Honouring the promise of international law to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence - Security Council, 10190th meeting

Ladies and gentlemen, ministers, ambassadors, distinguished guests, good morning. On behalf of the Congolese presidency of the Security Council, I'd like to thank you for being here this morning. The 10,190th meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is Women and Peace and Security: Honouring the Promise of International Law to Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. The agenda is adopted. I would like to warmly welcome the Minister and distinguished high-level representatives present in the Security Council chamber. Your presence today underscores the importance of the subject matter under discussion. In accordance with rule Article 37 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite the following representatives to participate in this meeting: Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Ms. Karen Jocelyn, Founder and Director of the Haitian Women's Collective. It is so decided. In accordance with Rule 37 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite the representatives of the following countries to participate in this meeting: Angola, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Morocco, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sudan, Switzerland, Czechia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. It is so decided. In accordance with Rule 39 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, I also invite the following to participate in this meeting: Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, and Mr. Cherine Alem Harifo, Permanent Observer of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. It is so decided. I propose that in accordance with provisional rules of procedure and the previous practice in this regard, that the Council invite the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in the meeting. There being no objection, it is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of Item 2 of the agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to Document S/2026/545, a letter dated 1 July 2026 from the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a concept paper on the item under consideration. I now give the floor to Ms. Pramila Patten.

Madam President, Excellencies, esteemed civil society briefer, distinguished members of the Security Council. When this mandate was created almost 17 years ago, conflict-related sexual violence was described as history's greatest silence and the world's least condemned crime of war. Darfur and Eastern DRC were the epicenters of this crisis. Yet today, while grave protection risks remain, the DRC stands as an example that through political engagement, national ownership, and international cooperation, we can begin to bend the arc of history towards progress. The silence can be broken and crimes can be condemned, with 35 arms bearers convicted for sexual violence just last year and reparations paid to survivors in line with court decisions. Medical, psychosocial and livelihood support was delivered to over 45,000 displaced survivors and more than 1,000 children born of rape were recognized and registered. If this can be done in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a situation that could not be more complex, then no leader anywhere can claim that change is beyond reach. In the report before us today, the Secretary-General notes a downward trend in cases attributed to the Congolese National Police over the past 5 years. This trajectory follows the concerted engagement of the Government with my mandate to enhance accountability and develop dedicated roadmaps for the security sector. Accordingly, the delisting of the National Police will be considered in the next reporting cycle in light of sustained progress in implementing commitments. I commend the political courage of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the first-ever country directly affected by this scourge to host this open debate. It sets both precedent and example to those who deny sexual violence. Painstaking progress has been made to break the vicious cycle of violence and impunity, and replace it with a virtuous cycle of recognition and response. It is particularly inspiring that today's meeting is presided over by Her Excellency Judith Siminwa Tshiluka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first woman to hold this high office. In a similar vein, I would like to remind this Council that in 2017, the Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire were delisted from the Annex to the Annual Report of the Secretary-General following compliance with relevant Security Council resolutions. This provides an instructive example of what can be achieved through engagement with my mandate and political will to honour the promise of international law by preventing the recurrence of these crimes. More recently, my mandate has supported the Somali National Army to develop a Command Order on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, a critical preventive measure translating international commitments into clear operational directives. Madam President, the promise of international law has never been more relevant or more severely tested. The report before us holds a mirror up to the changing face of war. It is yet another reflection of a world in crisis, marked by intensifying conflicts, runaway military spending soaring close to $3 trillion per annum, record levels of forced displacement, deepening geopolitical divides, shrinking civic space, and rising reprisals against women's rights defenders and journalists who bring these atrocities to the attention of the world. This is compounded by erosion of respect for human rights, including virulent backlash against gender equality norms. In the second quarter of the 21st century, a resurgence of might-makes-right logic is marring human progress towards equality, justice, and peace. Against this backdrop, the Annual Report of the Secretary-General documents 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence verified by the United Nations in 2025, more than double the number recorded last year. Yet, such figures can never capture the full scale and magnitude of this chronically underreported crime. The data represents only the cases the United Nations was able to verify, despite access constraints, insecurity, collapsed systems of care, mission drawdowns, and entrenched social stigma. The true toll is far higher, with humanitarians in the field estimating that for every case that reaches a clinic, 10 to 20 go unreported and unaddressed. All information is presented in accordance with United Nations standards on safety, confidentiality, and survivor protection. The report presents only the incidents, patterns, and trends that are verified beyond any shadow of a doubt, adhering to a rigorous, consistent methodology— across time and space so that focus can be placed on addressing the substance of the violations and measures required to prevent them, rather than debating their veracity. This is critical to closing the compliance gap between laws on paper and warfare in practice. The report spans 21 situations of concern. —revealing brutal patterns of rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and trafficking as deliberate tactics of war, terror, torture, and political repression by both state and non-state actors, including violent extremist and terrorist groups. The highest number of UN-verified cases were recorded in the Central African Republic, in the DRC, Colombia, Haiti, and Sudan. Every case tells two stories: one of the failure of systems to protect civilians at risk, and another of the climate of impunity that emboldens the perpetrators. Women and girls remain the primary targets, accounting for approximately 90% of victims each year. Men and boys were particularly exposed to sexual violence in detention as a form of punishment and humiliation, used to extract information and coerce confessions. Persons with disabilities and LGBTQI individuals face specific risk of persecution and abuse exacerbated by intersecting forms of discrimination. Victims ranged in age from just 1 to over 70 years. Nearly 3,000 of these cases were committed against children, representing a 37% increase from last year and inflicting enduring generational trauma. These acts are not incidental, but integral to the repertoire of military aggression and terror. They are used to advance wider geopolitical goals, driving forced displacement, punishing perceived opponents, altering demography, and fracturing families, communities, and futures. These crimes ruin lives and fuel conflict. They can no longer be dismissed as collateral damage or the random, opportunistic excesses of a few renegades claiming the spoils of war. They are a calculated assault on human dignity, community cohesion, and collective security. They rank among the gravest violations of international humanitarian and criminal law, —for which no amnesty or immunity is permissible. Across multiple contexts, we are witnessing alarming trends, such as displaced and refugee women and girls being exposed to heightened risk, including abduction and trafficking, with ramifications for regional security. It is estimated that 1 in 5 displaced or refugee women caught up in conflict suffer sexual violence, yet less than 1% of humanitarian aid is dedicated to addressing it. Sexual violence, including forced prostitution and trafficking, continues to be a chronic feature of the political economy of war, used to consolidate control over contested territory and lucrative natural resources. In the digital sphere, sexual violence is used as part of extortion strategies to generate revenue for armed groups, with sexually explicit threats used to target and silence women activists online. Incidents of sexual violence have become not only more widespread in number, but more brutal in nature, accompanied by extreme physical violence including killings to silence victims before they can bear witness. Victims have also taken their own lives in the wake of these assaults, which were too often met with social stigma rather than solidarity and support. In Haiti, a 19-year-old woman who was gang raped in 2023 committed suicide after being raped again in 2025, in an unrelenting climate of fear. The illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to fuel sexual violence in 70 to 90% of cases. The formal justice system remains inaccessible for many survivors owing to distance, insecurity, and a lack of legal aid, resulting in recourse to customary and traditional dispute resolution, which often prescribes marriage between victim and perpetrator as a so-called settlement. Overall, the level of compliance by parties to conflict with existing obligations remains low, and hence use of targeted sanctions is needed to raise the cost of these crimes as a form of deterrence to leverage behavioral change. The report lists a total of 77 parties in its annex, 62 of which are non-state actors. More than 65% are persistent perpetrators, meaning they have appeared on the list for 5 or more years without taking any corrective action. Pursuant to Resolution 2242 of 2015, such parties are barred from contributing troops or police to UN peacekeeping operations. New listings this cycle include non-State actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti, and two State actors in Israel and the Russian Federation. At this time last year, both State parties were put on notice due to protection concerns, including patterns of sexual violence and systematic denials of access to independent UN monitors. The Secretary-General formally communicated to both parties on August 11th, 2025, the measures that are needed to be taken, namely cessation of violations, unimpeded access for UN monitors, zero tolerance, prevention, non-recurrence, and justice and accountability. Regrettably, neither the violations nor the conflicts have ceased, and no tangible progress has been recorded. In the case of the Israeli Armed and Security Forces, patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence persist, primarily in detention settings, but also at checkpoints and during military operations, with an increase in the number of verified cases —despite victims being pressured not to report abuse. The Russian Armed Forces continue to be implicated in patterns of sexual violence, primarily against prisoners of war and civilian detainees, but also against civilians living in the temporarily occupied territories since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Madam President, I want to be clear. The List is not and was never intended to be a political instrument. It is a protection tool. Inclusion on the List is not an endpoint, but an opportunity for engagement. My door remains open to all parties to support the adoption and implementation of time-bound commitments to strengthen prevention, oversight, Protection, Justice and Accountability. The aim is not simply to document and attribute violations, but to end them. Likewise, we do not compile these reports simply to count the number of victims. We compile them because the victims are counting on us. They are counting on this Council to turn documentation into accountability. Rights into protection and atrocities into assistance, to chart a path to peace out of the wreckage of war. There are many different stories behind the data, but they all tell the same truth: it is not that international law is inadequate, but that it is inadequately respected and enforced. Indeed, the report is a litany of broken bodies, broken lives, and broken laws. In every violation, it records the broken promise that even wars have limits, and international law will shield civilians from the effects of hostilities. So let us ask: Can civilians and survivors count on this Council? In Haiti, where gang rape is rampant as a tool of territorial control and collective punishment, where children have been raped in front of their family members, including 3 boys aged between 9 and 12 years who were raped alongside their mother and grandmother. Or in Sudan, where women and girls have been raped in streets and public squares. And continue to be sexually assaulted based on ethnic identity, with racial slurs and hate speech being used to dehumanize victims during RSF attacks. This has left survivors and children born of rape facing rejection and abandonment while the humanitarian system is depleted of resources. In eastern DRC, where a 20-year-old woman was abducted by an armed group, held for several months and raped repeatedly until she contracted HIV. Or in Myanmar, where a woman was raped during a military raid and escaped the soldiers, only to encounter another cruel reality: closed clinics, harassed health workers, and the stark choice between suffering in silence or risking retaliation. In Ukraine, where hundreds of cases of conflict-related sexual violence have been verified, including that of a prisoner of war who suffered years of sexual torture after his capture in 2022 until his release in 2025. In Israel, where a woman who was held as a hostage by Hamas in harrowing conditions described multiple instances of sexual violence upon her release in January 2025. Or in the occupied Palestinian territory, where male Palestinian detainees have suffered severe physical injuries following sexual violence, often without receiving any medical treatment. These crimes, Madam President, occur at the intersection of dehumanization and impunity. We live in an era that every day tests what it means to be human and humane. Instead of enforcing norms, we are allowing brutality to be normalized. Instead of defending life-saving progress, we are defunding life-saving programs. Instead of punishing these crimes, we see increased persecution of those who dare denounce them. 80 years ago, this organization was founded to replace the law of force with the force of law. We cannot afford to allow an inversion of these hard-won values, whereby human rights, equality, and respect for diversity are disparaged, and institutions built over decades are dismantled overnight. There are many matters that are difficult for the nations of this world and the members of this Council to agree on, but ending sexual violence in conflict should not be one of them. Indeed, we have the solemn promise of this Council to act, expressed in no less than 6 specific resolutions. We now need sustained political resolve and resources to make this real and close protection, assistance, and accountability gaps. I wish to highlight 3 key recommendations set out in the report as a roadmap to strengthen our collective response. Firstly, the integrated architecture unanimously created by this Council is needed more urgently than ever. This includes Women Protection Advisers, who convene the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements as an evidence base for action and anchor our engagements with parties to conflict for preventive measures. Though mandated in all relevant conflict-affected settings, Women Protection Advisers are currently deployed in just 5 of the contexts covered in this report, down from 9 at the time of its publication. It is critical to ensure that mandate authorization and renewals of UN missions, as well as mission drawdowns and transitions, include provisions on addressing conflict-related sexual violence and accelerating the deployment of Women Protection Advisers in line with Security Council Resolution 2467 of 2019. Secondly, sustained investment in multi-sectoral services is essential to provide an enabling environment for survivors to report and seek redress, notably through our CRSB Multi-Partner Trust Fund. The interagency coordination network, UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, which I chair, has been truly transformative in bringing these issues into focus through advocacy, knowledge building, and the joint catalytic operations in the field. Through some 70 life-changing projects spanning 20 conflicts, UN Action Network has reached thousands of survivors across Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Darfur, Somalia, and elsewhere, who were once invisible and inaccessible. These projects have harnessed digital technology, for safe and confidential referrals, as well as making use of mobile clinics to reach survivors in remote and volatile regions. UN Action has collated best practices and lessons learned into a unique global knowledge hub to inform frontline interventions. And third, we must translate zero tolerance into real consequences for those who commit, command, or condone these crimes through justice and accountability, oversight, and vetting. Too many military and political leaders operate above the law, while women and girls remain beneath the scope of its protection. Too many perpetrators are still in the corridors of power rather than the cells of a prison. It is time to replace impunity with unity. It is time to rise above denial and deflection, selective outrage, and political narratives to take responsibility for the human suffering wrought on our watch. In terms of accountability, my team of experts on the rule of law has supported legislative reform, trained law enforcement officials in trauma-informed investigation and prosecution, and ensured conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in transitional justice processes. Signs of hope are evident in Colombia, where former commanders have been indicted for war crimes, including sexual violence, and also in Iraq, where more than 2,500 applications for reparations have been approved under the Law on Support to Female Yazidi Survivors. In the prevailing climate of cutbacks and setbacks, it is important to remember that however political or funding decisions may vary, the rights, needs, mandates and laws remain. We must likewise remain steadfast in respecting them. I thank all the Member States and regional organizations that have shown abiding support for this mandate. There are now 117 National Action Plans and 13 Regional Plans on Women, Peace and Security, covering more than 2 billion women and girls globally. You can count on my mandate to continue to do its part to strengthen conflict-related sexual violence prevention and response as a core pillar of peacebuilding. Even after the horrors I have witnessed during nearly a decade at the helm of this mandate, Madam President, I remain hopeful, inspired by the resilience of survivors and their faith in the rule of law. I have seen firsthand survivors become leaders, isolation become solidarity, reparations become a reality, and courage outlast cruelty. Yet I also know that international law is not self-executing. It requires moral clarity and political courage to realize it in practice, not one day, but right now. The UN Charter and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda are our last best hope for a better world, where bodies are no longer used and abused as battlefields, and innocent civilians can sleep not under the shadow of violence, but under the COVID of justice. Thank you.

