Statement by H.E. Gary Quinlan Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Secuirty Council on Women, Peace and Security on 7 August 2009.
(as delivered)
Australia greatly values this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to tackling sexual violence in conflict. As a co-sponsor of Security Council resolution 1820, we strongly support the Security Council’s focus on this compelling challenge.
Mr President
Australia recognises the important links between sexual violence, social violence and the role of peacebuilding activities in preventing violence.
We have been a strong supporter of this Council’s resolution 1325 on ‘women, peace and security’ since its adoption nine years ago. That resolution provided the basis for women to play a greater role in all peace processes and peacebuilding activities and urged on all of us proactive strategies to promote, cultivate, develop, encourage and sustain individuals, communities and nations to practice peace. Resolution 1820 grew out of resolution 1325 and we would urge that all actions to implement it be carried out within this broader context.
Mr President
In regard to the Secretary-General’s report, we welcome the Secretary-General’s recommendations on operationalising resolution 1820 within the UN in a systematic, structural and lasting way, including through ensuring appropriate references in mandate creation and renewal processes. Utilising effectively this Council’s most recent aide memoire on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which includes provisions on sexual violence, will also be crucial.
Now of course is the time to get things done. One good example of practical UN action is in Timor-Leste where UNMIT’s National Vulnerable Persons Unit trains local police on gender based violence and policing responsibilities.
We welcome the Secretary-General’s advice that he is considering the appointment of a senior person to address the prevention and response to sexual violence across the UN system. We would support such an appointment. Australia considers an appointment with an operational mandate as an appropriate way to build on UN Action’s current work.
We note the Secretary-General’s recommendation to establish a Commission of Inquiry on sexual violence in Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Any such process must result in tangible outcomes. Impunity for sexual violence cannot be tolerated. We think the Council must be prepared to act on any evidence collected by such a process to ensure accountability.
We are particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with the high level of reported sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are also concerned with the reported discrimination against the minority Muslim population in Myanmar and their vulnerability to sexual violence, as well as the high level of sexual violence perpetrated by the armed forces against rural women from other ethnic groups. We call on Myanmar to ensure its agents cease perpetrating sexual violence against civilians.
Mr President
Australia is itself actively pursuing a range of practical initiatives to combat the prevalence of sexual violence in conflict.
We are pleased to support the efforts of UN Action on its ‘Inventory of Responses by Peacekeeping Personnel to War-Related Violence Against Women’, which will be launched this year. This very practical tool will provide valuable guidance to peacekeeping personnel on the ground.
We are pleased to support UNIFEM and UNDP for their initiative in conducting a joint research project to provide guidance on how this Council’s resolutions on women, peace and security can be implemented to reduce the high levels of sexual violence throughout the Pacific. This includes in Solomon Islands where we are involved with other Pacific partners in a regional peacekeeping mission.
In Solomon Islands, Australian Federal Police officers are working alongside local police to develop their capacity to respond to sexual violence.
The communiqué issued yesterday in Cairns, Australia, by the sixteen leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, currently chaired by Australia, took an important step towards addressing sexual and gender based violence, which is endemic throughout the Pacific. Leaders acknowledged the potential destabilising effects of this significant issue on both communities and societies, undertook to firmly establish it on domestic political agendas and committed to its eradication as well as to ensure that all individuals have equal access to justice. These steps reaffirm the commitment of all Pacific leaders to combat sexual and gender based violence.
There are a range of other activities which we are involved with, including:
1. Supporting the Mindanao Commission on Women in the Philippines, which is raising awareness of the gender dimensions of armed conflict, including sexual and other forms of violence against women, and promoting the role of women in conflict mediation.
2. Funding UNHCR to implement a comprehensive strategy on addressing sexual violence for internally displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
3. Supporting the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and Norwegian Refugee Council’s Gender Standby Capacity Project, which provides surge capacity for Humanitarian Country Teams, including for the prevention and response to gender-based violence in conflict situations.
Mr President
In 2008 this Council, through its adoption of resolution 1820, finally recognised that sexual violence was a calculated aspect of conflicts threatening regional and international peace and security which had to be addressed specifically. One year on, the commitment of all member states is still required to translate that understanding into practice. We must all, Australia included, remain firmly dedicated to this goal.