UN General Assembly: Explanation of Position, International cooperation on access to justice for survivors of sexual violence - A/76/L.80
Mr President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Georgia, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.
The EU welcomes the consensual adoption of the resolution on access to justice for survivors of sexual violence, and we thank Sierra Leone and Japan for their leadership.
Three years ago, the EU hosted the first-ever UN Survivors Town hall, which called for the General Assembly to adopt a resolution on the human rights of survivors. We are happy to see this process conclude successfully today. We commend civil society organisations, and in particular survivors’ organisations, for their determination in pushing the initiative forward.
This outcome is fully in line with the multi-stakeholder and survivors-centered approach promoted by the Spotlight Initiative. We also take note of the recommendations of the Generation Equality Forum in this regard.
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is one of the most pervasive violations of human rights. It concerns all countries and all spheres of societies. Women and girls are disproportionally affected. Beyond the trauma itself, survivors are too often faced with unacceptable barriers in their access to assistance, justice, and reparations. The resolution outlines a series of concrete actions that Member States should implement in order to set up effective mechanisms of accountability and assistance, both nationally and internationally.
Mr President,
The resolution rightly emphasises the need to tackle conflict-related sexual violence. In the Tigray, Eastern DRC, the Sahel region, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, sexual violence continues to be used as a method of warfare. We are horrified by the reports of sexual violence, including against children, perpetrated by the Russian troops in Ukraine.
Once again, the General Assembly has spoken. The resolution is clear. Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide or torture. These crimes are punished under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Justice must be ensured.
We call on Russia to stop their war of aggression against Ukraine, and to abide by the UN Charter and the principles of International Law, including those reiterated in this resolution.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
At the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration two years ago, the UN Secretary General warned us against the ongoing global “pushback against gender equality and women’s rights”. Unfortunately, we have seen this pushback at work once again in the negotiations of this resolution. Any attempt to go back on human rights is unacceptable.
Let me recall fundamental principles in this regard:
- Women’s rights are human rights. They are universal and non-negotiable.
- Discrimination fuels violence. To ban violence, we must ban all forms of discrimination, including on the grounds of sex, race, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, disability, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
- Access to justice is a continuum, which goes from immediate assistance to effective remedies. There is no justice without meaningful reparations.
The EU remains committed to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and to the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the outcomes of their review conferences and remains committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in this context. Having that in mind, the EU reaffirms its commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over, and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination, coercion and violence. The EU further stresses the need for universal access to quality and affordable comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education, including comprehensive sexuality education, and health-care services.
We thank once again all survivors and human rights defenders who inspired this initiative. We must now deploy all efforts to ensure its implementation. You can count on the EU.
Thank you.
* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.