Je remercie Madame Patten. I thank Ms. Patten for her briefing. I now give the floor to Ms. Karen Jocelyn.

Please.

President, Excellencies, thank you for the opportunity to address you today. My name is Kareen Jocelyn, and I am the founder and director of the Haitian Women's Collective, a collective which consists of 15 women-led organizations dedicated to empowering women and girls. This includes supporting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence through advocacy, funding, and community support. Haiti, the first Black republic and once a beacon for liberation from slavery, is today in crisis. The severe conflict between rival gangs and the Haitian National Police has led to a complete breakdown of law and order, frequent kidnappings, and widespread violence. Armed gangs control significant portions of the country and have displaced over 1.4 million people, more than half of whom are women and girls. 5.8 million Haitians, roughly 52% of the population, are facing acute food insecurity. 2.8 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance. Haitians who seek, who seek safety abroad are frequently denied their rights as refugees and forcibly returned to the dangerous situations they fled in the first place. With no elected officials in place and a transitional government that has struggled to maintain basic functions amidst the ongoing crisis, Haiti risks becoming a failed state. This complex crisis has led to an alarming surge in sexual and gender-based violence. The UN reported a 170% a 63% increase in cases of sexual violence in Haiti in 2025, primarily against women and girls. The real numbers are likely even higher. Women and girls are systematically raped, trafficked, and sexually exploited by gangs. They are being targeted in their homes, at displacement sites, and as they go about their daily lives. This violence is facilitated by easy access to military-grade weapons that armed gangs and other criminal groups illicitly traffic, primarily from the United States, in violation of this Council's arms embargo. Many survivors are left without services or accountability due to an ineffective justice system, entrenched corruption, and an under-resourced police force. Many, including LGBTIQ persons and those targeted in displacement sites, do not report sexual violence due to fear of reprisal and stigmatization and lack of safe and accessible reporting mechanisms. Clinics are being looted, burned, or infiltrated, leaving millions without care. This includes access to sexual and reproductive health services, such as post-rape care, contraceptives, prophylactic care, and safe abortions. Local women-led organizations are often the first to respond and the last to leave a crisis. The Haitian Women's Collective's partner organizations are providing life-saving services with limited funding to address protection and justice needs, all while they themselves face displacement, harassment, and threats of violence. Despite extreme challenges, these groups are not only meeting immediate needs but also building lasting solutions shaped by Haitians for Haiti. They are living proof that we must be treated as dignified, joyful, and capable architects of our own lives. Excellencies, as you are no doubt aware, The UN has been very present in a sovereign Haiti in its recent history, not always with positive outcomes. Recently, the UN reported that members of the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission committed sexual violence in 2025. The MSS has now transitioned to the Gang Suppression Force, authorized to use more lethal force but without satisfactory oversight or accountability mechanisms in place to protect human rights, provide support and justice for survivors, and prevent future abuses. Further, while Binou is working to address human rights abuses, root out corruption of government officials, and strengthen the judiciary, many Haitians feel these efforts have yet to make a real difference in their daily lives. So let me be clear that attempts to improve security through militarized and privately funded means while ignoring the concerns of our communities will not bring peace to Haiti. It is an absolute tragedy for our self-determination and sovereignty that we have not held elections in over 10 years. Haiti's constitution mandates a minimum quota of 30% for women's representation at all levels. This has never been achieved. In fact, many women do not run for public office or vote because they face such intense harassment and violent threats. What is more, in December 2025, the Transitional Presidential Council approved the decree regulating defamation and so-called press crimes, which will unduly restrict the right to freedom of expression. While it is critical that Haitians democratically choose their own leaders, elections cannot be held as long as armed gangs control large parts of the country. Voting under threat of violence or displacement, and without access to independent media, a working judicial system, or a functioning civil society does not ensure a free or fair process. Further, foreign governments must not interfere in elections, including through sanctions or military pressure. Failure to meet these conditions undermines prospects for a stable democracy in Haiti. Excellencies, it is time to chart a new course for Haiti. I therefore conclude by calling on the Security Council to do the following: demand full compliance with the UN arms embargo on Haiti, call on all member states to take steps to stop the illegal flow of arms and ammunition, condemn all forms of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence in Haiti, and enable the provision of comprehensive, non-discriminatory sexual and reproductive health services to survivors. Scale up resources for independent local organizations to continue their work to address sexual and gender-based violence. Call on the government of Haiti and international partners to support mechanisms for safe reporting by survivors and investigate and prosecute those responsible for all forms of gender-based violence, including through the new Specialized Judicial Unit on Sexual Violence. Ensure that the GSF prevents the unlawful use of force by implementing mandatory oversight measures for protection of local populations and prioritize the deployment of human rights monitors and women protection advisors. Urge BINU to prioritize gender equality and women's human rights across its mandate and to engage with local women-led and feminist organizations. Condemn targeting of all human rights defenders and frontline workers, including women. Demand that all peace, security, transitional, and political processes are Haitian-led and Haitian-owned, and ensure the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation and leadership of diverse women throughout. Finally, in accordance with the international law, call on all member states to maintain temporary protection or refugee status for Haitians and refrain from forcibly returning people to Haiti while the crisis persists. Excellencies, Haitians are tired of empty promises. As the UN Secretary-General said when he visited Port-au-Prince last month, the greatest disgrace in Haiti is not gang violence, but the indifference of a world that has looked the other way for far too long, while women and children pay the heaviest price. This is true not only of Haiti, but Afghanistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Sudan, and others—situations over which you have influence. Today, I urge you not to look the other way. You have the power to stop the violence and hold perpetrators accountable. Thank you.

