to combat impunity and enforce accountability, and stresses that inaction can send a message that the incidence of sexual violence in conflicts is tolerated.
  • Emphasizes the importance of addressing sexual violence issues in the area of Security Sector Reform.

Resolution 1888 also:

  • Urges all parties to a conflict to ensure that all reports of sexual violence committed by civilians or by military personnel are thoroughly investigated and the alleged perpetrators brought to justice, and that civilian superiors and military commanders use their authority and powers to prevent sexual violence, including by combating impunity.

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Unfortunately, the reality that confronts us today is that sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic of war, terrorism, torture and repression, including the targeting of victims on the basis of their actual or perceived ethnic, religious, political or clan affiliation, and with parties to conflict seeking to gain strategic military advantage, advancing their ideological and political agendas, and profiting from human trafficking.

This alarming trend is common to a range of conflicts including in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan where wars are still being fought on and over the bodies of women. Sexual violence is being perpetrated in public or witnessed by loved ones, to terrorize communities and fracture families through the violation of taboos, signifying that nothing is sacred and no one is safe. At the same time, we note that most incidents of mass rape continue to be met with mass impunity.

The recognition of the fact that such incidents are not random or isolated but integral to the operation, ideology and economic strategy of a range of State actors and non-State armed groups has resulted in a shift in the classic security paradigm. For too long, in debates around “security” and security sector governance and reform, sexual violence has been considered a marginal issue, a side-effect of insecurity rather than a key form of insecurity in itself.

In two resolutions 2106 (2013) and 2151 (2104), the Security Council acknowledged the critical nexus between sexual violence crimes and dysfunctional security sector reform processes and shifted the agenda to the operational level.

This issue is now viewed as a legitimate threat to the maintenance of both international and regional peace and security, which requires an operational security and justice response.

Essentially, a comprehensive response to conflict-related sexual violence must include proactive engagement with the security sector, particularly in settings where the security services may have been involved in the commission of sexual violence. Such engagement with the security sector has now become part of the modus operandi of my mandate.

The latest annual report of the UN Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence compiled by my Office focuses on 19 countries where UN-verified information of sexual violence exists and most of them are African countries. Forty-seven parties are listed. While the majority of listed parties are non-State actors, in some contexts, national security actors – those very institutions who bear the primary responsibility to protect their populations – are among the perpetrators.

The national military and police forces that are listed are required to engage with my Office to develop specific, timebound commitments and action plans to address violations. Cessation of violations and effective implementation of commitments are key factors in the consideration of the delisting of parties.

My Office is currently supporting a number of countries such as the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan in building professional, responsive, and gender inclusive security institutions.

Experience from my Office’s engagement with the security sector 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 –proactively commit to lead the response. The United Nations, no matter how well-intentioned, cannot supplant the primary responsibility of Member States.

Therefore, in terms of the methodology of my Office, the emphasis has first and foremost been on gaining specific commitments from our priority countries, expressed in the form of Joint Communiqués typically signed by the Head of State and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict on behalf of the United Nations. These Communiqués demonstrate national ownership and outline key areas in which the United Nations will support various national institutions, particularly justice and security sector actors, to prevent and respond to sexual violence.

So far, Joint Communiqués have been signed with the Governments of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Somalia and South Sudan. There are also ongoing discussions with Sudanese authorities, and I look forward to engaging with Malian authorities regarding the adoption of similar Communiqués.

On the basis of the Communiqués, action plans are elaborated with key institutions such as the military and the police. The process is supported by the UN Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, a unique multi-entity team established by the Security Council that consists of staff from my Office, OHCHR, UNDP and DPKO, and also draws on a roster of wide-ranging specialization, including forensic experts, police officers, military prosecutors, and constitutional and legislative specialists. This Team of Experts is one of the main operational arms of my Office whose specific mandate and purpose is to support Member States to strengthen rule of law response to sexual violence crimes.

As at today, the Forces Armées de Côte d’Ivoire, Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, Sudan People’s Liberation Army and Police Nationale Congolaise have developed Action Plans, under the auspices of Joint Communiqués on Sexual Violence. In the Central African Republic, the Team of Experts has supported the establishment of a specialized unit in the Gendarmerie that investigates crimes against women and children.

