UN EXPERTS TACKLE ‘CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE’ OVER SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WARTIME

Women's rights activists, senior military figures and top United Nations officials met in New York this week to discuss what the world body's former humanitarian chief Jan Egeland described as "one of the biggest conspiracies of silence in history" – the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

The talks focused particularly on the lack of female involvement in peace negotiations, and on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1820, passed last year, which for the first time acknowledged the use of sexual violence in conflict as a deliberate tactic of war.

According to the UN's agency for women, UNIFEM, women comprise on average less than 10 per cent of peace negotiators and less than 2 per cent of mediators. Out of approximately 300 peace agreements reached in 45 conflicts since the end of the Cold War, only 10 peace processes even mentioned sexual violence.

Anne-Marie Goetz of UNIFEM told a news conference that among the key principles endorsed by participants in this week's talks were that sexual violence should be addressed right from the start of the mediation process, and that crimes of sexual violence should be given the same priority as other international crimes.

"This kind of meeting backs up the quest for justice," said Leymah Gbowee of the organization Women, Peace and Security Africa, who participated in the talks. "It emboldens mediators and gains greater respect for women's groups, which the parties to peace talks can often ignore." She added that resolution 1820 "changed the dynamic at the peace table and legitimized the status of women."

Ms. Gbowee said the opportunity to brief the Security Council on the results of the conference would serve to create awareness of sexual violence as a weapon of war among Member States, who she said might be inclined to see rape during wartime as a social or a humanitarian problem rather than a military issue.

She added that the presence of senior military officers, including Major-General Patrick Cammaert, a former commander with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was particularly effective in raising awareness that sexual violence was often used as a deliberate and systematic military strategy.

Ms. Gbowee spoke forcefully of the barriers to women's participation in mediation processes, including the fear that addressing sexual violence would prevent the smooth running of peace talks, since the negotiating parties might be seriously implicated.

Recalling her own role in leading the women's peace movement that helped bring Liberia's stalled peace process to a successful conclusion in 2003, she added: "I am proud

of the role women played… but one of my greatest regrets is that we did not use this opportunity to raise our own issues and demand prosecution for perpetrators of sexual violence."
________________

GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN FALLING VICTIM TO RAPE IN DR CONGO, REPORTS UN

GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN FALLING VICTIM TO RAPE IN DR CONGO, REPORTS UN
New York, May 20 2009 4:00PM
The United Nations humanitarian wing is urging greater protection for civilians in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has witnessed a surge in sexual violence since the beginning of this year.

Some 463 women were raped in the first quarter of 2009, more than half of the total number of violations registered for the whole of last year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA).

OCHA reported that most of the sexual violence is committed by soldiers and members of the various armed militia, and that since the Government launched its military operation against the mainly ethnic Hutu rebel group FDLR in April, civilians have been increasingly victims of looting, extortions, arson, killings and rape in eastern DRC.

UN relief officials have met with Congolese authorities to convey the concerns of the humanitarian community regarding the protection of civilians and aid access.

The World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) has distributed post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) kits throughout South Kivu, which can reduce the risk of HIV infection if administered within 72 hours of the rape.

Since March, an estimated 120,000 people have been forced from their homes in South Kivu as a result of violent attacks by FDLR militias and clashes pitting the national army against the Hutu group, which has been operating in eastern DRC since the end of the Rwandan genocide wiped out around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) has distributed some 2,459 tons of food to 323,472 people in South Kivu during the past two months. The agency with its partner, CARITAS, is handing out food for a further 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the Kalehe-Nyabibwe axis.

For its part, the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) is supplying sanitation facilities in the Bunyakiri-Hombo zone, while WHO has provided cholera kits to some 2,545 patients in the area.

OCHA's DRC Humanitarian Action Plan, which has requested $831 million for humanitarian programmes in the country in 2009, has so far received $271 million or 33 per cent of the total.
________________

US: Act to Prevent Rape in War

Senate and Administration Should Provide Leadership to End Violence and Bring Accountability

May 13, 2009

(Washington, DC) - The United States Senate should move beyond collecting testimony in its commitment to help prevent and punish rape in conflict, Human Rights Watch said today in a written submission to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The US is in a strong position to provide active global leadership and to press for international action, Human Rights Watch said.

Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin are co-sponsoring a hearing today on violence against women in conflict, featuring witnesses from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur. The Obama administration's new ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, Melanne Verveer, will also testify.

"It is heartening to see the Senate and the administration come together to exchange views on this critical issue," said Marianne Mollmann, women's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. "But sexual violence in conflict is nothing new. We know it happens. We know it goes unpunished. Now is the time for action, not words."

