Conflict-related sexual violence - Report of the Secretary-General (S/2023/413) [EN/AR/RU/ZH]

Introduction

1. The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2022, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), in which the Council requested me to report annually on the implementation of resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and 2467 (2019), and to recommend strategic actions.

2. In 2022, militarization and the proliferation of illicit arms escalated in the wake of a series of unconstitutional changes of government, exposing civilians to heightened levels of sexual violence, amid shrinking civic space and weakened rule of law in settings affected by conflict. State and non-State armed groups continued to target civilians with rape, gang rape and abductions. United Nations-designated terrorist groups, other non-State armed groups and transnational criminal networks used sexual violence as a tactic, destabilizing already fragile contexts. In some settings, national authorities were shored up by an array of actors, including militia or private military and security companies and groups, fighting alongside national armed forces. This has complicated attribution for serious crimes, including sexual violence, which has in turn compounded challenges with regard to accountability. In a number of countries, civilian demonstrations and protests were met with disproportionate use of force, including the use of rape as an instrument of repression and political intimidation. Activists and advocates working to defend the rights of survivors were subjected to reprisals, including sexual violence and harassment. The targeting of public health facilities in some settings impeded access to services by survivors in a context of increasing needs. Amid worsening humanitarian crises and economic shocks, sexual violence hindered women’s livelihood activities and girls’ access to education, while generating profits for armed and violent extremist groups through conflict-driven trafficking in persons.

3. Across several settings, patterns of sexual violence persisted and deepened, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti and South Sudan. In Ukraine, the human rights monitoring mission and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine have documented and reported sexual violence as a form of torture and inhumane treatment against civilians and prisoners of war (A/77/533). In May 2022, my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict signed a framework of cooperation on behalf of the United Nations system with the Government of Ukraine to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence.

4. In most contexts, impunity remained the norm, while emerging threats in the largely ungoverned digital space, as well as the combination of climate insecurity, State fragility and structural gender inequality, further exposed women and girls to conflict-related sexual violence. Weakened or collapsed rule of law institutions have created a risk of the “rule of lawlessness” by eroding what should be the first line of defence against atrocity crimes. Moreover, the emboldening effects of impunity for patterns of conflict-related sexual violence demonstrate the importance of harnessing the preventive power of the rule of law, which is a central tenet of Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). There is no better guarantee of prevention than for States to uphold their human rights responsibilities, as outlined in my call to action for human rights. For vulnerable populations, this means building individual and institutional resilience against economic, security and climate shocks, including by fostering an enabling environment for the meaningful participation of women, and of communities at risk, in political and peacebuilding processes. States should ensure access to multisectoral services, justice and reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

5. The term “conflict-related sexual violence”, as used in the present report, refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. This link may be evident in the profile of the perpetrator, who is often affiliated with a State or non-State armed group, including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations; the profile of the victim, who is frequently an actual or perceived member of a persecuted political, ethnic or religious minority, or targeted on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; a climate of impunity, which is generally associated with State collapse; cross-border consequences, such as displacement or trafficking; and/or violations of the provisions of a ceasefire agreement. The term also encompasses trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual violence and/or exploitation, when committed in situations of conflict.

6. While many communities are affected by the threat, occurrence or legacy of conflict-related sexual violence, the present report is focused on countries for which information verified by the United Nations exists. It should be read in conjunction with the 13 previous reports, which provide a cumulative basis for the listing of 49 parties (see annex). The majority of listed parties are non-State actors, with several having been designated as terrorist groups according to the sanctions list of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities. National military and police forces that are listed are required to adopt specific, time-bound commitments and action plans to address violations and are prohibited from participating in United Nations peace operations. Effective implementation of commitments, including the cessation of violations, is a key consideration for the delisting of parties. Parties to conflict, including non-State armed groups, are also required to implement action plans to prevent and address sexual violence in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions.

