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	UN Security Council expands criteria of violations against children during conflict by Radhika Coomaraswamy United Nations   August 2009   The United Nations Security Council today called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to expand his list of parties who recruit child soldiers to include those who kill, maim, rape or commit other forms of sexual violence against children in wartime.   Unanimously adopting resolution 1882, the Council strongly condemned such violations of international law committed against children and called on those parties on the Secretary-General’s so-called ‘list of shame’ to prepare “concrete time-bound action plans to halt those violations and abuses.”   In addition, the 15-member body “calls upon concerned Member States to take decisive and immediate action against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against children in situations of armed conflict,” and to bring them to justice.   “This is a major step forward in the fight against impunity for crimes against children and a recognition of the reality of conflict today, where girls and boys are increasingly targeted and victimized, killed and raped, as well as recruited into armed groups,” said Radhika Coomaraswamy, welcoming the adoption of the “landmark” text.   An important aspect of the expanded listing criteria is the Council’s empowerment of the UN on the ground to enter into dialogue with armed forces and groups on action plans to halt these violations and to bring perpetrators to account.   The Council first established a mechanism for monitoring, reporting on and punishing those responsible for the recruitment of child soldiers in resolution 1612, adopted in 2005. According to that text, institutions at the country-level gather evidence and forward the information to the Secretary-General, who then reports to the Security Council and the General Assembly.   Ms. Coomaraswamy noted that the Council’s focus on recruitment and use and the accompanying threat of targeted measures against persistent violators has resulted in the release of scores of children in conflicts around the world, most recently in the Philippines and in the Central African Republic (CAR).   “We hope that this expansion will result in equally effective measures with regard to the killing and maiming of children and sexual violence,” she added.   Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters, the Special Representative said she welcomed the Child Protection Policy, adopted by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in June, which responds to the call for greater mainstreaming of child protection across the UN system. It includes the presence of child protection advisers in the field, training and advocacy, and a lead role for peace operations in monitoring for resolution 1612.   April 2009   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the Security Council and judicial systems to step up action in the fight to end abuse of children in conflict zones around the world.   In his latest report on the issue, the Secretary-General encourages national and international justice systems to take strong action ending impunity for crimes against children committed within their jurisdictions.   Among other recommendations aimed at halting violations committed against the young caught up in war zones and bolstering their protection, the Secretary-General urged the Security Council to put measures into place against repeat offenders.   “Accountability for perpetrators will create a sense of justice for the victims and it will also have a deterrence effect,” noted Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict.   “Persistent violators have to realize that their crimes will not remain unpunished,” she added.   The Secretary-General’s annual report to the Security Council explicitly lists in its annexes 56 parties, both State and non-State, who have committed grave violations against children, including 19 persistent violators who have been listed for more than 4 years.   The report covers compliance and progress in ending six grave violations against children caught up in armed conflict: the recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming of children, rape and other grave sexual violence, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to children.   Noting that while progress has been made through plans to release child soldiers in several countries, such as in Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, children continue to suffer in many conflicts.   The report also documents grave violations against children in 20 countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, CAR, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Georgia, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and Uganda. Visit the related web page
	UN must seize opportunity to end rape in conflict by UN News / International Rescue Committee   4 Aug 2009   The International Rescue Committee yesterday released the following statement calling for the United Nations to step up efforts to prevent and respond to rape in armed conflict.   The United Nations Security Council should live up to its pledge to prevent and punish rape in conflict by using this week"s debate on resolution 1820 to develop a concrete action plan to carry it out, says the International Rescue Committee.   The landmark resolution, unanimously adopted just over a year ago, rightfully recognizes sexual violence in war as a threat to international peace and security and calls for the international community to step up efforts to respond to it.   "Women in war zones continue to be raped, abused and threatened at an alarming and unacceptable scale," says Heidi Lehmann, director of IRC"s programs to address violence against women and girls. "It"s no longer a hidden crisis, yet action still lags far behind awareness."   In the Democratic Republic of Congo attacks on women and girls continue at horrific levels. IRC teams there have aided 40,000 survivors since 2002 and the crisis shows no sign of abating.   "Each year we see a new wave of violence and rape and each year the response fails to live up to the magnitude of the problem," says Lehmann.   