Sexual violence against women and girls has been a horrifying characteristic of all recent armed conflicts and many post-conflict situations. Human Rights Watch has documented this violence in countries ranging from Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the former Yugoslavia. The research also shows that the perpetrators of these crimes rarely are brought to justice. In many conflict areas, seeking justice for sexual violence is difficult, often dangerous, and frequently very costly.

"Victims of violence often confront a gutted, corrupt, or untrained police force and justice system," said Mollmann. "In some cases, the police are afraid of investigating crimes committed by soldiers or militia, and certainly can't provide protection for the victims of abuse."

The hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is meant to generate concrete action points for the United States and will consider detailed submissions from Human Rights Watch and other organizations. The United States is in a particularly strong position to engage other countries on this issue, both because of its permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, and because of its substantial foreign aid to conflict-ridden countries.

Last June, the Bush administration led the Security Council in a resolution that, for the first time, unequivocally mandated the United Nations to address sexual violence as a weapon of war and a threat to international peace and security. Advocates hope that the Senate hearing will consolidate US leadership on this issue, specifically by pushing the United Nations to establish a senior special representative on sexual violence.

"Stopping rape in war is as bipartisan as it gets," said Mollmann. "Here, the Senate really can come together and speak with one voice to benefit women worldwide by urging the United Nations to put its money where its mouth is and appoint a special representative to tackle this issue head on."

GREATER EFFORTS NEEDED TO BOOST WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN IRAQ, SAYS UN

GREATER EFFORTS NEEDED TO BOOST WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN IRAQ, SAYS UN
New York, Mar 9 2009 12:00PM

With years of conflict curbing progress towards equality for women in Iraq, the United Nations has called for bolstered steps to ensure their rights are protected and advanced.

"A major UN priority for 2009 is to improve conditions for women and girls who have yet to feel the full benefits of Iraq's recovery," said David Shearer, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

He pointed to some positive signs, such as one-quarter of those elected in the governorate polls in January being women.

"We now need to build on this achievement by joining forces with Iraq's government and civil society to further improve women's opportunities and human rights," Mr. Shearer said, cautioning that "there is still much to do."

One in 10 Iraqi households are headed by women, more than 80 per cent of whom are widows.

Women comprise 17 per cent of the country's labour force, compared to 81 percent of men, with the low participation rate of women partially attributed to illiteracy. Nearly one-quarter of women and girls – many of whom were afraid to attend school due to the violence – above the age of 10 are illiterate, compared with just 11 per cent of boys.

The UN also expressed concern over women's health indicators, with maternal mortality rates reaching 84 per 100,000 live births compared to 41 and 65 in neighbouring Jordan and Syria respectively.

"Most of children and women mortalities in Iraq can be prevented through simple interventions – from antenatal and emergency obstetric care to breastfeeding and safe hygiene at home," said Sikander Khan, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the country.

He stressed the importance of cooperation with Iraq's health system to prevent further deaths.

Mr. Shearer also said the high rates of violence against women, the theme of this year's International Women's Day which was observed yesterday, are still worrying. "We are putting more resources into initiatives to address this problem – to raise community awareness, increase support and strengthen legislation to protect women's rights," he said.

The UN is teaming up with local and international organizations to put dozens of protection, shelter, health, governance, education and other programmes into place.
________________

Women need safer access to health care in war situations

Geneva (ICRC) – In the run-up to International Women's Day, 8 March, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the specific health-care needs of women are often ignored or insufficiently taken into account in war situations.

"People wounded in fighting are given priority for medical treatment, but women, even pregnant mothers, are often given scant attention despite their special needs," said Nadine Puechguirbal, the ICRC's adviser on issues relating to women and war.

In the world’s least developed countries, many of which are at war, women are 300 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications than in developed countries, according to UNICEF. While armed conflicts and other violence affect entire communities, women are particularly at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence. Because of poor security conditions or because they have no means of transportation, it is often impossible for women to reach a health-care facility so as to give birth safely.

"International humanitarian law stipulates that the specific health-care needs of conflict-affected women must be met, including in places of detention," explained Ms Puechguirbal. "Parties to a conflict have an obligation to comply with the law and do everything possible to ensure that women receive the health care they require."

During the recent conflict in Gaza the lives of numerous women were put at risk when ambulances couldn't get through to them because of the fighting. The conflict also prevented women in labour from reaching a safe place to have their babies. Women are currently facing the same difficulty in Somalia, where the death rate of pregnant women and newborn babies is among the highest in the world. According to UNICEF, only nine women in a hundred thousand actually make it to a hospital to give birth in Somalia.

The ICRC is addressing the specific health needs of women in war-torn countries around the world by supporting hospitals and basic health-care services. In some countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is making counselling services available to victims of sexual violence. "The first priority after a rape is to obtain medical care," explained Charlotte, a Red Cross volunteer providing counselling. "But medicines can only treat the body. The victims of these attacks bear invisible, psychological wounds."