UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict
Encyclopedia
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict is an international body within the United Nations
system. Its stated purpose is to unite the work of 13 UN entities with the goal of ending sexual violence
in conflict. It is a concerted effort by the United Nations to improve coordination and accountability, amplify programming and advocacy, and support national efforts to prevent sexual violence and respond effectively to the needs of survivors.
The United Nations established United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict in response to calls from women’s rights organizations, NGOs and rape
survivors for the United Nations to do much more to address sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence within a humanitarian and human rights
legal framework. It reinforces efforts by United Nations entities to better coordinate and streamline their activities, working as “one United Nations” at country and global levels.
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict is committed to aligning the United Nation’s work more effectively behind national efforts to address sexual violence, and to deepen partnerships with the many NGOs and civil society organizations that have been actively working to end sexual violence in conflict for many years. It operates through existing United Nations coordination mechanisms including the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
(IASC). It strengthens the work of the humanitarian Protection Cluster, and supports efforts to put an end to sexual exploitation and abuse
by United Nations personnel. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict aims to strengthen efforts to protect women and girls from sexual violence during and after conflict – recognizing that the problem is much more than a security or humanitarian issue. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict supports women’s engagement in conflict prevention and enhances women’s influence over peace negotiations and post conflict recovery processes. This helps ensure that sexual violence is on the agenda of the police, security forces, justice, and government sectors after conflict. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict seeks to strengthen services provided to survivors, including medical care, legal support and economic security required to rebuild their lives. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict also connects with governance and reform processes that improve women’s access to decision-making and strengthen their voices in public affairs, with the long term view of tackling gender-specific power imbalances.
(DPKO), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Joint United Nations Program of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the World Food Programme
(WFP), the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO).
, UK, entitled “Women Targeted or Affected by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military Peacekeepers?” In the 60th anniversary year of international peacekeeping, and coinciding with the commemorative day of international peacekeepers, the conference covered what more can be done by international peacekeepers to protect women from sexual violence and other abuse in armed conflict and its aftermath.
Senior military personnel, including former commanders of international peace support operations, United Nations officials, policy makers and other experts, met to discuss how to improve political and tactical responses to protect women in war.
Among those attending were:
The Resolution also calls for effective steps to prevent and respond to acts of sexual violence as a way of contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security – including urging Member States to comply with their obligations for prosecuting the perpetrators of sexual violence, ensuring that all victims of sexual violence, particularly women and girls, have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice, and ending impunity for sexual violence as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking sustainable peace, justice, truth, and national reconciliation.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
system. Its stated purpose is to unite the work of 13 UN entities with the goal of ending sexual violence
Sexual violence
Sexual violence occurs throughout the world, although in most countries there has been little research conducted on the problem. Due to the private nature of sexual violence, estimating the extent of the problem is difficult...
in conflict. It is a concerted effort by the United Nations to improve coordination and accountability, amplify programming and advocacy, and support national efforts to prevent sexual violence and respond effectively to the needs of survivors.
The United Nations established United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict in response to calls from women’s rights organizations, NGOs and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
survivors for the United Nations to do much more to address sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence within a humanitarian and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
legal framework. It reinforces efforts by United Nations entities to better coordinate and streamline their activities, working as “one United Nations” at country and global levels.
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict is committed to aligning the United Nation’s work more effectively behind national efforts to address sexual violence, and to deepen partnerships with the many NGOs and civil society organizations that have been actively working to end sexual violence in conflict for many years. It operates through existing United Nations coordination mechanisms including the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
Inter-Agency Standing Committee
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee is an inter-agency forum of UN and non-UN humanitarian partners founded in 1992, to strengthen humanitarian assistance. The overall objective of the IASC is to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations...
(IASC). It strengthens the work of the humanitarian Protection Cluster, and supports efforts to put an end to sexual exploitation and abuse
Sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response
The sexual exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries by humanitarian workers first came to public attention with the release of a report in February 2002 of a joint assessment mission looking into the issue...
by United Nations personnel. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict aims to strengthen efforts to protect women and girls from sexual violence during and after conflict – recognizing that the problem is much more than a security or humanitarian issue. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict supports women’s engagement in conflict prevention and enhances women’s influence over peace negotiations and post conflict recovery processes. This helps ensure that sexual violence is on the agenda of the police, security forces, justice, and government sectors after conflict. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict seeks to strengthen services provided to survivors, including medical care, legal support and economic security required to rebuild their lives. United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict also connects with governance and reform processes that improve women’s access to decision-making and strengthen their voices in public affairs, with the long term view of tackling gender-specific power imbalances.
