UN chief: 52 armies and teams suspected of sexual violence

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in gender-based violence final 12 months and combatants continued to make use of sexual violence “as a cruel tactic of war” and political repression in numerous international locations, the UN chief stated in a report circulated on Monday.
The report targeted on 18 international locations the place the U.N. stated it has obtained verified info. It lists 52 events “credibly suspected” of duty “for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence” in conflicts on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. Over 70% of the listed events “are persistent perpetrators,” it stated.
The majority of these on the U.N. blacklist are “non-state actors” – opposition, insurgent or terrorist teams linked to Islamic State or al-Qaida extremist teams. National navy or police forces on the listing, together with Myanmar’s navy and border guard, are barred from collaborating in UN peace operations till they undertake time-bound commitments to stop violations.
The “blacklist” additionally contains authorities and police forces in Congo and South Sudan; authorities forces and intelligence providers in Syria; armed forces and speedy help forces in Sudan; and armed forces and police in Somali and forces in its Puntland area.
Countries with non-state actors on the listing embrace Congo with 20 teams; Central African Republic with 6; Mali with 5; South Sudan and Syria with 4 every; Sudan with 2; and Iraq and Somalia with 1 every.
“Sexual violence was employed as a tactic of war, torture and terrorism in settings in which overlapping humanitarian and security crises, linked with militarisation and the proliferation of arms, continued unabated,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated.
In Ethiopia’s Tigray area the place battle broke out in November between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Guterres stated greater than 100 rapes had been alleged.
“There were also disturbing reports of individuals who had allegedly been forced to rape members of their own family under the threat of imminent violence, of women who had been forced by military elements to have sex in exchange for basic commodities, and of sexual violence being perpetrated against women and girls in refugee camps,” he stated.
Sexual violence additionally was reported in Myanmar’s armed ethnic conflicts, Guterres stated, citing involvement of each the Tatmadaw safety forces and ethnic insurgent teams in Rakhine, Chin and Shan states. The report lined occasions throughout 2020, earlier than the navy took over Myanmar’s authorities on Feb. 2 and commenced a violent crackdown on opponents of its actions.
The secretary-general stated restrictions on motion associated to the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted financial alternatives for ladies additionally “increased the risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation,” he stated. The pandemic led to a rise in youngster marriage in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and to “survival sex,” he stated.
In the West African nation of Cameroon, Guterres stated stories point out 24 ladies have been allegedly raped throughout a navy operation involving separatists in February 2020, an incident which wasn’t disclosed till July.
“In the Central African Republic, pre-electoral violence flared up, exposing women and girls to threats and heightened risks of sexual violence,” he stated.
“In Burundi, women from opposition parties faced targeted intimidation, threats and arbitrary detention during the electoral period.”
In Sudan, livestock grazing routes “were a flashpoint for sexual violence, in particular incidents of rape and gang rape linked to conflicts between farmers and herders,” the secretary-general stated. “Similarly, in Somalia, clan-based attacks intensified as a result of land-related disputes fueled by the socioeconomics impact of COVID-19.”
Intercommunal rifts intensified in South Sudan, the place a big variety of perpetrators have been members of civil protection teams, and in Congo, “where conflict was linked to disputes over natural resources and armed groups used sexual violence as a tactic to dehumanize and displace populations,” Guterres stated.
The secretary-general urged the U.N. Security Council to demand a direct finish to sexual violence by all events to armed battle, to take care of that perpetrators of sexual violence can face sanctions, and to refer conditions the place crimes of sexual violence seem to have been dedicated to the International Criminal Court.
Guterres inspired U.N. member states, donors, regional and intergovernmental organizations to make sure that victims of sexual violence are recognised, assisted and obtain reparations.