WRC Responds to Today’s UN Security Council Open Debate on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)

Today, the UN Security Council convened for an open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on the theme “Identifying innovative strategies to ensure access to life-saving services and protection to survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones”. The session comes at a time of increasing CRSV – in 2023 alone, the number of UN-verified CRSV cases increased by 50 percent.

UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten discussed findings from the new Report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence. Sudanese women’s rights leader Iklass Ahmed, Coordinator and Founder of the Darfur Advocacy Group, highlighted the insufficient services for victims of CRSV, lack of support for frontline groups serving survivors, and the urgent need for international action to end CRSV and end impunity for these war crimes. She said: “Right now, without the UN, without any mechanism for civilian protection, we — frontline workers and local volunteers — are the only actors on the ground. This makes what we do essential for saving lives…. But we are at a breaking point. We are working under extremely dangerous conditions, without any resources. We desperately need funding to continue the work that is keeping our communities alive. Without your support, we will fail. We cannot afford to fail.”

WRC stands with Ikhlass Ahmed, survivors of CRSV, and those who are providing services to them. In our latest Sudan report, we spoke with young Sudanese women who suffered multiple physical and emotional traumas from conflict-related sexual violence – with one noting that her injuries were so serious that she was no longer able to work, despite previously being the breadwinner of the family. The consequences of CRSV are devastating and far-reaching.

Catherine Harrington, WRC Associate Director and Campaign Manager of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, who attended the session, said, “Ikhlass Ahmed’s powerful statement is a tragic reminder of the insufficient action by the international community to prevent CRSV, to provide services to survivors, and to ensure accountability. Words by Council Members and other States condemning conflict-related sexual violence must be followed by urgent action. Frontline groups serving CRSV survivors need resources. Perpetrators must be held accountable or they and others in future conflicts will be emboldened. Crucially, states and all stakeholders must recognize that women’s equal rights and gender equality are essential to ending CRSV and indispensable to peace and security.”