Je remercie Madame Jocelyne. I thank Ms. Jocelyne for her briefing. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as a Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me, and I also have a great deal of emotion and sense of responsibility when I preside over the meeting of the Security Council at the time when the Democratic Republic of the Congo is assuming the rotating presidency of this body, which is to maintain international peace and security. As Prime Minister of my country and as a woman, and on behalf of the Congolese presidency of the Council, I take the floor during this debate on the scourge which strikes the human conscience and directly threatens peace, namely conflict-related sexual violence. I welcome the constant commitment of His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and I underscore the importance of his Annual Report on Sexual Violence Related to Conflict. I thank Ms. Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for her briefing. As she is nearing the end of her mandate, I would like to pay special tribute to her and thank her for her commitment, her voice, and her action for survivors, men and women, for justice and human dignity. His mandate recalls for us an essential truth that conflict-related sexual violence is not a peripheral issue. They are at the heart of the peace and security agenda. These issues compel us to look at war not just through the front lines, but also through the broken bodies, destroyed families, stigmatized children, displaced communities, and the impunity systems which allow these crimes to repeat themselves. Ladies and gentlemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo wanted to preside over this meeting, but it's not just to use our national experience to make it into the only object of this debate. We did it because this painful experience places on us a special responsibility, namely to contribute to our common reflective— reflection on the crime which goes beyond borders, regions, and the situations we have on the agenda of the Council. In the east of the DRC, as is the case in other regions of the world, conflict-related sexual violence is not just individual tragedy cases. They are the language of war. The violence is there to terrorize, humiliate, displace, dominate, break families, and destroy, destroy communities. There where the bodies of women, girls, but also of men and boys become a battleground, their peace is already gravely compromised. In several conflicts on various continents, this kind of violence accompanies the control of a territory, of a road, of a village, of a mining site, of a passage point, or a population center. They also take the form of abductions, sexual slavery, trafficking in people for the purpose of sexual exploitation, sometimes for the profit of armed groups, terrorist groups, or criminal networks. They are not always a collateral effect of the war. Far too frequently, they are a method of war. The report that Ms. Pramila Patten has presented. The report confirms an alarming increase in verified cases, and this provides us with the factual and institutional basis that we need for our debate. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we know this reality. We're painfully familiar with that. In certain areas impacted by the armed groups and under occupation of foreign forces, including Rwanda, these violences— this violence relates to forced placement, illicit economies, and the logic of predation which fuels war. But our national experience makes us today to ask a broader question, namely, how can we prevent the kinds of systems which make these kinds of crimes possible? Given this barbaric crime, the Democratic Republic of the Congo refused to just remain a victim. Under the impetus of His Excellency Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Chilombo, President of the Republic, We decided to strengthen our institutions, to break the cycle of impunity, and to make sure that the dignity of survivors, men and women, become a priority of our government action. Specific mechanisms for that were put in place. The FONAREV, which is the National Fund for Reparations to the Victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Other Crimes Against Peace and Security, aims to identify victims, facilitate their access to justice, and allow for individual and collective reparations. The Integrated Multi-Sectoral Service Centers provide a response for such issues as medical, psychosocial, legal, and socioeconomic care. These instruments are not just social responses. They are instruments of justice, of national reconstruction, and to restore trust. The Democratic Republic of the Congo also signed a communiqué jointly with the United Nations on conflict-related social violence, and this translates into an operational commitment— our common will to strengthen prevention, the protection of survivors, and our fight against impunity. In fact, lasting peace is impossible if the survivors do not receive justice, when communities remain without reparations, and when the perpetrators of violence, their accomplices, and those who order the violence continue to act with impunity. Ladies and gentlemen, international law has evolved, and the law is clear. The prohibition is there, and it is clear. The obligations are clear. Conflict-related sexual violence can constitute, under certain circumstances, um, can amount to crimes of war, crimes against humanity, and crimes of genocide. They involve the responsibility of the perpetrators, but also those who are behind those crimes, those who tolerate those crimes, or those who make them possible. Our challenge now is to make sure that this promise does effectively reach the survivors. This promise is upheld when the victim receives care in the first hours, when the victim is protected, when he has— when they have access to justice, when they receive reparation, and when they can rebuild their life with dignity. A response which is centered on the survivors of conflict-related sexual violence cannot remain a principle which is not funded. When the clinics are closing, and care disappears. When the shelters disappear, protection is not there. When women's organizations are no longer supported, the first line of trust disappears. When the documentation teams are reduced, evidence disappears. The perpetrators hide and impunity continues. The budgetary cuts to healthcare services, to protection, psychosocial assistance, legal assistance, and documentation are therefore not— just simple administrative adjustments. They have direct consequences on the life of survivors, on the capacity of states to prosecute the perpetrators, and the— on the credibility of our collective commitment. They weaken also our collective capacity to bridge information gaps, whereas we know that without identifying victims, without reliable documentation, without safeguarding evidence and cooperation between states, the United Nations, and civil society, the crimes rest invisible, the networks remain active, and the impunity consolidates. Ladies and gentlemen, more than 25 years after the adoption of Resolution 1325, the agenda on women, peace, and security now is at a decisive point. We need to pay tribute to the progress that we have accomplished, but we also have to acknowledge lucidly what remains to be done. Resolution 1325 changed our understanding of peace. It affirms that women are not just victims of war, but they're also actors of prevention, mediation, protection, recovery, and governance. But our responsibility is not just to commemorate this step forward. It is to make sure that it's implemented consequentially. The participation of women cannot be just symbolic. Work that has— it has to provide a real way of influencing decisions. The protection of survivors cannot be separated from their access to justice, and the commitment of the Council cannot remain just in our resolutions. It has to be translated into the mandates, the budgets, the sanctions mechanism, peace processes, and national policies. I also welcome the commitment of Council members, in particular through the informal International Group of Experts on Women, Peace and Security. I also want to commend the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, the PSVI Alliance, which brings together states, international organizations, and civil society to ensure that justice for survivors and the prevention of crimes becomes a central axis of our collective action. Democratic Republic of the Congo is part of this collective effort because we have a simple conviction that this fight has to be one of the pillars of our peace and security agenda. Ladies and gentlemen, another issue is here that far too frequently gets relegated to the second plan, and it is the children that are born out of conflict-related sexual violence. These children cannot be dealt with as simply an indirect consequence of violence inflicted on their mothers. They have their own fully fledged rights. Their protection brings us to specific questions: their civil state, their legal identity, their nationality, education, healthcare, reparations, and protection against stigma. When these rights are not guaranteed, the violence— conflict-related violence continues in the lives of these children who did not choose the circumstances of their birth or the silence surrounding these circumstances. Ladies and gentlemen, our goal cannot be just to simply document the horrendous crimes. It has to be to prevent the conditions which made them possible. And this means that there has to be a close presence to the communities at risk, early warning systems, justice which can be meted out to the perpetrators, their accomplices and those who order the crimes effective reparations and economic recovery, providing not just protection but also power. This proposes— this supposes that we have to better understand links between sexual violence, the control of territories, forced displacement, circulation of weapons, trafficking in people, impunity, and conflict economy. And if we want to prevent these crimes, we have to look not just at the crimes committed but also at the systems which make them possible. This means that the peace processes have to integrate these issues from the very beginning in ceasefires, the monitoring mechanisms, disarmament processes, security sector reform, sanctions regimes, and the guarantees of non-repetition of the crimes. When individuals, groups, or networks organize, fund, or profited from the abduction, trafficking, sexual slavery, or sexual exploitation in situations of conflict, the tools of the Council have to be mobilized consistently, including through its sanctions committees and their groups of experts. The Congolese presidency of the Security Council decided to start with the victims because no peace architecture makes sense if it doesn't start with those who paid the highest price. Of war. In the upcoming days, the Council will continue this thinking process by looking at the structures which feed conflicts, illicit economies that support it, and the means of transforming the governance of natural resources into the tools of peace, security, and prosperity. But today, our first duty is clear. We have to listen to the survivors. We have to recognize their rights, support the national and international responses, finance essential services, bridge information gaps, strengthen cooperation, and make sure that the fight against impunity is a condition of peace. And as an outcome of our deliberations, a message has to be issued clearly, namely that sexual violence related to conflict are neither inevitable nor are they secondary. And this cannot be limited to just a condemnation. Our response has to include prevention, protection, justice, reparations, economic recovery, recognition of the children born out of this violence, and the needs necessary for our commitments and results. Ladies and gentlemen, fighting against conflict-related sexual violence is a moral imperative, but it is also a strategic requirement for any lasting peace. You cannot rebuild a society, If you leave the survivors without justice, you cannot reconcile communities if you abandon the children born out of violence to silence and stigma. You cannot prevent conflicts by ignoring the economies that fund them, the weapons that prolong them, the networks which exploit the victims, and the domination systems which accompany that. Our common responsibility is to ensure that the dignity of survivors, that the rights of children, justice, reparations, and essential services are not at the periphery of peace, but rather at the very heart of its construction. More than 25 years after Resolution 1325, the next step cannot be just a new promise. It has to be a promise kept. And this is because no natural resource should be extracted at the cost of human dignity, because no economy should prosper on the suffering of the people, and because no lasting peace can be built on impunity. I thank you.

Je reprends mes fonctions.

I now resume my function as President of the Council. I now give the floor to the Representative of the United States of America.

Thank you, Madam President, and congratulations on the DRC's presidency. And I appreciate your remarks that you just delivered, and of course, a thank you to our briefers as well. The United States welcomes this opportunity to consider how both that the Security Council and all UN member states could do more to prevent conflict-related sexual violence, to provide support for victims, and to ensure perpetrators are held to account. Often rhetoric matters, but we know and survivors know that actions matter most. The President of the United States, President Trump, and the United States is leading the way on ending conflicts around the world. At the same time, while conflicts rage on, it is imperative that we take action individually and collectively to protect the most vulnerable, most often girls and women. Sexual violence is a scourge in war and in domestic life. Every woman in this room knows of what I speak. Directly and indirectly, as have our mothers, sisters, friends, and spouses. Unfortunately, the UN Secretary-General's latest report on conflict-related sexual violence fails to support tangible actions. Instead, it focuses on words, empty rhetoric, often in pursuit of ideological positions— that undermine national sovereignty. This dynamic hampers our ability to make real and lasting change on the ground. Reports like this one clearly demonstrate the degree to which the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has drifted away from the purpose of the United Nations and from the needs of Member States, reinforcing the United States' January 7th decision to cease participation in the Office's activities. The United States condemns sexual violence as a tactic of war and in general, in all cases, and we are prepared to use all the tools at our disposal, including targeted sanctions, to impose real costs on perpetrators and their networks, and we have done so. In February, the United States Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against 3 commanders of the RSF, Rapid Support Forces, for their actions in al-Fasher, Sudan. Since the beginning of Sudan's civil war, the RSF has committed widespread atrocities, including rape and other sexual violence against women and children. Last month, Treasury also announced sanctions against 2 commanders from M23 and FDLR armed groups with documented histories of human rights abuses, including sexual violence in Eastern DRC. We encourage all UN member states to join the United States in strengthening their own accountability mechanisms to ensure that perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence are held responsible. The United States will continue to uphold our commitment and to call for concrete actions to protect those most at risk. Many of us have spent decades using rhetoric to try to change society, but this body and the UN has options to take action, and that is what we require in the 21st century, in the modern age, with the number of women in this circle and in this room. There is no excuse. Violence against women and children, sexual and otherwise, condemns the potential of humanity itself. It cannot be seen as an artifact of the human condition. As civilized people, we can overcome that, and we must. Ending sexual violence in conflict is, of course, of paramount importance. That is why we are here. But we will only have it successful, it will only be possible when we take it seriously when it also happens during peace. Thank you, Madam President.

Merci, Madame—

I thank the representative of the United States of America for that statement. I now get the floor. To the representative of Bahrain. Please.

Madam President, at the outset, I would like to express our gratitude to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for organizing this important discussion on conflict-related sexual violence. We welcome Her Excellency, Ms. Judith Souminoua Toulouka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is presiding over today's meeting. I would also like to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, and Ms. Karen Jocelyn, civil society representative, for their valuable briefings. Madam President, conflict-related sexual violence remains among the gravest violations committed in the context of armed conflicts, given its profound physical, psychological, and social consequences, and because in some contexts it is used to intimidate civilians, undermine the social fabric, and aggravate humanitarian crises. The Secretary-General's latest report reflects the gravity of the situation. The report indicates a sharp increase in the cases verified by the United Nations during 2025. With women and girls continuing to constitute the overwhelming majority of victims, the report also indicates that these violations are used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism, and political repression. The violations include rape, abduction, and sexual slavery. In light of these alarming developments, the Kingdom of Bahrain underscores the importance of keeping this issue under the consideration of the Security Council. This is consistent with the Council's mandate to maintain international peace and security and consistent with the resolutions adopted by the Council, particularly Resolution 1820 of 2008 and 2467 of 2019. Keeping the Council seized of this matter would strengthen adherence to international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In this regard, The Kingdom of Bahrain wishes to emphasize three interrelated priorities. First, strengthening prevention efforts by addressing the factors that increase civilians' vulnerability to these violations, including displacement, human trafficking, insecurity, and the proliferation of illicit weapons. Civilian protection considerations must be integrated into mediation efforts, ceasefire agreements, and peace processes. Security gaps during the transition and withdrawal phases of peacekeeping operations must be addressed. Second, ensuring a survivor-centered response through the provision of safe and integrated medical, psychological, social, and legal services that preserve dignity and privacy, reduce social stigma, and the risk of recurrence of these violations. Survivors must be involved in shaping solutions, and due attention should be paid to children born of rape. Third, strengthening accountability and ending impunity by building the capacities of national judicial and security institutions in the areas of documentation, investigation, and law enforcement. Perpetrators of these crimes must be held accountable. Accountability serves as a fundamental deterrent, preventing the recurrence of violations. Accountability is essential to achieve justice. To ensure that these priorities are translated into practical measures, the Kingdom stresses the importance of strengthening coordination among the United Nations regional organizations and member states to take into account national contexts and to adopt a balanced and non-selective approach that does not politicize human suffering. In conclusion, the Kingdom of Bahrain expresses its deepest sympathy with all victims and survivors. We reaffirm our support for international efforts aimed at preventing these violations, achieving justice, and building sustainable peace that preserves human dignity and preserves the security and stability of societies. I thank you, Madam President.

I thank the representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Latvia.

I thank you, Madam President. Allow me to begin by wishing you a warm welcome, Your Excellency, Judith Surimina Taluko, the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as President of this Council meeting.

