Conflict-Related Sexual Violence – A Threat To Collective Security

June 19 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2015. Its goal is to shed light on the issue of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The sort of violence it focuses on includes “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked (temporally, geographically or causally) to a conflict.”

CRSV is a self-standing threat to collective security, as emphasized by the United Nations. As the U.N. reports, 2021 has seen an increase of CRSV, as “continued recourse to military rather than diplomatic and political means led to displacement on a significant scale, exposing civilians to heightened levels of sexual violence. Rising inequality, increased militarization, reduced civic space and the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons also contributed, among other factors, to fueling widespread and systematic conflict-related sexual violence, even in the midst of a global pandemic.” Among those specifically targeted with such attacks are women peacebuilders and human rights defenders, activists and advocates working to highlight the plight and defend the rights of survivors of CRSV, and others. They have been subjected to sexual violence and harassment as a form of reprisal.

For example, since February 2021, Myanmar has witnessed an escalation in CRSV, with the military and Myanmar police standing accused of using sexual violence against protesters and journalists, and even children. Thousands of Rohingya survivors of CRSV from the hands of Myanmar’s military and who now live in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh continue to lack access to medical assistance they need to deal with the effects of the atrocities, both physical and psychological.

2022 has not been much better. In Ukraine, Russian soldiers stand accused of perpetrating CRSV across many regions, including Mariupol, Kerson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and many more. As of June 3, 2022, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has received reports of 124 acts of CRSV in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Government reported that, in partnership with UNICEF, by the end of April 2022, their psychological support hotline received approximately 400 allegations of CRSV perpetrated by Russian soldiers. More such reports continue to be brought to light.

If indeed conflict-related sexual violence as a self-standing threat to collective security, why are we not responding to it as we do to other threats to collective security? In this spirit, Dr Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, announced a new initiative, the Red Line Initiative, which aims to strike a red line through sexual violence in conflict. The initiative will strive to create a legally binding international instrument to “evoke a clear moral rejection and international outcry when sexual violence is used as a weapon of war; ensure a more robust and timely response by states in line with their international obligations; and establish clear legal obligations that increase the costs not only for individuals but also for governments if they fail to act.” CRSV, a threat to collective security, requires a comprehensive response. States and international community must join Dr Mukwege in this important initiative and put an end to CRSV.