Women still suffering in war zones, Special Representative tells Security Council, highlighting unmet global commitments to victims of sexual violence
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Facing pandemic lockdowns, spiking violence and eroded access to services and legal protections, women in war zones continue to suffer and global commitments remain largely unmet, the United Nations senior official on sexual violence in conflict told the Security Council today, calling for a “paradigm shift” in how resources are allocated in the post-COVID-19 world.
Pramila Patten, who is the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the 15-member Council’s quarterly debate on women, peace and security, which was held in a videoconference format. Spotlighting worrying increases in misogyny and attacks on women who are visible in public life, she urged States many of whose resources are dwindling amid the pandemic’s economic shocks not to cut funding to crucial
Video screenshot showing Caroline Atim addressing the United Nations Security Council during a virtual meeting, April 14, 2021.
When Caroline Atim, founder and director of the South Sudan Women with Disabilities Network, spoke to the UN Security Council this week, I watched her hands intently and listened to her sign language interpreter, as she described the devastating impact of sexual violence in the South Sudan conflict.
Atim, who made history as the first deaf woman to brief the security council, explained that the dire situation in South Sudan is compounded for women and girls with disabilities like her. Globally, women and girls with disabilities are two or three times more likely to experience gender-based violence, especially during conflict. Women with disabilities may find it more difficult to escape, call for help or communicate abuse. Their support networks may have disappeared, along with their shelters and health facilities.
Thursday, 09:48, 15/04/2021
VOV.VN - Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam Delegation to the United Nations, on April 14 chaired a UN Security Council (UNSC) open debate on woman, peace and security: sexual violence in conflict.
Representatives of UNSC member states attend the Vietnam-initiated open debate on woman, peace and security: sexual violence in conflict.
Addressing the event, Pramila Patten, United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, noted sexual violence remains complicated in the context of armed conflicts taking place here and there globally and increasingly becomes a great challenge due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She cited the UN Secretary-General’s 12th annual report saying the UN has verified 2,500 cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed in the course of 2020.
Vietnam calls for more support to victims of sexual violence in conflict Chia sẻ | FaceBookTwitter Email Copy Link Copy link bài viết thành công
15/04/2021 10:48 GMT+7
Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), has called on the international community to further support victims of sexual violence in conflict.
Women and children are seen in the al-Hol camp in Syria s Hasakeh province on January 28, 2021.
The victims should be assisted to access psychological, medical, training and legal services, integrate into the community and seek livelihood sources, Quy said while chairing an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on women, peace and security on April 14.
Nobel doctor calls sexual violence in conflict a `pandemic
EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press
April 14, 2021
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege warned Wednesday that the scourge of sexual violence and rape in all conflicts is now “a real pandemic” and without sanctions and justice for the victims these horrific acts won’t stop.
The Congolese doctor told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing that “we are still far away from being able to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a strategy of war domination and terror.”