Areas of Focus
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict has three main pillars:- Country Level Action: support to United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict at country level, including efforts to build capacity and train advisers in gender based violence programming and coordination, as well as targeted support for joint UN programming in selected countries,
- Advocating for Action: action to raise public awareness and generate political will to address sexual violence as part of a broader campaign to Stop Rape Now,
- Learning by Doing: creation of a knowledge hub on sexual violence in conflict and effective responses.
Organization Structure
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict is led by a Secretariat that coordinates the 13 members, Additionally, it is governed by a Steering Committee comprising Principals from the 13 UN entity members. An executive sub-group of the Steering Committee, made up of focal points from the UN entity members, develops the Strategic Framework for UN Action.Members
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict comprises the following 13 United Nations entities: the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), the Department of Peacekeeping OperationsDepartment of Peacekeeping Operations
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is a department of the United Nations which is charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations.-History of the DPKO:...
(DPKO), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , is a United Nations body formed in December 1991 by General Assembly Resolution 46/182...
(OCHA), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Joint United Nations Program of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
(UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund
United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
(UNFPA), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...
(UNICEF), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the World Food Programme
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
(WFP), the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO).
Wilton Park Conference
From May 27 - 29, 2008, UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict led a conference in Wilton ParkWilton Park
Wilton Park is an executive agency of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is a non-profit-making organisation holding discussions on global security and prosperity....
, UK, entitled “Women Targeted or Affected by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military Peacekeepers?” In the 60th anniversary year of international peacekeeping, and coinciding with the commemorative day of international peacekeepers, the conference covered what more can be done by international peacekeepers to protect women from sexual violence and other abuse in armed conflict and its aftermath.
Senior military personnel, including former commanders of international peace support operations, United Nations officials, policy makers and other experts, met to discuss how to improve political and tactical responses to protect women in war.
Among those attending were:
- Lieutenant General Jasbir Singh Lidder of India, former force commander until April in the United Nations Mission in SudanUnited Nations Mission in SudanThe United Nations Mission in the Sudan was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi,...
- Nigerian General F O Okonkwo, former force commander in the African Union (AU) Mission in SudanAfrican Union Mission in SudanThe African Union Mission in Sudan was an African Union peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur with the aim of performing peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. Originally founded in 2004, with a force of 150 troops, by mid-2005, its...
, and also force commander of the Mission of the Economic Community of West African StatesEconomic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
in Liberia - Major General (rtd) Patrick Cammaert, former commander, Eastern Divisions, United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of CongoUnited Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of CongoThe United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279...
- Michael Fryer of South Africa, Police Commissioner of the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur
- Rakhi Sahi, Commander of the all-women Formed Police Unit in the UN Mission in Liberia
- Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet
- Ross Mountain, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Assistant-Secretary General Kathleen Cravero, Director, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UN Development Programme and Chair of UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, New York
- Ambassador Zalmay KhalilzadZalmay KhalilzadZalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York
United Nations Resolution 1820
On June 19th, 2008, the 15-member UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1820 (2008) on Sexual Violence against Civilians in Conflict, after a day-long ministerial-level meeting on “women, peace and security .” The Resolution condemns the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict situations, stating that rape can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide.The Resolution also calls for effective steps to prevent and respond to acts of sexual violence as a way of contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security – including urging Member States to comply with their obligations for prosecuting the perpetrators of sexual violence, ensuring that all victims of sexual violence, particularly women and girls, have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice, and ending impunity for sexual violence as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking sustainable peace, justice, truth, and national reconciliation.
External links
- UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict Website
- Keynote address by the Chair of UN Action, Kathleen Cravero, on “Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Crisis: From Advocacy to Action” to the Women’s Foreign Policy Group in Washington, D.C., 17 July 2008: http://www.undp.org/cpr/whats_new/speeches/KC_Gender_WFPG08.shtml
- Summary Report of the Wilton Park conference on “Women Targeted or Affected by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military Peacekeepers?” co-organized by UNIFEM and DPKO both on behalf of UN Action, with support of the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom: http://www.unifem.org/attachments/events/WiltonParkConference_SummaryReport_200805_1.pdf