On sexual violence and conflict, Pamela Patton, for her briefing, sobering briefing, and for her unwavering commitment. The SRSG and her office work every day so that survivors are heard and the perpetrators are held accountable. I also thank Ms. Corinne Jocelyn, for her contribution and the courageous work on the ground in Haiti. Madam President, I will highlight 3 points. First, the Secretary-General's report leaves no doubt: conflict-related sexual violence remains a persistent threat to international peace and security. The number of verified cases has more than doubled in the past year. And just a few examples: terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Daesh used SRSV to reach ideological goals and incentivize recruitment. Russian armed forces and security services systematically used sexual violence as a form of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war, civilian detainees, and civilians in the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia. To humiliate, punish, or extract confessions. In Haiti, gangs targeted children to assert control, while in Myanmar, CRSV was weaponized as part of political violence to intimidate opponents. And in Sudan, rape was used as a tactic of war to terrorize entire communities. And these are not isolated incidents. They reflect deliberate choices, a systematic pattern of targeted violence by parties to conflict that we must never accept. Second, accountability must match the scale of the crimes. This requires strengthening of the monitoring, analysis, and reporting arrangements and the sufficient deployment of women's protection advisers to all situations covered by the report. It also means ending impunity through the effective use of available tools, including targeted sanctions. And we welcome the strengthening of accountability through the newly created CRSV prosecution network, of which Latvia is a member. There is also a responsibility that rests with a permanent member of this Council. For the first time, Russia's armed and security forces have been listed for the widespread and systemic use of sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians. The UN has previously reported that 98.9% of freed detainees disclosed being tortured while in Russian custody, 75% of those being subject to sexual violence, 63% multiple times. The fact that Russia is the only listed state actor refusing to engage with the SRHG office speaks volumes. Russia must provide full and unimpeded access to independent monitors and must immediately cease these violations and implement formal commitments to address them. The Secretary-General's report addresses the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory with verified cases of sexual violence against detainees, hostages, and children. And we call on all listed parties to immediately cease these violations and reiterate the need to provide access for independent monitoring, full investigations, and accountability. Where there is political will to address sexual violence, there are results. We welcome the significant progress achieved by the DRC through sustained engagement with the SRSG. The efforts of Ukraine have been exemplary, with authorities engaging fully with the SRSG since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine has pioneered interim reparations for survivors of CRSV while continuing to investigate and prosecute cases during wartime. These examples show that determined action can strengthen prevention, improve protection, and advance accountability. Third, we must keep survivors at the center and ensure that no one is overlooked. As we heard from this RSG pattern, Women and girls remain disproportionately affected by CRSV, accounting for the vast majority of verified cases. However, in detention settings, among prisoners of war and detainees, the crimes mostly affected men and boys. Victims' experiences remain underreported and are often compounded by this deep stigma, underscoring that support must be gender responsive to reach all survivors. Victims and survivors span the ages of 1 to 70 and include persons with disabilities and members of various minority groups. Addressing the individual needs of each survivor in a trauma-informed manner is essential, with full respect for their safety, dignity, confidentiality, and non-discrimination. Madam President, Conflict-related sexual violence is not an inevitable consequence of war. It is a deliberate choice made by perpetrators. It must be therefore be met with a clear and consistent response by this Council to prevent it, expose it, and end impunity. And that we will continue to stand firmly with survivors and to support the important work of the SRSG and her office. I thank you.

I thank the representative of Latvia for the statement, and I now give the floor to the representative of France.

Excellency, Madam President and Prime Minister, welcome to New York. France congratulates you for this Security Council presidency, and rest assured, you have our full support. I welcome the Special Representative, Ms. Pramila Patten and Ms. Caroline Jocelyn, the director of the Haitians Women's Collective. I thank you for your work and for your briefings. Madame President, France welcomes the holding of this open debate and the topic that you have chosen, which is all the more meaningful because your country is bearing the full brunt of this violence and is indeed cooperating with the UN to respond to it. This is something that the Secretary-General hailed in his report. In light of the violence striking women and girls with shocking and increasing intensity, what should we do? Firstly, we must establish what has happened, the facts. In light of increasing brutality around the world, the Special Representative holds an essential mandate for which France reiterates its full support. It is— it provides a form of consciousness which allows countries around the world to understand their own responsibilities. We fully support this. In Sudan, in the DRC, in Haiti, and so many other conflicts, the number of United Nations cases of verified sexual violence is unprecedented. Sexual and gender-based violence, rape, sexual exploitation, forced marriage are central to terrorist groups' strategies. Daesh, Jenin, Boko Haram, Hamas. Indeed, this latter group remains on the blacklist in the annual report following the sexual crimes committed on the 7th of October and then against hostages. For the first time, the Secretary-General has included a permanent member of this council, Russia, on this blacklist. Due to the sexual violence committed by its armed forces against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, crimes that the United Nations have documented for more than 4 years. Israel is also included on this list this year due to the sexual violence committed against Palestinian detainees. We urge Israel, a country that upholds the rule of law, to investigate these events, serious events, and to fully cooperate with the ICRC and the UN, particularly by granting the necessary access to the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In light of this violence, the Special Representative, I once again contribute to a crucial role for our organization that we should preserve and strengthen. That is to independently and impartially verify and document human rights and international humanitarian law violations and name the perpetrators. Secondly, we should act. It falls to us as the Security Council to harness all of the tools at our disposal to curb this violence. We must ensure that the elimination of this violence is at the heart of the— of peace operations mandates and components. It is in this way that peace operations should have women's peace advisors within them, particularly in transitional context. It is regrettable that all too often their presence is undermined or called into question due to budgetary issues, as 8 out of 15 15 UN sanctions regimes contain a listing criteria that can be linked to sexual violence in conflict. We should increasingly use targeted sanctions against the perpetrators. Third, bring people together. Combating impunity is a collective struggle. In March this year, for the first time in France, a court found a French member of Daesh guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity against Yazidi women, particularly due to sexual crimes. We must together work to strengthen the rule of law, support national and international courts in combating impunity, and grant victims the due recognition and reparation. We here underscore the role played by the Special Representative's team of experts, which works to strengthen the capacities of investigation, prosecution, and court judgment within countries. And we welcome the launch by the Special Representative of a new international network of judges. France France is proud to formally announce that we will participate. Fourth, we should support the victims and those who provide assistance to them on the ground. France supports the Global Fund for Survivors of Sexual Violence created by the Nobel Prize winners, Madame Nadia Murad and Dr. Mukwege. We also support other organizations working on the ground, particularly through our support fund for women's rights organizations. Madame President, to conclude, France has just adopted its fourth national Women, Peace and Security Action Plan, and we look at the deterioration of the situation on the ground. And in this regard, you can count on our country and its feminist foreign policy in combating sexual violence in conflict. Thank you.

I thank the representative of France for that statement, and I now give the floor to the representative of Colombia.

I welcome you, Your Excellency, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ms. Judith Saminwa Taluka. I'd like to thank the presidency for organizing this debate and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ms. Pramila Patten, for presenting the report and for the painstaking work that went into drafting it. I would also like to thank Ms. Carine Jocelyne, the founder and director of the Haitian Women's Collective, for her briefing. The report makes for a devastating read. It confirms that sexual violence continues to be used as a weapon of war in multiple conflicts, from South Sudan, the Central African Republic, to Ukraine and Haiti, among others. This is a list which, rather than shrinking, has added confirmed perpetrators, demonstrating that these are no isolated events. Rather, they are patterns related to displacement, to the control of territory, to discrimination, fear, and reprisals. The rise in military spending fuels conflicts and diverts the necessary financing for those who respond to their consequences. This dual form of harm confirms the need to reduce the gap between political commitments and available resources. In this context, I will refer to two fundamental points. First, protection, comprehensive assistance and ensuring the centrality of victims and survivors. Colombia calls for guaranteed routes, safe routes for reporting, medical and psychosocial care, for access to justice, protection from reprisals, for community support and responses that do not reproduce stigma or exclusion for the victims or survivors. Sexual and reproductive reproductive health services play a central role. When the rights of women, young people, adolescents, and girls are restricted, these services can make the difference between life and death, between upholding the dignity of a survivor or further entrenching their trauma. Colombia's experience confirms the importance of a comprehensive approach. Our country is no stranger to these events. For this reason, it is crucial to recognize the differentiated impacts of conflict on women, girls, boys, LGBTIQ+ persons, ethnic peoples, per— displaced persons, and higher risk groups at higher risk. A response that is limited to the individual case without considering the surrounding context will always fall short.. In Colombia, Macro Case 11 of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace is just one example of this comprehensive approach. Second point now: prevention, accountability, and compliance with international law. Gender-based analysis is a prevention tool which allows us to better understand how in conflict zones dispute Disputes over mineral resources, illicit crops, trafficking routes, and other criminal dynamics ramp up violence and beget differentiated risks for women, children, LGBTIQ+ persons, and other more vulnerable populations. Columbia calls for the greater availability of specialized capacities, including the presence of advisers within relevant UN missions. They can help to better identify these risks, to strengthen context-based analysis, to guide sexual and gender-based violence prevention, and to avoid institutional responses that merely reproduce exclusion or revictimization. Prevention, however, cannot be seen as separate to justice. Without information, there is no effective justice, and without justice, there are no real guarantees of non-repetition. One case that clearly illustrates this situation are the acts documented in the Report Relating to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the systematic lack of accountability accountability by the perpetrators. Like other patterns of destruction against the Palestinian people, these events must be investigated independently, rigorously, and in accordance with international law. Israel should allow access for the United Nations and independent mechanisms to investigate the extremely serious violations reported, to prosecute the perpetrators, and to halt the systematic use of sexual violence against Palestinians, including in detention centers. Madam President, accountability cannot be selective. It cannot depend on who committed the crimes, even where the perpetrator is a member state of this council. Finally, Colombia expresses its support for the Office of the Special Representative. This mandate must be preserved, financed, and politically supported. Colombia is further grateful for the technical support provided by the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, which is essential to boost institutional capacity to support to support justice processes and to guarantee accountability. Attacking the ability to document, verify, and report these crimes is tantamount to silencing thousands of victims and survivors. Colombia reiterates its call for the immediate and full cessation of all acts of conflict-related sexual violence. Victims and survivors must be at the heart of our action. Their protection, access to justice, healthcare, psychosocial support, comprehensive reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition are not discretionary benefits. They are obligations under international law, and they are commitments made by this Council. Council.

Thank you very much. I thank the representative of Colombia for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Denmark.

President, Denmark commends the Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this crucial debate. Prime Minister Tshilika, thank you for your presence here today and for both your country's and your personal commitment to this agenda. Let me also thank Special Representative Patton for her briefing and express Denmark's unwavering support for her mandate. I also thank Director Droslin for her briefing on the situation for survivors in Haiti. Madam President, allow me to make 3 points. First, when this Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1888, it made clear that preventing and responding to conflict that conflict-related sexual violence requires sustained leadership, coordination, and accountability. Today, 17 years later, that recognition is no less relevant. In fact, this mandate is more important than ever. This year's report paints a stark and devastating picture based on a robust methodology and comprehensive verification— it reminds us that conflict-related sexual violence features in most of the conflicts discussed by this Council, from Sudan to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, from Ukraine to Myanmar, from Libya to Haiti.

These figures are deeply alarming, but represent only the cases that the UN has been able to rigorously verify in a shrinking—

in a context of shrinking operational space face and dwindling resources. Countless other survivors remain invisible because fear, stigma, insecurity, and lack of access all prevent documentation. Second, Madam President, Denmark condemns all acts of conflict-related sexual violence. We call on parties to conflict to cease all forms of sexual violence and fully comply with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions. Although non-state armed groups continue to account for majority of listings in the Annex, the gradual increase in national armed and security forces among listed parties is deeply concerning. This year, notably, the Israeli Armed Forces and Security Forces and the Russian Armed and Security Forces are included. We call on all listed parties to grant the UN full full, safe, and unhindered access, and to investigate allegations, monitor violations, and assist survivors. Where access is denied, impunity rises. We note positively that several states mentioned in the report, including Ukraine, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have taken resolute steps to address conflict-related sexual violence among their armed forces and police, including through engagement with the Office of the Special Representative. The consistent decrease in cases of the Congolese National Police demonstrates how sustained cooperation with the Office can support accountability, strengthen institutional responses, and contribute to a measurable reduction in conflict-related sexual violence. This is exactly the type of prevention and concrete action that is needed. The Security Council must also continue to make full use of targeted sanctions against perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence. As we've heard, over 65% of the listed parties are longstanding perpetrators. We must ensure that listings lead to accountability, accountability leads to action, and then action leads to an end to these crimes. Third, Madam President, survivors Survivors need help. They must be granted access to comprehensive services, including sexual and reproductive health services, mental health, and psychosocial support. This is a life-saving and essential component of the international response to conflict-related sexual violence. These services must be protected and adequately funded. And those who protect survivors and document these crimes must never become targets. We condemn the growing number of attacks against humanitarian workers, UN personnel, human rights defenders, and organizations supporting survivors. We commend the collective efforts of the Office of the Special Representative, the entire UN Action Network Against Sexual Violence, the UN teams of experts, Women Protection Advisers, and human rights monitors. Their work is indispensable through prevention, protection, and justice. Madam President, in closing, the question is not whether we know enough about the practice of CRSV. This report leaves no room for doubt. The question is whether we will match the resilience of survivors with the courage to act to ensure stronger accountability, greater protection, better support to the survivors, and and ultimately fewer violations. I thank you.