7. The deployment of women’s protection advisers, who are responsible for convening the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence in the field, has ensured more timely, accurate and reliable information and helped to overcome the dearth of data that is often used as a pretext for inaction. Deepening the evidence base requires sustained political resolve and resources. To date, the Security Council has explicitly called for the deployment of women’s protection advisers in the mandate authorizations and renewals of 10 peace operations. A total of four peacekeeping missions and four special political missions have established dedicated monitoring arrangements and incorporated the early warning indicators of conflict-related sexual violence into their protection frameworks. While the timely deployment of women’s protection advisers is a widely endorsed priority, the level of human and budgetary resources is far from commensurate with the scale of the challenge. To date, women’s protection advisers have been deployed to just 8 of the more than 20 countries covered in the present report. In November, the Informal Expert Group on Women and Peace and Security convened its annual meeting with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and senior women’s protection advisers to discuss strategies for advancing the implementation of the mandate (see S/2022/1005). At that meeting, my Special Representative recommended, inter alia, that these positions be integrated into the regular budgets of United Nations peace operations, particularly during transitional processes, and called for earmarked contributions for the deployment of women’s protection advisers to all situations of concern, including to regional hubs in response to cross-border dynamics, and to the offices of United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinators, in line with Security Council resolution 2467 (2019).

8. In 2022, the inter-agency network, United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, continued to unite efforts across more than 20 United Nations system entities to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence. The network serves as the primary coordination forum through which my Special Representative promotes efforts to deliver as one. The network also provides strategic, country-level support through the conflict-related sexual violence multi-partner trust fund. Programming through this pooled fund advances the survivor-centred approach set out in Security Council resolution 2467 (2019). Between 2009 and 2022, 54 projects were supported in 17 conflict-affected countries, as well as a range of regional and global initiatives. In 2022, United Nations Action funded an innovative project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, implemented through local women’s cooperatives in 13 conflict-free mining sites. Through that project, hundreds of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence who are involved in the artisanal mining sector have been able to access medical, psychosocial, legal and socioeconomic reintegration support. In order to enhance structural and operational prevention, the network launched a “Framework for the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence” in September, which articulates a two-track approach that is aimed at both preventing sexual violence in the first instance, by tackling its systemic root causes, and mitigating the secondary harms to affected individuals and communities, such as stigmatization and reprisals, which arise in its wake. In addition, the network released a white paper scoping opportunities for private sector engagement in support of efforts to tackle this scourge.

9. In 2022, the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, in accordance with its mandate under Security Council resolution 1888 (2009), continued to assist national authorities in over a dozen countries in strengthening rule of law institutions to enhance accountability for conflict-related sexual violence. In Guinea, the ad hoc tribunal to prosecute the former President, Moussa Dadis Camara, and 10 other men accused of responsibility for the incidents of massacre and mass rape in Guinea on 28 September 2009 was inaugurated in September 2022, and the opening was attended by my Special Representative. The Team had supported the accountability process for over a decade by providing sustained technical assistance to the Guinean authorities, including support to a national panel of judges during the investigative phase from 2012 to 2017, and, at the request of the Ministry of Justice in 2022, advising on legislation related to reparations and the protection of victims and witnesses. In Ukraine, the Team supported the implementation of the framework of cooperation, including on strengthening rule of law and accountability for sexual violence crimes through support to the justice sector and the design of reparations programmes for victims, as well as putting in place risk mitigation measures against conflict-related trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation and/or prostitution; conducted a comprehensive legal review of Ukrainian criminal law provisions concerning conflict-related sexual violence; and contributed to the development of a strategy for a survivor- and witness-centred approach to case management, led by the Office of the Prosecutor General. In the Central African Republic, the Team collaborated with other United Nations entities to assist national police and prosecutorial authorities in drafting an investigation plan, which led to the collection of more than 120 witness statements related to sexual violence. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Team provided technical support on reparations for victims of international crimes, pursuant to the Government’s plans to establish a national fund for reparations for victims of sexual violence. In the Sudan, the Team conducted a collaborative technical assessment of the criminal justice response to conflict-related sexual violence, based on which it co-organized six tailored training sessions for the authorities. In addition, it supported the re-establishment of the North Darfur Criminal Justice Forum, which plays a key role in coordinating the response to such crimes in the region. The Team continued to roll out the Model Legislative Provisions and Guidance on the Investigation and Prosecution of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and to disseminate lessons learned with respect to counter-terrorism, anti-trafficking and policing efforts, as well as regarding reparative justice.

10. While acknowledging that conflict-related sexual violence committed by parties to conflict is distinct from incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse that continue to be committed by United Nations staff, related personnel in and implementing partners complex operating environments, I reiterate my commitment to improving the way in which the Organization prevents and addresses such conduct. In my report on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (A/77/748), I provided information on efforts to strengthen the system-wide response and ensure full implementation of the zero-tolerance policy