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Statement of SRSG-SVC Pramila Patten – Official commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, 19 June 2020

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Statement of SRSG-SVC Pramila Patten

Official commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

**19 June 2020, **via MS Teams Live & UN WebTV

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Your Excellency, Mr. Alejandro Verdier, Chargé d’ Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations,

Under-Secretary-General, Ms. Virginia Gamba,

Guest speakers and participants from around the globe,

A warm welcome to the sixth official commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

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This annual event is an opportunity not only to raise awareness of the scourge of conflict-related sexual violence, which continues to be used as a tactic of war, terror and political repression, but also to stand in solidarity with the survivors and those working to support them on the frontlines, often at great personal risk.

In 2015, when the General Assembly established the International Day, following the leadership and vision of Argentina, it reminded us of the importance of a survivor-centered, rights-based approach. Yet, as I have seen time and time again in the field, appalling gaps remain in terms of services for those in need, and resources for the grassroots civil society groups that represent a lifeline in many remote, war-torn regions.

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This year, we meet amid complex, overlapping crises. Many survivors are simultaneously facing armed conflict, displacement, and a global pandemic that has both exposed and exacerbated gender inequality. This has left women with a disproportionate socioeconomic and care burden, and yet often with no voice in the policy decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. Women comprise up to 70 percent of frontline health workers, yet have lesser access to Personal Protective Equipment, which is designed primarily for men. Restrictive social norms inhibit women’s access to potentially lifesaving information, particularly in high-risk, low-tech settings, such as displacement camps. This is compounded by Internet blackouts, and by the gender-based digital divide, which impedes the ability of local women’s groups to speak out and continue their collaboration with international partners.

It is estimated that one in five internally displaced or refugee women has experienced sexual violence. Yet, less than one percent of global humanitarian aid is spent on gender-based violence prevention and response. COVID-19 has, in many cases, resulted in already-scarce resources being diverted to national health and sanitation systems that are overwhelmed by the pandemic and weakened by protracted conflict. Shelters, counseling services, and mobile clinics have been closed due to the reallocation of funds, and to quarantine-related restrictions. The clinics that remain open are able to see fewer patients, due to social distancing rules.

The risk of stigmatization, rejection, and reprisals in the aftermath of rape is, today, overlaid with fears of contracting the virus, or of being perceived as a carrier, which further complicates the decision to seek redress. Indeed, reporting sexual violence has become more difficult than ever during lockdowns, which have restricted the movement of humanitarians and human rights monitors.

COVID-19 also threatens to paralyze the Rule of Law response. The pace of justice for conflict-related sexual violence, already painfully slow, has in some cases ground to a halt due to the closure of courts and the suspension of investigations and trials. Key security sector reform initiatives, such as the training of national armed forces on preventing and addressing sexual violence, have also been suspended. Moreover, the liberation of detainees, as part of efforts to mitigate transmission of the virus, has included the release of a number of convicted rapists. This endangers civilians, particularly victims and witnesses.

Other new protection concerns have also surfaced, including threats against women in isolation and treatment centers. Heavy-handed, militarized responses have heightened the risk of sexual abuse, including against women detained in connection with alleged curfew violations. Concerns have also been raised about sexual exploitation and trafficking in the face of economic desperation, particularly in displacement settings. Women’s human rights defenders report facing not only financial, but also physical, insecurity, including targeted attacks in the context of shrinking civic space. Moreover, many armed and terrorist groups have taken advantage of the prevailing uncertainty to intensify their operations. Despite calls to silence the guns, acts of sexual violence by parties to armed conflict persist, in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and elsewhere.

In the face of this unprecedented crisis, field-based specialists have continued to deliver on the mandate despite lockdowns, quarantines, curfews, shifting priorities, and ever-more constrained resources. Today’s event provides an important platform to hear directly from these frontline actors, who will share operational updates on their efforts to keep survivors’ rights and needs at the heart of the response. Women Protection Advisers have continued monitoring and reporting on conflict-related sexual violence, as a basis for remedial action, including by deepening partnerships with community-based networks to enable new referral pathways and remote case management. I thank them for their dedication, their innovation, and their tireless efforts.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

No crisis is gender-neutral, and no effective response can be gender-blind.Building back better’ in the wake of this pandemic requires an inclusive, intersectional, and gender-informed approach. This means considering the diverse realities of IDPs and refugees, ethnic minorities, indigenous and rural communities, people living with disabilities, LGBTQI individuals, and other marginalized groups to ensure that, ultimately, no one is left behind.

The current crisis is a test of our resolve. We must not allow it to reverse the gains that have been made in recent decades to combat gender-based discrimination as a root cause and driver of gender-based violence, in times of war and peace. Nor can we allow the political commitments obtained in recent years to be rolled-back.

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Allow me to end by emphasizing three concrete recommendations that I have made since the advent of this crisis:

Firstly, all parties to conflict must immediately cease all forms of sexual violence, as part of the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. Compliance must be monitored and enforced.

Secondly, sexual and gender-based violence response services must be designated as essential services, in order to prevent their de-prioritization and defunding. It is a lesson from past epidemics, such as Ebola, that more women die from the lack of access to services, including reproductive healthcare, than from the disease itself.

Thirdly, efforts to address sexual and gender-based violence should be integrated into national COVID-19 response plans, including proactive measures to broadcast information to the most vulnerable. The needs of survivors cannot be put on pause, and neither can the response.

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I thank Argentina and all of our partners from Member States, civil society, and the UN system, who are working in common cause to keep this issue in focus. We cannot allow the world to look away. We cannot allow the survivors to be forgotten.

Thank you.