Merci, Madame la Présidente. I thank the representative of Denmark for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Liberia.

Thank you, thank you, Your Excellency. We join in welcoming Thank you, Madam President, to this chamber, honorable Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to preside over this debate. Your honored presence testifies to the seriousness that the DRC assigns to this important global issue. We thank the SRSG for her briefing and report, as well as the civil society briefer from Haiti with that really sobering report. We also welcome the report of the Secretary-General. Madam President, today's debate asks a fundamental question: Has international law honored its promise to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence? The answer is sobering. International law recognizes this crime as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and in certain circumstances genocide. Yet, for far too many survivors, these promises remain words on paper rather than protection in practice. Not because international law has failed, as many before me have pointed to, but because we have failed to implement it consistently and courageously. The facts are unbearable: 9,780 58 UN-verified cases in 2025 across more than 20 conflict zones. Survivors, as we have heard, ranging from 1 year old to 70. Victims executed after rape. Digital platforms weaponized to preserve, extort, and humiliate men and boys in detention, silenced by stigma, often naming those violations only as torture. This, as a colleague just said,— is a deliberate, effective, and cheap tactic of war. Madam President, Liberia speaks from experience. Our own post-conflict transition confronted the systematic use of sexual violence and we created Criminal Court E, a specialized court dedicated to prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes. We admit it is not a finished model, but evidence that political will, when institutionalized, can begin to break impunity. It has also taught us that societies are not rebuilt by prosecutions alone. They are rebuilt when survivors trust that institutions exist for them, not merely because of them. We do not offer a woeful autobiography here. We offer a blueprint. But let us be clear: prosecution alone cannot fulfill international law's promise. A conviction may punish a perpetrator, but it does not, by itself, heal trauma or remove the stigma survivors endure. Survivors are not merely witnesses in legal proceedings. They are rights holders whose dignity must remain central to every response, including their meaningful participation in the accountability processes that concern them. Your Excellency, honoring this promise, is less about new norms than delivering on existing commitments. Therefore, Liberia proposes these four practical priorities. One, strategic sanctions, not just lists. The Secretary-General's Annex lists 77 parties over 65% of them persistent offenders. Liberia supports consistent, explicit consideration of CRSV by all relevant Security Council sanctions committees so listings translate into targeted designation processes under existing regimes. 2. Prevention before violation. No international support should legitimize institutions or armed actors responsible for conflict-related sexual violence. Liberia calls for strict enforcement of the UN's human rights due diligence policy, conditioning security sector assistance and peace operations on rigorous, independent human rights vetting. 3. Sustainable support, not temporary compassion. Funding cuts are hollowing out survivor assistance and women's protection advisers precisely when they need, and their needs are growing. Liberia urges predictable, ring-fenced financing for the conflict-related sexual violence multi-partner trust fund, sustained investment in reparations and livelihoods for survivors, and stronger accountability for digital platforms that facilitate extortion and online abuse. Four, evidence as the foundation of justice. Where United Nations monitors are denied access, accountability becomes harder and survivors become less visible. This Council should respond consistently whenever monitoring access is obstructed, and protect the independence and security of the Special Representative's Office and all Women's Protection Advisers. Madam President, in closing, the true measure of international law It's not the number of resolutions we adopt. It is whether, on this question, a survivor, years after unimaginable violence and abuse of their bodies, can say that justice was accessible, dignity was restored, and the international community stood beside them rather than merely speaking sympathetically on their behalf without consequence. For Liberia, honoring this promise means ensuring no survivor waits for justice longer than perpetrators wait to enjoy impunity. We stand ready to work with this Council and all partners to meet conflict-related sexual violence with the force, the full force of accountability, reparative justice, and lasting international commitment. I thank you for your kind attention.

Je vous remercie. I thank the representative of Liberia for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of the United Kingdom.

Thanks, Madam President, and our sincere thanks to the DRC for convening this important discussion and to you for your personal leadership on this agenda. I also extend my thanks to the briefers To Miss Jocelyne, your briefing was a stark reminder of the devastating impact of ongoing gang violence on women and girls in Haiti. And I thank Special Representative Patton. The UN plays a vital role in documenting and verifying these crimes, key to ensuring the international community has the evidence needed to drive accountability. The UK is appalled by the rising rates of conflict-related sexual violence around the world and documented in the Secretary-General's report. It is not inevitable, it is preventable, it is prosecutable, but too often it is met with impunity. And where perpetrators face no consequences, survivors are denied justice justice, and crimes are often repeated. In Sudan, a war is being waged on women's bodies, and the UK is gravely concerned by the widespread and systematic use of sexual violence. We support the Secretary-General's calls for accountability and unimpeded humanitarian access. The world failed the people of al-Fashir, but we cannot allow the same to happen to those in al-Abyd. The UK remains committed to supporting survivors, and this includes a package of over £26 million, uh, dollars of support to enable access to medical services and psychosocial support. We condemn the sexual violence committed by Russian forces against Ukraine's civilians and prisoners of war documented in the Secretary-General's report. These crimes have been documented repeatedly over several years. Years and demonstrate a clear and persistent pattern. Those responsible must be held to account. The UK will continue to support Ukrainian investigators and prosecutors in pursuing justice in line with international standards and survivor-centered approaches. We also condemn all conflict-related sexual violence documented in the Secretary General's report in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. We remain appalled by the sexual violence committed by Hamas on the 7th of October and against hostages. There must be accountability for these crimes. We are gravely concerned by the documented sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees documented in the Secretary-General's report, and we urge Israel to thoroughly investigate to investigate conflict-related sexual violence, to hold perpetrators to account, and for detainees to be treated in line with international norms and standards. President, let me underline the importance of accountability and support for survivors. First, we must ensure survivors have a meaningful voice in the justice processes designed to serve them. Accountability is possible where there is political will and sustained international support. Second, we must ensure survivors, including children affected by or born of conflict-related sexual violence, have access to the protection and support they need to rebuild their lives. Only this will break the cycle of harm being passed from one generation to the next. President, addressing sexual violence has been a UK priority since the launching of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative more than a decade ago. Through this initiative and others, the UK has supported more than 55,000 survivors over the past year alone. And as my Foreign Secretary has said, conflict-related sexual violence must be confronted with renewed urgency and collective resolve. The test for this Council is to ensure these crimes are prevented, investigated, and prosecuted. Thank you, Madam President. Je vous remercie.

I thank the representative of the United Kingdom for their statement. I now give the floor to the representative of China.

Thank you, President. I welcome Prime Minister Tuluka presiding over today's meeting, and I thank Special Representative Patton and Ms. Jocelyn for their briefings. In recent years, as the international landscape has become increasingly turbulent, conflict-related sexual violence has intensified, with women and girls bearing the brunt of the suffering. The use of sexual violence as a tactic of war and terrorism CRSV, or forced organ harvesting, constitutes a grave breach of relevant Security Council resolutions and international law. It severely violates the dignity and fundamental rights of victims and inflicts lasting trauma on individuals, families, and society. China strongly condemns and firmly opposes all forms of CRSV and calls on all countries to join forces to curb and combat the scourge. I wish to emphasize the following points. First, restoring peace and stability as the primary prerequisite. Social instability and the absence of the rule of law resulting from conflict create a breeding ground for sexual violence. Only through peace and stability can sexual violence be curbed at its source and a conducive environment be created for justice and assistance. The international community should champion a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security stay committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes, strengthen preventive diplomacy and mediation, facilitate the cessation of hostilities, fulfill obligations under international humanitarian law, and work to de-escalate hotspot issues. We must maintain a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism, strengthen international counterterrorism operations and cooperation, and resolutely counterterrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Second, respect for national sovereignty as a crucial principle. The countries concerned— the countries concerned bear the primary responsibility for preventing and combating sexual violence and protecting their women and children. The international community should earnestly respect the sovereignty and leadership of the countries concerned, assist them in building capacity on security and the rule of law, law, and ensuring justice and protection for victims. The SG's report notes that countries like Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia have, in cooperation with the United Nations, actively explored solutions and pathways suited to their national contexts and achieved notable progress in such areas as investigations and accountability, strengthened management of military and police forces, national reparations, and assistance to survivors and children. We commend these progress. We expect the SRSG and relevant expert teams to continue fulfilling their mandates and provide necessary support to the countries concerned in addressing sexual violence. Third, strengthening assistance and support as a key task. Helping survivors rehabilitate their physical and psychological health and resume normal lives is essential for social equity justice and long-term stability. The international community should support the countries concerned in improving their assistance architecture and helping victims access comprehensive services including medical care, psychological support, legal aid, education, livelihood assistance, and destigmatization. The SG's report indicates that UN and international humanitarian organ— agencies are severely underfunded. Assistance programs across various regions are being cut, leaving many CRSV survivors with nowhere to turn for help. We call upon traditional donors, particularly those bearing historical responsibilities, to provide stable and reliable financial support to the countries concerned and to the victims and survivors, ensuring that promises made are truly honored on the ground. Fourth, promoting inclusive development as a fundamental safeguard. Women play an important part in the causes of peace and development, both as participants and contributors. Eliminating CRSV requires not only punishing crimes in accordance with the law, but also taking a longer perspective, empowering women, eliminating gender discrimination, and helping women and girls gain better access to education, employment, and opportunities to participate in socioeconomic activities, thereby fundamentally enhancing their capacity for self-protection and development. The international community should increase investment in development, bridge the development divide, and support women, children, and other vulnerable groups in sharing the fruits of development, thus laying a solid foundation for lasting peace and sustainable development. President, conflict-related sexual violence tramples upon the most fundamental humanitarian principles and challenges the conscience of humanity. Addressing this issue requires the international community to uphold objectivity and impartiality, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and avoid using the issue to trade accusations, create confrontation, or politicize and instrumentalize the matter. As a responsible major country and an active advocate for the global cause of women, China stands ready to work with all member states to make greater contribution towards eliminating CISV and maintaining international peace and security. Thank you, President.

I thank the representative of China. I now give the floor to the representative of Greece.

Madam President, Greece thanks you for convening this debate whose relevance is particularly obvious. We also would like to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ms. Pramila Patten. We thank her for a detailed briefing, and we thank Ms. Karen Jocelyn. We thank her for her alarming statement. We reaffirm our firm support to the Special Representative of the Secretary General and to her mandate to publish factual reports detailing the conflict-related sexual violence cases throughout the world. This is precisely this kind of set of information, well-documented one, well verified by the competent authorities of the United Nations, which constitutes an essential means to prevent this horrid phenomenon.

The Secretary-General's latest report presents a deeply concerning trajectory of conflict-related sexual violence, which continues to be utilized as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism, and political repression, both by state and non-state actors. Greece condemns all forms of conflict-related sexual violence in the strongest possible terms. We call on all parties to a conflict to immediately cease these acts and adopt time-bound measures and action plans to prevent and address CRS— CRSV, including by providing reparations to survivors and ensuring unhindered access for relevant UN monitoring mechanisms. In this regard, we welcome the commitments undertaken by certain states and non-state actors and encourage their full implementation. Madam President, in view of the above, I would like to make 3 points today. First, protection starts with compliance, not aspiration. International humanitarian law is binding, not advisory. All parties must respect it. Along with fundamental human rights. That means unhindered humanitarian access, safety for humanitarian workers, and protection of civilian infrastructure, full stop. But compliance alone does not heal anyone. Survivors need immediate, life-saving, gender-responsive inclusive care, sexual and reproductive health, health care, mental health and psychosocial support, and legal assistance, including for those in detention. And none of this is sustainable on goodwill alone. It requires predictable financing, including through the Multi-Partner Trust Fund on CRSV. Second, survival is the floor, not the goal. Stigma, marginalization, and exclusion don't end when the violence stops. They often outlast it, trapping survivors in cycles of poverty and renewed vulnerability. That is why recovery cannot be an afterthought to security response. It has to be built in from the start. And recovery is not only individual, it's political. There is no durable peace that excludes the people conflict harmed most. Survivors must have a seat at the table, full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in peace processes. This means peace agreements can no longer treat CRSV as a footnote. It must be written into the text, not mentioned as aspiration, but codified as obligation. Third, the Council has tools it is not using to their full extent. Sexual violence should be a standalone designation designation criterion in every UN sanctions regime, not folded into other categories, but named for what it is. This matters most for repeat offenders, those who appear year after year in the Secretary-General's annex without consequence. Peace operations need mandates that reflect the seriousness with gender expertise built in from the start. And when missions draw down, women's protection advisers cannot be the first cut. Losing them at exactly the moment of transition creates the protection gap survivors fall through. None of these substitutes for accountability. Only accountability guarantees non-repetition. And only accountability gives survivors what they actually owed—justice. In concluding, Madam President, survivors are not asking for sympathy. They are asking for the protection international law already promises them. Greece will keep working to deliver on that promise. I thank you.

