Measures to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations

As a member of the Team of Experts, OHCHR supported efforts to strengthen the capacity of national rule of law and justice actors to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence.

OCHA’s Policy Development and Studies Branch organized an experts meeting to review current research on, and identify gaps in relation to: 1) Sexual violence in armed conflict: understanding the motivations; and 2) The nature, scope and motivation for sexual violence against men and boys in conflict. Key outputs of the meeting were: 1) Identification of research priorities in order to design more effective strategies for preventing sexual violence in armed conflict; and 2) Identification and agreement on next steps to build on the current knowledge-base and establish communities of practice.

OCHA is the co-chair of the Executive Committees on Humanitarian Affairs and Peace and Security (ECHC/ECPS) UN and NGO Taskforce on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. It led the development of field-guidance for the implementation of a victim’s assistance programme in accordance with GA resolution 62/214. Since 2008, 25 OCHA advisors have been deployed through GenCap to 18 humanitarian emergencies.

In 2015, together with UNFPA, ESCWA produced  a regional study on “Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings in the Arab region: Dynamics, Challenges and Policy Options”. The study examined the root structural causes of child marriage in the Arab region, including the national, social, institutional, legal, and cultural frameworks that facilitate the perpetuation of child marriage. It analyzed the factors that drive child marriage in humanitarian and conflict settings, including physical vulnerabilities, shifts in family relations, gender roles, economic conditions, availability of community support, and demographic profiles. It also investigated the socio-economic and health implications of child marriage for young brides, their children, and their communities, particularly in post-conflict contexts.

UNFPA, in collaboration with World Education, held an expert workshop to develop a curriculum to address gender-based violence and violence against women in humanitarian/conflict/post-conflict settings.

In 2015, ESCWA produced a background paper on the socioeconomic impact of wars on women and girls in the Arab region. The paper shows that Gender-Based Violence is one of the most relevant repercussions of wars on women and girls and proposes recommendations at the institutional and legal levels.

In December 2008, a week-long consultation was convened that brought together staff from UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Legal Counsel to the Great Lakes Conference, MONUC and relevant units within the OHCHR, to develop a coherent strategy for 2009 to address sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In collaboration with the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), OSAGI , now part of UN Women, organized a virtual dialogue on best practices in national implementation of resolution 1325, in regard to violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations. As part of its effort to create an online training course on development of national action plans on resolution 1325 for Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa, OSAGI carried out research and analysis of gender-based violence in the relevant regions.

UNODC was involved in the work of the global focal point for police, justice and corrections in post-conflict and other crisis situations, in relation to joint field missions, planning and programming, and in strategic and operational discussions at headquarters. Led by UNDP and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, in partnership with Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN-Women and UNODC, the global focal point supports UN country presences in mission and non-mission settings.

OHCHR advocated the adoption of laws for reparations of survivors of sexual violence and worked to strengthen capacities of national rule of law and justice actors in order to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence. OHCHR’s Guidance Note on reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence was published in June 2014 during the UK Summit on Sexual Violence in Conflict. This guidance note provided policy and operational guidance for Member States, UN agencies, development actors, and civil society organizations regarding reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence. In 2015, OHCHR provided support to strengthen the capacity of human rights component in Mali to monitor and investigate conflict-related sexual violence. Inputs and comments were provided on legislation on sexual gender based violence in a variety of countries to ensure compliance with international norms (including in Zambia, Belarus Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Somali, and Papua New Guinea). As part of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law on Sexual Violence in Conflict, OHCHR continued to provide technical advice and capacity-building assistance to national authorities in addressing accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (in Central African Republic, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Somalia and South Sudan).