The Action Plans are aimed at driving responsibility and accountability for sexual violence. This entails for example, 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. The Action Plans also focus on the protection of victims, witnesses and other judicial personnel.

We are also advocating for gender sensitive and gender inclusive security sectors, including the issue of recruitment, promotion and retention of women in the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.

Colonel Kouame will surely provide you with details of efforts undertaken in Côte d’Ivoire in the implementation of the Action Plan of the Forces Armées de Côte d’Ivoire (FACI) which resulted in their de-listing from the annex of the report of the Secretary-General on conflict- related sexual violence.

I will nevertheless highlight a few measures such as:

  1. the creation of a National Committee, by Presidential decree, to coordinate the Government’s response to conflict-related sexual violence;
  2. the signature of a collective commitment to prevent, denounce and sanction any act of sexual violence by the Chief of Staff of the FACI, the Superior Commander of the Gendarmerie nationale, the directors general of key ministries, the Prosecutor of the Military Tribunal and the Prosecutor of the First Instance Tribunal of Abidjan, signalling their determination to prevent any recurrence of the widespread sexual violence that characterized previous waves of civil war and political unrest;
  • the signature of individual undertakings by members of the FACI and commanders of the Gendarmerie to take action against sexual violence in their ranks; and
  1. the development of major awareness training programmes targeting the military and the police throughout the country on the prevention and response to sexual violence.

I encourage the Ivorian authorities to ensure the sustainability of these efforts. Building on this, there is also a need to move forward with the cases related to the conflict which are under investigation by the Cellule spéciale d’enquête et d’instruction to ensure that they progress to trial.

In DRC, it is significant to note that the national army, FARDC, has investigated and successfully prosecuted over 700 soldiers, including senior commanders at the rank of General, through its Military Justice structures. In 2017, the military authorities in South Kivu successfully prosecuted three emblematic cases of conflict-related sexual violence which included the conviction of a FARDC colonel in the Becker case  for command responsibility for rape as a war crime in Musenyi; a commander in the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda for sexual violence as a war crime in the Nzovu case and a member of Parliament in South Kivu and his militia of a crime against humanity for the abduction and rape of 39 children in the Kavumu case. In addition, commander Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka surrendered to the authorities in July 2017 and will soon stand trial for his role in the 2010 mass rape of 387 civilians in Walikale, North Kivu.

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Finally, I would like to say a few words about our engagement in Guinea, which has the potential to be one of the most important and emblematic examples of nationally driven accountability. My Office has invested considerable efforts over the past years in supporting national judicial authorities in the investigation of the crimes committed by security forces at the Conakry stadium on 28 September 2009. This support has resulted in the indictment, by a national Panel of Judges, of 17 high ranking military officers, including former President Moussa Dadis Camara. My Team of Experts has been working very closely with the Minister of Justice and other authorities to support the completion of the investigation phase for those events and the establishment of a Steering Committee in April 2018, mandated to organise the trials.

In light of the progress made, but also considering the many outstanding challenges, I would like to take this opportunity to call for solidarity and support from the distinguished participants in this Conference to Minister Cheick Sako to ensure that the trials for the September 2009 events can start without undue delay.

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Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to conclude by stressing that addressing impunity for these crimes, ensuring that those who commit, command or condone sexual violence are held to account, is a critical aspect of deterrence and ultimately prevention. The unacceptable reality which we must transform together, is that it is still largely cost-free to rape a woman, child or man in many conflict situations around the world. This reality must change in order for us to stem the tide of sexual violence used as a weapon of war and tactic of terrorism.

I believe that we have the possibility of reversing this reality, based on the greater understanding of what needs to be done especially in the justice and security sectors.

The importance of the personal commitment of all of you here at this Conference cannot be underestimated – we cannot succeed in eradicating impunity for conflict-related sexual violence without you and other colleagues working on the frontlines. At the same time, I wish to assure you of my full support to those who are engaging in reform processes to address sexual violence in the security sector. I am prepared to use the high advocacy platform that I have been granted to bring visibility and donor support for the efforts you are driving, as well as technical expertise of my Office.

 

Thank you for your attention.