Statement of the UN LGBTI Core Group
Chair,
The UN LGBTI Core Group is honored to present this statement to the Security Council, on the occasion of its annual open debate on sexual violence in conflict.
I deliver this statement on behalf of the following members of the LGBTI Core Group co-chaired by Argentina and The Netherlands: Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Uruguay, the European Union, as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the non-governmental organizations Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International.
At the outset of this open debate on “conflict-related sexual violence”, we would like to express full solidarity with women and girls in all their diversity living in conflict situations and other emergencies and crises. We know that women and girls, including lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex persons, are particularly negatively impacted by conflict. We stand in solidarity with all women and girls affected by the situation in Ukraine. We are also deeply shocked by the personal testimony of rapes and sexual violence that are now emerging.
The LGBTI Core Group recognizes the need to ensure that the work of the UN Security Council is inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of all individuals affected by conflict, including LGBTI persons. In this respect, we thank the United Kingdom for chairing this important meeting. We pay tribute to all victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, including those who are victims of this kind of violence and discrimination based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics.
The Members of the UN LGBTI Core Group are deeply concerned that, despite the robust framework to prevent and address sexual and gender-based violence in conflict put in place by the Security Council over the past decade, the level of compliance by parties to conflict remains, in most cases, insufficient. The tools to address these most abhorrent violations are available to us, we must all redouble our efforts to see them implemented.
It is alarming and unacceptable that actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity can increase the chance of someone becoming the target of rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence linked to a conflict. And we are concerned that the number of reports about these violations has increased in a number of conflicts.
Furthermore, we are deeply concerned by the fact that widespread underreporting of these crimes, retaliation, discrimination and stigmatization, continue to be the norm in the cases of conflict-related sexual violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity, contributing therefore to widespread impunity for the perpetrators. Factors such as the criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity, fear of stigmatization and reprisals, cultural norms, lack of awareness, adequate support services and avenues for accountability for survivors especially contribute to underreporting and must, therefore, be addressed.
In this regard, we call on all parties to conflicts to respect international law, including international humanitarian law, and human rights to break the vicious cycle of sexual violence, underreporting, impunity, and retaliation, and provide targeted gender-sensitive services to address the needs of LGBTI victims and survivors of sexual violence, including access to justice, assistance, reparations and judicial redress. To this end, we welcome the role of the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict and encourage them to take into consideration the special needs of victims and survivors who were targeted based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics.
Therefore, the Core group urges Member States to facilitate the full, equal, and meaningful participation of LGBTI victims and survivors of sexual violence in decision-making processes that affect them, including transitional justice strategies.
Likewise, the Core Group calls for the implementation of strategies to ensure access to comprehensive specialized services, including psychosocial, health care and services, sexual and reproductive health services, legal and livelihood support, and services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence adapted to their needs and provided without discrimination, as well as appropriate consideration to avoid discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics, and vulnerability to violence when adjudicating asylum claims.
Members should recognize that all survivors, including LGBTI persons, are unique individuals with different experiences and needs, and that any support to assist and empower survivors must be contextualized, paying particular attention to multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities.
Thank you.