NEW YORK: Deputyof Kuwait's Permanent Delegate to the UN Counselor Bader Al-Munayyekh urgedworld communities to boost UN peacekeeping operations, including women'sempowerment in post-conflict situations. It is important to back peacekeepingmissions in war-torn countries, particularly with holding sexual assaultperpetrators accountable and bringing them to justice, Munayyekh said during aUNSC session Friday night.
Wartime sexualviolence is one of the most hideous crimes against humanity, especially sinceit targets women and children and leads them to a lifetime health, mental, andphysical disorder, he noted. The cumulative effects of such violence couldexpand to generations, rule out any chance of achieving reconciliation andpeace, and destabilize societies in the short and long-terms, said Munayyekh.
Terroristorganizations such as the so-called Islamic State (IS) and Boko Haram have usedsexual violence to terrorize people and finance their criminal operations, headded. Sexual assault has also been used to target ethnic and religiousminorities and displace them from their original homelands, such as the case ofthe minority Muslim community in Myanmar, said Munayyekh.
The internationalcommunity and UNSC should bear their responsibilities and do their best to stopthese intentional and systematic crimes and violations against humanity, andbring their perpetrators to justice, he stressed. So far, UNSC has succeeded inlaying solid standards to thwart sexual assaults in conflict situations, but ithas not implemented them fully yet, said Munayyekh.
He recalled UNSCresolution 1820 (2008), which affirmed the council's intention, whenestablishing and renewing state-specific sanction regimes, to consider imposing"targeted and graduated" measures against warring factions whocommitted rape and other forms of violence against women and girls. Therefore,it is important to boost cooperation with the UN Secretary-General's SpecialRepresentative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in order to determineperpetrators of criminal sexual assaults and include their names in regimes'sanction lists, he added.
The state has aprimary responsibility to protect its citizens from sexual violence in conflict,Munayyekh said, adding the international community and UN bodies must cooperatetoward building states' potentials, boosting their security and judicialsystems, and revive their civil societies. State societies also have theresponsibility of denounce all forms of violence against women and children,preserve their full rights, build their abilities toward protecting themselvesand families, and secure their safety when testifying in court against assaultcriminals, he added.
Munayyekhmentioned regional and non-regional organizations' role in stopping sexualviolence in conflict, lauding Arab League's recent efforts to stop all forms ofviolence against women, particularly sexual assault, and provide all necessaryresources to rehabilitate sexual violence victims. Achieving justice for warand conflict survivors is an inseparable part of attaining effectiveaccountability, which would prevent and stop hideous crimes against humanity,he said, adding achieving justice for victims of sexual violence in conflict isalso an inseparable part of attaining a permanent peace.
The Kuwaitidiplomat stressed the importance of bolstering close cooperation between the UNAction Against Sexual Violence in Conflict and member-states in order toempower survivors to obtain justice and compensations, respect to theircultures, care for their physical, mental and social health, and economicsupport to reach sustainable justice.
He also expressedhis country's support and encouragement of the efforts exerted by a number ofinternational bodies specialized in monitoring most dangerous crimes andviolations around the world, including sexual violence, and bringing theirperpetrators to justice.
Next year willmark the 20th anniversary of UNSC resolution 1325, Munayyekh noted, hoping tocontribute with UN partners in the forthcoming period to attain a quantum leapin empowering women effectively to achieve peace and stability in the world,particularly the Middle East region. - KUNA