Merci, Madame.

I thank the representative of Greece for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Panama.

Thank you, Madam President. Allow me to begin by congratulating the Democratic Republic of the Congo for taking up the presidency of the Security Council for the month of July. At the same time, we wish you every success and we reiterate that you have the full support of the Panamanian delegation. We welcome the holding of this first high-level event of the presidency under the leadership of Your Excellency, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Toluca. Together, and we are grateful for the initiative to convene this discussion on one of the most pressing challenges to international peace and security. And we congratulate you for your excellent statement. Allow me also to express Panama's thanks to the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten. I thank her for her leadership and commitment. At the same time, we reiterate our support for her mandate and the ability of her office to provide timely, independent, and verifiable information, which is crucial to the work of this council. It would be unfair, perhaps even dishonest, to fail to recognize that we were profoundly moved moved by the admirable briefing provided by the Special Representative, Pramila Patten, relating to an alarming reality. In this sense, we highlight the factual precision of the verified facts that she recounted to us and the figures that she provided. In both cases, analysis coming from the extensive and rigorous report of the Secretary General. In addition, we thank her for the intellectual integrity of her interventions and the eloquence that she showed when explaining such shocking events. We are also I am grateful for the valuable briefing by Ms. Corinne Jocelyn, whose experience and work with Haitian women greatly enrich this debate. The Secretary-General's report comes at a time of rising armed conflicts, record levels of military spending, and increasing geopolitical fragmentation. At the same time, resources for the protection of civilians are dwindling. The consequences are clear to see. The United Nations verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence have doubled since the last reporting period. Moth— women and girls represented 88% of the verified victims, while displaced women and children born of rape continue to face stigmatization, exclusion, and barriers to accessing basic services. Funding cuts have, for their part, reduced reduced safe spaces, limited specialized services, and weakened response capacities. The figures are alarming, but equally alarming is what remains undocumented. In all too many settings, silence does not reflect a fall in violations, rather the enormous barriers to reporting and verification. Added to that, we see a particularly worrisome reality. Those who provide assistance on the front line continue to be targeted by attacks by armed actors, further thwarting protection for the affected populations. As is clear from the Secretary-General's report, armed groups groups, terrorist organizations, and transnational criminal networks continue to use sexual violence and trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation as a deliberate tactic to fund their operations, to consolidate territorial control, to recruit and pay combatants, all while terrorizing the civilian population and maintaining the illicit economies that prolong conflicts. For Panama, this reaffirms that these crimes should not only be addressed as grave violations of human rights, but also as threats to international peace and security. Conflict-related sexual violence remains one of the most under-recorded crimes, particularly in settings of displacement, detention, migratory routes, and people trafficking. In this context, the lack of verified information shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of violations. The inability to conduct independent verifications on the ground particularly into situations and actors flagged in the annexes to the Secretary-General's report should be seen as a factor that undermines transparency and as a matter of concern warranting attention by this Council. Independent verification on the ground is the basis for protecting victims crimes, preserving evidence, and strengthening accountability. Failing to allow verification suggests evidence of culpability. For this reason, Panama reaffirms the importance of strengthening United Nations monitoring analysis and reporting mechanisms, as well as guaranteeing the timely deployment of women's protection advisors. These specialized capacities are essential to documenting patterns, identifying risks, and guiding effective responses. The report also reminds us that impunity remains the norm. Currently, 65% of those actors included included in the annexes to the Secretary General's report are persistent perpetrators, having been included therein for more than 5 consecutive years. In this regard, Panama calls on all those parties included in the annexes to the Secretary General's report to take specific steps with defined timelines to prevent and bring an end to these violations. We recognize the work of the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, their work in strengthening coordination across the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding pillars, and in supporting comprehensive responses in conflict-affected settings. In addition, we highlight the work of the team of experts on the rule of law and sexual violence in conflict, Conflict, whose technical support continues to boost national capacities in investigation, documentation, and ensuring justice in affected settings. Madam President, Panama supports the strengthening of national and international justice mechanisms, including, where necessary, the International Criminal Court, as well as making a greater use of the tools available to this council, including sanctions regimes. The response calls for closer cooperation between member states, the United Nations justice mechanisms, sanctions committees, national authorities, financial actors, and the civil— and civil society. Enhanced information exchange is essential to dismantle trafficking networks, to trace illicit financial financial flows and to prevent these crimes from continuing to fund armed groups and terrorist organizations. We must also recognize the essential role of women-led organizations and female rights defenders who document violations, provide assistance, and sustain protection networks in some of the most difficult environments. Their full, equal, and safe participation remains essential to ensuring more effective and sustainable responses. Madam President, conflict-related sexual violence cannot be understood as an inevitable consequence of war. Women's bodies must no longer serve as battlegrounds for violence, nor as instruments violence through which those who seek to impose control and terror pursue their ambitions. Panama reiterates its commitment to a response based on verifying the facts, protecting the survivors, and ensuring accountability. Everyone has the right to live free of violence, with dignity, and full respect for their fundamental rights. Thank you very much.

Me remerci— My thanks to the representative of Panama for that statement, and I now give the floor to the representative of Pakistan.

I would like to welcome and thank you, Madam Prime Minister, for presiding over this important debate, and we also thank Special Representative Pramila Patten and Miss Jocelyn for their valuable briefings. More than 25 years after Resolution 1325, and nearly 2 decades after Resolution 1820 recognized conflict-related sexual violence as a distinct threat to international peace and security, the international community must ask the logical question: Have we matched matched our commitments with protection, justice, and dignity for victims and survivors. The Secretary-General's latest report provides a sobering answer. Verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence rose sharply in 2025. These were often marked by extreme brutality and disproportionately targeted women and girls. Yet, as the report also reminds us, the recorded cases represent only a fraction of the reality, owing to stigma, fear of reprisals, absence of services, and chronic underreporting. And we know also that not all situations of concern are covered by the report. Pakistan condemns unequivocally all forms of conflict-related sexual violence, whoever the perpetrator and wherever the crime occurs. This includes all situations of armed conflict as well as all situations of foreign occupation on the agenda of the Council. In such contexts, militarization, displacement, arbitrary detention, denial of rights, and impunity deepen the vulnerability of civilians, particularly women and girls. As others have noted, conflict-related sexual violence is not just an inevitable consequence of war. It is often used deliberately as a tactic of war war, terror, torture, repression, and collective punishment. It destroys individuals, fractures families, terrorizes communities, and leaves intergenerational wounds, including for children born of conflict-related rape. Madam President, Pakistan wishes to emphasize some key priorities. First, accountability must be strengthened comprehensively and consistently. The Secretary-General's listing mechanism should cover all situations of conflict and foreign occupation on the agenda of this Council. No situation should be shielded from scrutiny and no perpetrator should be allowed to treat sexual violence as cost-free. Sanctions regimes where applicable should be used more effectively against persistent perpetrators, and justice processes must be designed to be more victim and survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and accessible. Second, victims and survivors must receive timely and comprehensive support, including medical care, psychosocial assistance, legal aid, livelihood support, and reparations. Third, the UN protection architecture must be preserved and strengthened. Women's Protection Advisers play an indispensable role in monitoring, reporting, early warning, and engagement with parties to conflict. Their deployment should be ensured in all relevant situations including during peacekeeping transitions and drawdowns, when protection vacuums place victims, survivors, service providers, and human rights defenders at heightened risks. And finally, prevention must be placed at the center of our collective response. That requires compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights human rights law, meaningful participation of women in peace processes, early warning, sustained funding, responsible arms control, and above all, addressing the root causes of conflict, including foreign occupation and denial of the right to self-determination. Madam President, the true test of this Council's commitment lies in full faithful and non-selective implementation of its resolutions, including those on women, peace and security. These resolutions carry clear obligations to prevent, protect, investigate, prosecute and repair. For victims and survivors, implementation is the difference between abandonment between silence and justice, between a wound carried alone and a dignity restored by the international community. Pakistan remains committed to working with all member states to end impunity, uphold the dignity of victims and survivors, and ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is met not with silence or selectivity, but with protection, accountability, and justice.

I thank you.

Je vous remercie, Mr.

Representative of Pakistan, for the statement. And I now give the floor to the Representative of Somalia.

Mwaset, allow me to thank the Democratic Republic of the Congo's presidency for convening this crucial debate. I also warmly welcome you, Madam President, Prime Minister Tukuka, for presiding over this meeting and your leadership in addressing the urgent challenges of conflict-related sexual violence together meaningfully and sustainably. I wish to express appreciation to SRSG Patton and Ms. Jocelyn for their insightful briefings, which have helped shed light on the persistent and evolving challenges we are facing today. More than 25 years have passed since the Security Council first pledged to address the scourge of conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls. Yet such violence continues to be deliberately weaponized by armed actors who use it to terrorize, divide, and destroy communities. This is not an accident or an unfortunate side effect of conflict. It's a calculated and devastating tactic of warfare, repression, and control, with consequences that reverberate for generations., leaving deep and enduring scars on individuals and societies alike. While the Security Council's evolving normative framework for Resolution 1325 through 2467 offer a robust and comprehensive basis for action, the reality remains that the promise of international law and justice are still out of reach for far too many. In that context, allow me to highlight the following points for our collective reflection. First, to truly address conflict-related sexual violence, we must address the root causes of conflict that create fertile ground for such violations to spread. Sexual violence does not arise in a vacuum. It's often the direct result of deeper structural issues. When global power competition and shifting alliance leave developing countries at a disadvantage, those countries are left more vulnerable to instability. Persistent inequality, proxy wars, unfair trade practices, inequalities, and the exploitation of natural resources, and the enduring legacies of colonialism, all work together to weaken social fabrics and protections and justice systems, exposing communities, especially the most vulnerable, to greater risks. Preventing sexual violence, therefore, cannot be separated from the essential work of conflict prevention education, peacebuilding, and reforming international financial institutions. Only by tackling these root causes can we lay the foundation for a more just and safer world towards a sustainable peace and development for women and girls everywhere. Second, we must confront the weaponization of sexual violence head-on by insisting on accountability and justice. This requires more than words. Perpetrators must face deterrence and real consequences. In the Palestinian Occupied Territory, the Secretary-General's report documents ongoing patterns of sexual violence against Palestinian women detained in Israel, including acts by Israeli forces —ranging from rape, forced nudity to severe genital violence—often without subsequent medical care or justice. When occupation becomes normalized, justice systems erode and impunity thrives, perpetuating the cycle of violence. Therefore, it's vital that the Council uphold international law, hold perpetrators accountable, and pursue justice in credible prosecutions. This sends an unmistakable message that sexual violence as a weapon, including under occupation, will not be tolerated by any actor anywhere. Third, and most centrally, Survivors must be recognized as leaders and co-creators of solutions. Too often, survivors are spoken for rather than listened to. Their expertise, resilience, and lived experience are indispensable for crafting effective policies and responses. We must support survivor-led advocacy, ensuring their voices shape the design and implementation of programs, and provide the resources and the safe space they need to lead. Survivor-centered justice, transformative reparations, and inclusive policy processes are the foundation for meaningful progress. To conclude, Madam President, sexual violence as a weapon of conflict is a stain on our collective conscience. The promise of international law is not fulfilled in resolutions alone, but in the lived realities of the survivors. Our task is to match the words with deeds and ensure that every survivor sees justice not as a distant hope, but as a tangible right. Let us honor the courage of the survivors. Survivors, and recommit together to delivering the protection, accountability, and support women and girls so urgently deserve.

