Your Excellency, Mr. Albert Fabrice Puela, Minister of Human Rights for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Your Excellency Madame Denise Nyakéru Tshisekedi, First Lady of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Your Excellency, Madame Bio, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, thank you for your presence here today, and for your words of solidarity and support for survivors.

Excellencies, distinguished guests: 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. The United Nations Security Council has affirmed the importance of delivering a “survivor-centered approach” that respects the rights and prioritizes the needs of survivors, ensuring they receive the requisite care, without adverse discrimination. Measures must be taken to mitigate the risk of stigmatization, and to support their socioeconomic reintegration.

Security Council Resolution 2467 of 2019 calls for stronger, more comprehensive legislation; for investigation to be enhanced, including through specialized police units and courts; for the provision of legal aid; the prompt investigation, prosecution, and punishment of perpetrators, in a manner consistent with fair trial guarantees; and the provision of reparations to victims. All of these measures must be in place to create an enabling environment in which survivors can come forward to report and seek justice.

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The challenge before us is to translate commitments on paper into compliance in practice; to bridge our highest legal obligations and policy aspirations, with operations on the ground. To do so, we are compelled to ask: What does a “survivor-centered approach” to justice mean right now for:

  • The seven-year-old girl who was raped during the conflict in Sudan and forced to flee to South Sudan with her grandmother, where they now live as refugees, and lack the financial means to pursue the case despite their thirst for justice?
  • A political activist in Myanmar who protested the coup in her country and was targeted for sexual violence as a form of reprisal to silence her dissent?
  • A girl who was gang-raped by armed men in Tripoli, whose family refused to file a complaint due to fears of retaliation and social norms related to “honor”?
  • A young woman who became pregnant and HIV-positive after being raped by 27 soldiers in northern Ethiopia, where troops are still present, and a credible transitional justice process is lacking?
  • Or the Bosnian woman who was raped in 1995 and is still seeking judicial redress, over a quarter of a century since the guns fell silent?

These are just a few of the incidents that my Office has chronicled in its reports to the Security Council and strives to address in its daily work. These crimes are unspeakable, but we are compelled to speak about them.

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Almost fifteen years ago, the United Nations Security Council established my mandate to provide coherent and strategic leadership on this issue, as Chair of the interagency coordination network, UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, and through a dedicated Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict. The intervening years have shown us that, 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 to deliver justice, protection, and assistance to help rebuild lives and livelihoods in the wake of these crimes.

Yet, sexual violence persists as a cheap and effective tactic of war, terror, torture, and political repression that attacks the physical integrity and agency of survivors. The goal must therefore be to restore agency to survivors and empower them at every step, from accessing services, to reporting and testifying in the courtroom, to applying for reparations, as we walk side-by-side with them on the path to justice.

A safe and supportive environment is foundational to enabling survivors to come forward and report these historically hidden crimes. This entails meeting the basic needs of survivors and their dependents, such as safe shelter, food security, medical care, sexual and reproductive healthcare, trauma counselling, and psychosocial support, as well as livelihood and socioeconomic reintegration assistance, in the face of social stigma, family and community rejection, and often profound personal shame. When these essential needs are met, we see many more survivors who are ready and willing to participate in criminal justice processes.

Equally foundational is a comprehensive legislative framework, including protective rules of procedure and evidence that provide safeguards for victims and witnesses, backed by specialized capacity and expertise among investigators, prosecutors, and judges. To this end, my Office has developed Model Legislative Provisions to assist States to harmonize domestic laws with international standards, and has signed a

dozen framework agreements with affected States to ensure that policies of zero tolerance do not carry zero consequences. We know that not every case of sexual violence will reach a courtroom, thus reparations are vital, including compensation, rehabilitation, restitution, truth-telling, and guarantees of non-repetition. These rights and reparatory measures must extend to children born of sexual violence, who have often been invisible in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes.

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have here today a range of practitioners representing all links in the justice chain, from safe and ethical documentation at point of service-delivery, including the collection of medical and forensic evidence, to investigation, law enforcement, prosecution, corrections, compensation, remedies, and reintegration support. The justice chain is only as strong as its weakest link. It functions as a system, or not at all. We must therefore mobilize concerted, multistakeholder action to replace impunity with unity. We must break the chains of silence and denial that have sentenced survivors to life-long trauma, fear, and ostracism, while the perpetrators walk free.

Unless our rhetoric is matched with resources, we risk merely paying lip-service to this urgent issue. Every year that I have served as Special Representative, the number of Member States who have requested our assistance has increased, and the geographical scope of the mandate has expanded. And yet, the level of human and financial resources allocated to this agenda has not kept pace. Since my Team of Experts on the Rule of Law has been operational, it has been compelled to rely solely on voluntary contributions, despite having a Security Council mandate, and receiving increasing requests for ever-more

sophisticated technical support. It is only through adequate and sustained resources that we can do justice to this cause and, above all, its survivors.

As the panelists will tell you today: Where there is political will, holistic service-provision, and credible, capable institutions, meaningful change is possible. Impunity for conflict-related sexual violence threatens both individual rights and international peace and security. Those who tear the fabric of society through these egregious crimes must be relentlessly pursued and effectively prosecuted.

In the name of the survivors, we must deliver justice, not just law, which means countering harmful norms, attitudes, and behaviors in communities, as well as courtrooms. In the name of future generations, we must make accountability the rule, rather than the rare exception. By reinforcing each link in the justice chain, and fostering synergy of action, we can, we must, and we will convert the age-old culture of impunity into a culture of prevention and deterrence.

Thank you.