UN urged to save women from rape in wars

UNITED NATIONS: A Somali woman who runs an organisation helping victims of sexual violence urged the Security Council to step up action to prevent UN peacekeepers and staff deployed to conflict zones from becoming “violent perpetrators” themselves.

Ilwad Elman, speaking on behalf of many non-governmental organizations promoting human rights and gender equality, said the UN’s “zero tolerance” policy for sexual abuse must be reinforced by insisting on accountability for all perpetrators — and holding countries that contribute troops accountable for their crimes.

Elman also insisted on accountability for “atrocities” committed by all armed groups and security forces.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kyung-Wha Kang warned the council that “the scale and level of brutality and violence committed against civilians in armed conflict have continued to rise” — from Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya to the Central African Republic, Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine and many other countries.

At the start of 2014, humanitarian organizations appealed for aid to help 52 million people in urgent need of assistance and protection, Kang said. “By the end of the year, the number had gone up by almost 50 per cent to 76 million.”

The overwhelming majority of those needing help now are civilians affected by conflict, and the majority are women and girls who continue to be “disproportionately affected by sexual violence,” she said
Agencies