This week, the UN Security Council will review and consider a report that documents the use of sexual violence in recent and ongoing armed conflicts. This is the most recent piece of evidence in the avalanche of research, commentary and testimonials that attempts to map out the contours of countless and inexcusable atrocities. Women living in conflict cannot afford more deliberation.   Resolution 1820 holds the promise of action but the clock is ticking. Unless steps are taken now, women and girls will continue living in fear of being targeted every time fighting escalates and every day as they go to their fields and markets.   "As devastating and seemingly overwhelming as the war on women is, there are things that can and must be done to address the crisis," says IRC"s advocacy officer, Elisabeth Roesch. "It"s critical that the words of resolution 1820 are transformed into forceful and coherent action and we hope the Security Council will seize the opportunity at this week"s debate to do that."   Recommendations: The IRC urges the creation of a high level post, such as a Special Representative to the Secretary-General, to coordinate a robust prevention and response effort. Implementation of resolution 1820 requires clear and strong UN leadership to address the health, human rights, security and development aspects of the issue.   Such leadership currently doesn"t exist. While a range of good efforts have been piloted across the UN system, their effectiveness and impact are hindered by a lack of coordination and accountability. The result is that often survivors go without critically needed health and psychological support in the midst of conflict.   Programs to prevent sexual violence and provide appropriate assistance for survivors are also chronically underfunded. This appointed official should be charged with spotlighting the crisis and mobilizing resources to address it.   27 July 2009   United Nations calls for action to end widespread sexual violence in armed conflict.   The systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon, mainly against women, is rife in armed conflicts in Africa, Asia and Europe, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today in his latest report on the scourge, calling for States to strengthen prevention and protection measures against the crime.   “In a number of contemporary conflicts, sexual violence has taken on particularly brutal dimensions, sometimes as means of pursuing military, political, social and economic objectives,” Mr. Ban wrote in his report to the Security Council.   He added that sexual violence is “perpetrated mainly against civilians in direct violation of international humanitarian, human rights and criminal law.”   Mr. Ban noted that for the first time the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) qualified rape as a form of genocide, recognizing that sexual violence was a step in the process of group destruction – the “destruction of the spirit, of the will to live, and of life itself.”   While women and girls make up the overwhelming majority of victims of sexual violence, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) have also heard testimony relating to male victims.   “In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence have been recorded since hostilities began in 1996,” Mr. Ban said in the report, noting that the figure is a conservative estimate due to gross under-reporting and the fact that many victims do not survive to tell the tale.   In his March report, Mr. Ban told the Security Council that these attacks continue unabated in eastern DRC, and following the joint Congolese-Rwandan Government offensive in January against the rebel Rwandan FDLR militia, reprisals against local civilians in North Kivu were committed.   He stressed that members of the DRC armed forces (FARDC) and the Congolese National Police (PNC) were responsible “for a large number of serious human rights violations, including rape. In parts of South Kivu as well, MONUC [the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC] has registered reports that militia commit sexual violence while looting villages near military encampments and attack women as they gather firewood, food or water.”   A noticeable trend in attacks on civilians is the accompanying abduction, enforced prostitution and enslavement of the victims, said Mr. Ban, highlighting that in the Sierra Leone conflict, women and girls were kidnapped and forced to marry combatants.   “These ‘bush wives’ were then subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence. Currently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, reports indicate that FARDC is engaging in enforced prostitution of young girls and is taking young female students as ‘wives’ through a pattern of establishing bases near schools.”   In his report, Mr. Ban said that several of the defendants at the ICTR, ICTY and SCSL included the highest levels of civilian and military leaders accused of commissioning or condoning acts of sexual violence.   “In eastern Chad, cases of rape and gang rape committed by officers and soldiers of the Armée Nationale Tchadienne (ANT) have been documented. In Nepal, in the Tarai region, an estimated 15 to 20 armed groups are reportedly participating in violent activities, including sexual violence against women and girls.”   Mr. Ban noted that inadequate measures to prevent sexual violence and protect civilians; insufficient steps to combat impunity for sexual violence; and the lack of action addressing the continued discrimination against women and girls in law and practice; contribute to and exacerbate the abuses.   To remedy the situation, Mr. Ban called on States and other parties to conflict to commit to concrete actions, such as sending clear and forceful instructions and regular messages on the categorical prohibition of sexual violence, and to demonstrate that breaches will be punished; addressing inequalities and discrimination against women and girls by promoting more women to decision-making positions in society; ratifying and implementing core international human rights treaties; and strengthening national capacity to hold all perpetrators of sexual violence accountable for the crimes, ensuring that amnesties and immunities exclude those that commit or commission sexual violence; among other measures. 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