Redouble Efforts to ‘Prevent Atrocities, Hold those Responsible to Account’ for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Secretary-General Says on World Day

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, observed today:

The use of sexual violence as a tactic of war, torture and repression is widespread in the conflicts that affect hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Harrowing reports from across the globe are a terrible reminder that this despicable crime persists despite international commitments to stamp it out.  And many of those responsible never face justice.  While stigma too often causes survivors to walk in shame, perpetrators walk free.

Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we stand in solidarity with survivors and everyone supporting them.  And we commit to redoubling our efforts to prevent atrocities and hold those responsible to account.

That means listening to survivors.  It means Governments incorporating international humanitarian law into national laws, military rules and training.  And it means holding perpetrators to account, so that they face justice — we must confront the belief that fighters can inflict horror with impunity.

This year’s International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict focuses on technology and the digital divide.  Accessible technology can alert people to danger, help them to reach sanctuary and support, and enable abuses to be documented and verified, as a first step towards accountability.  But, it can also perpetuate violence, harm survivors and inflame hate.  We must ensure technology supports our efforts to prevent and end these crimes, including by increasing access and holding people to account for their actions online.

Together, we must turn rhetoric into response, and commitments into action, to make the promises to end sexual violence in conflict a reality.