Press Releases:

June 16, 2008

Security Council: Step Toward Accountability

NEW YORK - The UN Security Council's debate Thursday on women and peace and security is an important step toward holding military forces accountable for using sexual violence as a weapon of war and to meeting the need of victims, the International Center for Transitional Justice said.

The ICTJ urges the Council to call for national governments to adopt measures that provide accountability for sexual violence against civilians - steps including prosecutions, truth-telling initiatives such as truth commissions, reparations and the reform of security forces.

"It's time to hold the international community accountable for carrying out practical, effective policies to end the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict," said Debra L. Schultz, acting director of the Gender and Transitional Justice Program at ICTJ.

"It's a challenge the international community needs to meet, or else the perpetrators will go unpunished," Ms. Schultz said.

Sexual violence is widely used a weapon in many ongoing conflicts. It has reached epidemic proportions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in conflict areas in the easternmost section of the country.

"A key factor in the spread of these heinous crimes in Africa is the total impunity that perpetrators receive," said Suliman Baldo, Africa Director at ICTJ. "Governments continue to drag their feet in reforming national security forces, and in disciplining forces that in too many instances are leading aggressors against a population they are supposed to protect."

The ICTJ also calls upon the Security Council to ask the Secretary General to report regularly on gender-based violence in conflict situations; ensure consultation with women's groups about security needs; and train UN peacekeeping forces in identifying and responding to sexual violence.

To learn more about the ICTJ's work in gender-related approaches to transitional justice, click here.

About the ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.

To learn more about the ICTJ, please visit www.ictj.org