Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
When I assumed office as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, I made it a strategic priority to turn cultures of impunity for conflict-related sexual violence into cultures of deterrence and prevention. In my experience with survivors of conflict-related sexual violence globally, one truth is unmistakable: they yearn for justice. They have suffered profound violations of their bodies, their dignity and their humanity. Conflict-related sexual violence is not only a crime against the individual. It devastates families and communities and threatens regional and international peace and security.
There are six United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for accountability for conflict-related sexual violence, in a survivor-centered and trauma-informed manner with due process of law. The legal framework is abundantly clear. Yet in this year’s annual report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence to the Security Council, the United Nations verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, more than double the number recorded the previous year. Nearly 3,000 of those cases were against children, a 37 percent increase. And we know that for every case verified by the United Nations, ten to twenty more go unreported. In the face of these staggering figures, words on paper are not enough. The United Nations and international community must work with those who have the authority and the responsibility to turn these commitments into action, so perpetrators are held to account, and survivors have their day in court. To that end, two years ago, the United Nations Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict convened the first-ever International Conference of Prosecutors on Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the Peace Palace in The Hague. It brought together prosecutors from more than 30 Member States, from the Global North and the Global South, who were actively investigating and prosecuting these crimes in conflict and post-conflict settings, and through the exercise of universal jurisdiction. These were prosecutors on the front lines of some of the most challenging cases of conflict-related sexual violence, often working with limited resources and at great personal risk. The conference built on years of the Team’s experience working, pursuant to Security Council resolution 1888, with national justice systems to advance accountability for these crimes. At the end of the conference, we asked the prosecutors what they needed. Their answer was clear: they wanted a way to exchange practices and experience, to cooperate with colleagues confronting similar cases in other jurisdictions, and to have opportunities to meet face-to-face, build relationships, and learn from one another.
In response, the Team established the CRSV Prosecution Network, which was launched at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women in March of this year. It brings together two complementary resources. The first is a public, searchable database of global jurisprudence on conflict-related sexual violence, developed through UNODC’s SHERLOC platform, so that relevant decisions can be readily accessed, shared and drawn upon by prosecutors and practitioners across jurisdictions. The second is a practice centre, where prosecutors can privately exchange materials and experiences, discuss challenges and develop informal cooperation with colleagues working on similar cases. The Network is the first of its kind dedicated specifically to conflict-related sexual violence, bringing together prosecutors and practitioners from across jurisdictions to share expertise, experience and practical tools. I encourage those Member States that have not yet joined the Network to do so. This week, we are taking another step in that effort, gathering here in Nairobi for the Network’s first regional conference. It is an opportunity to learn from the experience and expertise of prosecutors across Africa and to strengthen the connections among those working to advance accountability for conflict-related sexual violence. Across Africa, there are cases that demonstrate what is possible when political will is matched by resources and technical expertise: perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence have been investigated, prosecuted and convicted, and survivors have received justice.
The global trend on conflict-related sexual violence we are seeing is not inevitable. We can reverse it. Over the coming days, our technical sessions will focus on the practical steps needed to do so: strengthening investigations and prosecutions, overcoming the obstacles to accountability, and building the capacity and cooperation needed to break the cycle of impunity and bring an end to this crime once and for all.
Thank you.