I thank you. Merci.

I thank the representative of Somalia for that statement, and I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

Madam President, Madam Prime Minister, we welcome your personal participation in the debate initiated by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the open debate on the issue of sexual violence in conflict. We are grateful to the representatives of civil society for their contribution to the debate. Sexual violence in armed conflict is a monstrous manifestation of cruelty which contradicts the foundations of morality and basic humanitarian principles. The Russian Federation systematically supports international efforts aimed at protecting civilians in war zones from it. Proceed from the inadmissibility of having double standards in this area. However, we have to state that this approach is not shared by either the UN Secretariat— the organization which is called upon to maintain impartiality and neutrality and to act as an honest and trustworthy mediator— or by its head, the Secretary-General. The conclusions of the thematic report regrettably are not distinguished by being objective, nor do they help address the issue of the growing number of victims of sexual violence. And this is primarily due to gaps in the methodology of the document. Its author, Ms. Patton, claims that the information contained in it is based on information which has been verified. By the United Nations, while neglecting to mention that her own office is not directly involved in the verification process. In actual fact, it blindly trusts the information prepared by other UN entities, many of which have long undermined, uh, their credibility because they also rely on biased information. Thus, the Special Representative neglects the fact that the Security Council resolutions defining her mandate do not provide for the transfer of functions of gathering, establishing, and verifying facts to units that are not empowered to do so. At the same time, the office which bases its conclusions— on other people's materials refuses to take into account information from alternative sources, including official government data. This is flawed methodology, and selectivity in country-specific assessments is systematic in nature and is evident in a whole range of files. Thus, the authors of the document recognize that the vast majority of acts of sexual violence are committed by non-state actors, and the situation in Haiti is a case in point. The report notes an increase in violations by local gangs during the reporting period. Nonetheless, it easily includes legitimate governments in it, and governments which demonstrate a real commitment to international law and openness to interaction with the UN. For example, in April 2025, the government of Sudan undertook a crucial step by signing an updated framework of understanding with the UN on cooperation to prevent and respond to sexual violence. And this was not just a symbolic gesture. It was a concrete action on the ground in cooperation with UN agencies. And what was the result of that? Sudan continues to appear on the list on a par with the rebels, and the conclusions regarding it are based on biased materials from the so-called independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan, whose legitimacy, unlike the government of this country, country is very questionable. We see bias also in the case of the Myanmar dossier. The report states categorically that the offenses there were committed mainly by the military personnel of the country. At the same time, the country's special mechanism on Myanmar, which are not distinguished by impartiality, Myanmar, the research of which formed the basis of the document, traditionally did not notice the monstrous crimes committed by terrorist groups. Madam President, against this background, the continuing imbalance in the coverage of the situation around Ukraine looks like a logical continuation of the general nefarious line A significant part of their materials is based on the data coming from this so-called independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which openly demonstrate their anti-Russian bias. What is notable is that these entities not just convey these kind of information, but more than that, they take pride in the work done presenting the results in detail, both in the thematic reports of the Secretary-General and in the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In this regard, numerous crimes committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the report remain on the periphery of attention, to put it mildly, whereas Russian servicemen who comply with all norms of international humanitarian law are on the black blacklist. And the largest donors of this, uh, activity of this structure are expectedly European countries. According to, uh, open data from the 2025 OHCHR report alone, Sweden spent almost $30 million on it. Germany spent $29 million, Norway $23 million. And the Netherlands 20 million. Great Britain, Switzerland, and Denmark more than 10 million. I can go on with the list further, but in the top 30 we have the Western countries. Thus, they are the customers of the information thus provided. Should we be surprised by this? It is also regrettable that today a number of members of the Council, including Germany, UK, France, and Latvia are just rehashing this unverified information for the sake of the political agenda of the day, being unable to make an independent contribution to the substantive discussion. But this is not a surprise for us either. There's also a question arising whether the taxpayers of these countries are aware of the fact that tens of millions of dollars are being spent on falsifying data on nonexistent crimes committed by the Russian military, while people in these countries themselves regularly face difficulties in exercising their basic human rights and basic social rights, including access to quality healthcare and education for both migrants and, in some cases, for their own citizens. Let me recall here that we have repeatedly requested specific information needed to verify the charges that are being put forth, information about the time and place of the incidents, uh, data on the alleged victims and perpetrators, as well as other information that can confer onto these allegations more or less substantive character. However, all of our appeals remain without a meaningful response. Contrary to today's loud statements made by Ms. Patten, This practice demonstrates a lack of readiness for open and professional interaction with states, and without that, it is impossible to ensure either the objectivity of assessments or trust in their results. In the meantime, sexual violence has been systematically used by the Ukrainian military and security personnel since the unconstitutional coup d'état in 2014. The OHCHR, which is not characterized by having sympathy for Russia, the UN Commission Against Torture, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and the Russian courts and the Ukrainian military ombudsman raised registered rapes, including group rape, genital mutilations, and electric shock and castrations. The entire arsenal of this monstrous facts is now being used by the Ukrainian side against the participants in the special military operation, and the testimonies of those who got out of Ukrainian captivity are shocking. And not only prisoners of war are subjected to sexual violence, but also the civilian population. We have repeatedly drawn attention to the tragedy in the village of Russkoe Parechnoye in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region. On January 19, 2025, after the liberation of the territory which previously had been captured by Ukrainian militants, Russian servicemen found the bodies of local residents during an inspection of private houses. As a result of investigative measures, it was found that most of the people there were killed by shots to the head from a close range. Traces of torture and sexual violence were found on their bodies. In total, 22 civilians were victims, including 8 women who had been raped before being killed. And this is also confirmed by the testimony of the Ukrainian servicemen themselves, for example, Volodymyr Parafilo and Yevhen Fabrytsenko. Kharkov. Cases of rape were also recorded in the cities of Dmytrov and Krasnoarmeysk of the Donetsk People's Republic. This is a terrifying reality, and it's obvious to everyone except Ms. Patton. We do not exclude that the relatively low number of cases of prosecution for sexual violence on the territory of Ukraine may be related to significant gaps in national legislation.— this was noted by OHCHR back in 2017. The office then found that the charges often did not reflect the full gravity of the acts and their consequences for the victim, which reduced the effectiveness of justice and legal protection mechanisms. But we will not find any of this in the annual report of the Secretary-General because it does does not fit into the preset line of demonizing Russia and creating an image of a victim for Ukraine. Um, after all, it was not for the purpose of recording these crimes that the bodies that I just mentioned, the Commission of Inquiry and the Human Rights Monitoring Mission— it was not for this purpose that the outspoken Russophobe Mr. Shmale was appointed to the post of UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine. Again, the words and activities of UN functionaries show that the UN lacks the political will to make an impartial and depoliticized approach even to the protection of human dignity in armed conflicts. Madam President, crimes of a sexual nature are absolutely unacceptable and get unconditional condemnation. We have a consensus on this here today. However, what is also unacceptable are attempts to use this topic for political purposes and to turn human suffering into an instrument of political struggle. In conclusion, I would like to remind here that facts cannot be divided into our facts and their facts. Otherwise, it would no longer be an investigation but propaganda, and that is why any attempt to replace objective analysis with political interpretation inevitably destroy trust both in institutions and the very idea of justice, which inevitably leads to the loss of the authority of the UN. I thank you for your attention.

Merci, Monsieur. I thank the representative of the Russian Federation for the statement. I now give the floor to Mr. Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration of Ireland.

Madam President, thank you for convening this important debate and more importantly for attending to chair it. Your presence here signifies the importance that the Democratic Republic of the Congo attach to this issue. At the outset, I want to say that Ireland aligns itself with the statements that will be delivered on behalf of the European Union and the Group of Friends on Women, Peace and Security. Ireland also thanks the briefers for shedding light on the horrific reality of conflict-related sexual violence and its profound impact on survivors, who are overwhelmingly women and girls. We also thank Special Representative Pramila Patten and her team Your tireless work in monitoring and documenting cases and patterns of sexual violence is critical in raising awareness and advancing accountability. Ireland firmly supports your mandate and the important work of your office. Madam President, the Secretary-General's report makes harrowing reading. It confirms that conflict-related sexual violence— including rape, gang rape, trafficking, forced marriage, abductions, forced pregnancy, forced abortion or forced sterilization, and other forms of sexual violence— is being used as a weapon of war and terror across 21 conflict situations. The number of verified cases more than doubled to almost 10,000 in 2025, compared to the previous year. And yet, we know this is not a full account of the reality, with many more cases going undocumented. The scale of the crime is staggering. As we have heard, in Haiti, criminal gangs have terrorized communities through sexual violence, and in DRC, armed groups have used sexual violence to exert territorial control. Conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, sexual slavery, and forced marriage, has become a defining feature of the conflict in Sudan. And in Afghanistan, we see sexual violence being used to restrict the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Madam President, Ireland is deeply concerned that two state parties parties were listed for the first time this year, despite having been put on notice for listing last year. The use of sexual violence by Russian armed and security forces against Ukrainian detainees, mostly men and boys, as identified in this report, is deplorable. The use of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees, including children, by Israeli armed and security Israeli forces, as recorded in this report, is also deeply disturbing. Ireland is also appalled by and condemns again the sexual violence committed by Hamas on the 7th of October 2023 and on hostages taken and in its aftermath. These patterns of sexual violence, including as a form of torture, must must stop, and those responsible must be held to account and brought to justice. We urge Russia, Israel, and all parties listed in the report to comply with their obligations under international law, to provide unhindered access to relevant UN monitoring mechanisms, and to address impunity for sexual violence. Madam President, we are in a time of unprecedented conflict, and conflict-related sexual violence is escalating. The report of the Secretary-General sets out clear recommendations on how to prevent, address, and respond. We urge this Security Council to closely examine the report's recommendations, including the critical importance of women protection advisers in UN peace operations and the need for a focus on CRSV in transitions. We echo the Secretary-General's calls for the Council to include CRSV as a standalone designation criteria for targeted sanctions. We must all take action to address impunity and strengthen accountability through national or international courts or relevant transitional justice mechanisms. In the DRC, as you will be aware, Madam President, there has been a notable decline in UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence attributed to the Congolese National Police over the past 5 years, and that demonstrates demonstrates that progress is possible and can happen. In that regard, Ireland commends the work of the team of experts who have helped build capacity for prosecutors, investigators, judges, and legal aid teams. We must also address the underfunding of UN action on sexual violence in conflict and better support the mandate of the Office of the Special Representative. Initiative. Finally, we must keep in mind that survivors are not a homogeneous group. While the overwhelming majority are women and girls, men and boys are also targeted, as well as lesbian and gay people. We must therefore take a survivor-centered approach, which ensures their access to urgent and life-saving services, including sexual sexual and reproductive health services. This work is so often delivered by women-led organizations, and we reiterate our support for their vital work. Madam President, survivors of conflict-related sexual violence around the world deserve justice. Let us renew our commitment to the basic values of prevention, accountability, and justice. Thank you very much.

I thank His Excellency Mr. O'Callaghan for the statement. I will now give the floor to the representative of Portugal.

Merci, Madame Presidente.

Thank you, Madame Presidente.

Portugal thanks the Democratic Republic of the Congo for this important initiative you undertook SRSG, Premila Patan, for her accurate work, and the briefers for their powerful testimony. The message before us is clear: conflict-related sexual violence is not incidental. It is not collateral. It's not inevitable. It is used deliberately as a tactic of war, terror, and torture. It destroys lives —fractures communities, and leaves trauma that can outlast war itself. The Secretary-General's report—there's no other way to say it—is alarming. Verified cases rose sharply in 2025. They were marked by extreme brutality, overwhelmingly targeted women and girls, and remain chronically underreported. This is a test to our collective credibility. Each survivor has a right to protection, care, justice, and dignity. International law and Security Council resolutions are clear: these crimes are prohibited. The promise exists. Our duty is to make it real. This requires, in our view, three priorities. First, accountability. Conflict-related sexual violence must not go unpunished. Those who commit, order, enable, or tolerate these crimes must be investigated and prosecuted. Chains of command matter. Impunity fuels repetition. Justice must not depend on geography, rank, or power. Where national systems cannot act, international mechanisms remain essential, including the ICC. The Security Council must use its tools more consistently. Sanctions should target persistent perpetrators. Listing must have consequences. Second, protection and support. Survivor-centered justice means more than trials. It means medical care, psychosocial support, legal assistance, sexual and reproductive health services, safe reporting, reparations, reintegration, and economic security. It also means fighting stigma, including that of children born of rape. Women-led organizations, local responders, human rights defenders, health workers, and justice actors are often the first line of support. They need protection, resources, and political backing. Third, participate. Survivors are not passive recipients of assistance; they are agents of justice, recovery, and change. Their voices must shape policies, peace processes, accountability, and reparations. The Women, Peace and Security agenda is central. Portugal's newest National Action Plan on WPS reflects this conviction, placing conflict-related sexual violence at the centre of our external external action. Madam President, law must mean protection before violation occurs. Law must mean justice when crimes are committed. And law must mean dignity for every survivor, without stigma, discrimination, or delay. As Portugal prepares to take its seat in the Chamber— in this Chamber in 27-28, this will remain one of our firm commitments. I thank you for your attention.

Merci. I thank the representative of Portugal for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of Switzerland.

Madame la Présidente, Madame President, Switzerland thanks you for organizing this important debate, and we align ourselves with the statement to be delivered by the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security. The Secretary-General's report is unequivocal. Conflict-related sexual violence continues to increase in numbers while conflicts themselves are increasing in number and are protracted. More than two-thirds of the registered parties are persistent perpetrators. They've been listed for at least 5 years and without coercive measures on them. The challenge is not the absence of standards, but their effective implementation. In this regard, Switzerland would like to emphasize 3 points. First, respect for international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law. International humanitarian law clearly prohibits all forms of conflict-related sexual violence. The normative framework developed by this council is solid. It is now necessary to ensure its full implementation. Perpetrators must be be held accountable in order to combat impunity, and accountability mechanism must be strengthened. Second, survivors must remain at the heart of our work. They must have timely access to quality medical, psychosocial, legal, and socioeconomic services, including sexual and reproductive health services, as well as to justice and operations. Children born of conflict-related sexual violence, often forgotten in CRSV responses, must also be taken into account, and the current financial constraints must not jeopardize these essential services. Thirdly, we must preserve the capabilities of the United Nations in this area. The designation mechanism contained in the Secretary-General's report, based on a very to identify patterns of violations remains an indispensable tool for prevention and accountability. Similarly, the systematic deployment of women protection advisors, as called for in the Council's resolutions, remains important. Switzerland reaffirms its support for the team of experts on the rule of law and conflict-related sexual violence, whose technical support to national contributes to strengthening investigations, prosecutions, and a truly survivor-centered justice system. Madam President, Switzerland reiterates its full support to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to her office, and the rigorous methodology underlying this report. As a concrete contribution, Switzerland is providing inviting a military officer to her office to support the implementation of the mandate. Thank you.

I thank the representative of Switzerland for the statement. We are now going to give the floor to the representative of Mexico.

Merci, Madame. Thank you, Madame President. Madame Prime Minister, Mexico is alarmed by— the proliferation of increasingly protracted armed conflicts and the increasing use of sexual violence as a, as a method of war, terror, or repression for strategic military purposes. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General explained in detail the unacceptable asymmetry in the distribution of expenditure between weapons stockpiling and conflict prevention. In one 24-hour period, the world spends more on weapons than it spends in an entire year on eliminating sexual and gender-based violence. Mexico strongly urges the parties to conflicts to fully respect international law, including International humanitarian law and international human rights law. The United Nations Charter reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in dignity, and the value of the human person. And the increasing sexual violence in conflict settings is today a denial of the principles that we committed to so solemnly. Armed conflicts, Madam President, have devastating effects on the civilian population and particularly on women. Very frequently, women together with their children represent the majority of displaced persons and refugees. In wars, tactics are used specifically against women, such as sexual violence, femicide, slavery, modern forms of slavery, and trafficking of persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation. To guarantee effective responses, it's essential to use innovative approaches and and responses prioritizing rights and guaranteeing the availability and access of reparations and justice, as well as medical services, including medical services focused on rights and sexual reproductive health, mental health, and psychosocial support. With all of this in mind, Madam President, Mexico would like to propose 3 steps to strengthen the response to combating sexual violence and other related crimes in the context of armed conflict. First, combating impunity and improving accountability mechanisms, demanding— calling, rather, on the parties to a conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and promoting formal verifiable arrangements with clearly defined timeframes. While the perpetrators go unpunished, victims will continue to remain vulnerable. Second, the timely opportunity of women's protection advisors in peace operations to respond— strengthen the response to this violence with monitoring, reporting, investigations and assistance to the survivors. The advisor's mandate is needed to work with local women's networks and organizations that work directly with survivors. Third, linking disarmament with prevention. This is important to do through the adoption of national legislation and policies to control small arms and light weapons and ammunition management incorporating an intersectional gender-based approach. We say this in light of the evidence that the availability and illicit flow of arms can facilitate the commission of human— international human rights and IHL violations in certain circumstances, as well as the perpetration of international crimes, including conflict-related sexual violence. Madam President, to conclude, Mexico reiterates that it is vital to attack the root causes of sexual violence. I'm referring to patriarchal practices and all manifestations of gender-based violence whose use heightens women's— the vulnerability of women, adolescents and children in contexts of armed conflict. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam President.

Merci. I thank the representative of Mexico for this statement. I will now give the floor to representative of Egypt.

Madam President.

We welcome your presence with us today presiding over this meeting. Egypt thanks the Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this important open debate. We also welcome the statements made by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on sexual violence Violence in Conflict, and the representative of civil society. Egypt reaffirms its firm condemnation of the use of sexual violence as a weapon in conflict or as a tool of terrorism, of torture, humiliation, or forced displacement. We think that these crimes are are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, international human rights law. They cannot be treated as secondary consequences, but these are rather grave crimes that require accountability, response, and responsibility. We believe that any serious approach approach to addressing conflict-related sexual violence must be based on three key elements: prevention, accountability, and a comprehensive response provided to survivors, men and women. This includes ensuring access to medical, psychosocial, social, legal services, redress and reintegration, all the while taking into account the special needs of children born as a result of this scourge. Madam President, for many years, Egypt has been committed to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda And we participated in peacekeeping operations and have been promoting women's participation in military and police components and supporting the capacity building of other states, especially in Africa, in such areas as conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and the protection of civilians. We believe that in order to combat conflict-related sexual violence, we need We need strong national institutions. We need effective justice and a national system capable of protecting survivors and prosecuting perpetrators with full respect for national sovereignty. And in this context, Egypt stresses the importance of U.N. peace operations. In monitoring, reporting, and protection, especially the women's protection advisors within these operations. The transition or the withdrawal of peace operations or the cutting resources to these operations should not create the voids in terms of services, vacuums that could be exploited by the perpetrators of these crimes. We also underscore the need to provide the necessary funding for this mandate to protect women in UN peace operations and to make sure that the financial crisis in the United Nations currently shouldn't be allowed to weaken the protection of women and girls in conflict zones. Sloan's mandate. Madam President, the credibility of the international system in the face of conflict-related sexual violence requires a consistent and non-selective application of international standards. And in this regard, Egypt is of the view that we need to include all parties who commit such violations in the irrelevant lists and, uh, annexes to the reports of the Secretary General without exception or being selective, including the inclusion of Israel on the United Nations blacklist, uh, in the wake of grave violations committed against the Palestinian people, including documented violations, uh, related to sexual violence and, uh, humiliating, degrading attacks in the context of the aggression against the occupied Palestinian territories. We, um, stress that impunity, whoever the perpetrator is, sends a message that states that international law and— can be fragmented. The Security Council therefore is called upon to use the tools at its disposal, including sanctions regimes, to ensure that crimes of sexual violence in conflict do not remain without political or legal consequences. In conclusion, let me emphasize that the protection of survivors is a moral obligation, but also a prerequisite for sustainable peace. There will be no real peace without justice, without accountability, without protection and respect for international law. I thank you.

I thank the representative of Egypt for that statement, and I now give the floor to the representative Representative of Malta.

Thank you, Madam President. Malta thanks Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this important debate, and we welcome your presence, Madam Prime Minister. We would also like to extend our appreciation to SRSG Patton and Director Karen Jocelyn for their valuable contributions. Malta aligns itself with the statements to be delivered by the European Union Union and the Group of Friends of WPS. Madam President, at the outset, Malta reaffirms its strong support for SRSG Pramila Patten and her office, whose work is essential to documenting the realities of conflict-related sexual violence and advancing accountability and survivor-centered purpose responses. The latest report of the Secretary-General makes clear why this work remains so urgent. As conflicts worldwide increase in number, intensity, and duration, so too does the deliberate and devastating use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. Malta is deeply alarmed by the sharp rise in both the scale and severity of conflict-related sexual violence documented in the report. We condemn all forms of sexual violence, irrespective of where they occur or the country any country, group, or individual responsible for them. We call on all parties listed in the Secretary-General's report to cease all forms of SRSV in compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, and to cooperate with relevant national and international investigative mechanisms. We are equally concerned at the increased targeting of women and girls in conflict. Women and Women and girls often bear the harshest impact of sexual violence, with lasting physical, psychological, and social harm for individuals, families, and communities. We therefore call for gender-responsive approaches to be embedded in all actions aimed at preventing and ending conflict-related sexual violence, ensuring the specific needs, rights, and voices of women and girls are placed at the center of every response. Yet for too many survivors, justice remains elusive, while access to essential life-saving services is still out of reach. This underscores the urgent need for accountability. Ending impunity for sexual violence is a legal and moral imperative for all states, and survivors must be able to access justice without fear fear of stigma, retaliation, or further harm. This requires adequately resourced, independent, and survivor-centered investigations and prosecutions, as well as access to reparations, legal assistance, and protection services that uphold survivors' dignity, rights, and agency. President, during Malta's Security Council presidency in April 2024, 2024, we placed CRSV at the heart of our agenda and chaired the annual Open Debate, which focused on how to prevent CRSV through disarmament and gender-responsive arms control. We also underscored the importance of inclusive participation, ensuring the safe engagement of women's civil society briefers, and advocated for stronger accountability, including through the use of targeted sanctions against perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence. In the same year, the Council reinforced the recognition of sexual violence as both a security threat and a tactic of terror, making conflict-related sexual violence a listing criteria within the ISIL/Al Qaeda sanctions regime. More recently, Malta adopted its second National Action Plan on WPS, which translates our commitment commitment on CRSV into concrete action. Under this National Action Plan, Malta is enhancing capacity-building efforts by identifying and providing training on WPS, including the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence for diplomats and military personnel, including prior to deployment. Through these efforts, Malta seeks to strengthen awareness, improve preparedness, and contribute to international efforts aimed at preventing and ultimately eliminating conflict-related sexual violence. As a proud member of the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Malta remains committed to advancing all aspects of this agenda. President, in conclusion, the time for commitments alone has passed. We urge Member States, parties to conflict, and international to translate words into concrete action, to prevent conflict-related sexual violence, to hold perpetrators accountable, and guarantee survivors access to justice and comprehensive survivor-centered services. I thank you.

Merci. I thank the representative of Malta for the statement. Ladies and gentlemen, there are still a number of speakers remaining on my list for this meeting. I intend, with the concurrence of members of the council, to suspend the meeting until 3 PM. This meeting is suspended. We'll resume at 3 PM.