Nicosia: Cyprus, through a number of actions, including the National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’, will continue to strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence in conflict situations and the protection of human rights, Commissioner for Gender Equality, Josie Christodoulou stresses.
According to Cyprus News Agency, in a written statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Christodoulou reaffirms the collective duty to confront one of the most brutal and systematic forms of gender-based violence that destroys lives and the prospect of peace.
“The issue remains painfully relevant. In many countries around the world, including our own wider region, sexual violence continues to be used as a weapon and shield of war with devastating consequences for human dignity,” she says and notes that Cyprus has its own painful experience, since the Turkish invasion of 1974 left behind testimonies of rape and sexual abuse, crimes that remain unpunished to this day.
“Sexual violence in armed conflict is not just a war crime. It is a brutal expression of gender inequality and power relations. The impunity of perpetrators sustains this dark phenomenon and prevents peace with substantive equality,” the Commissioner says and points out: “Our common, global goal should be clear: to eliminate sexual violence in conflict, to effectively support victims and to ensure effective accountability and punishment of perpetrators.”
Christodoulou stresses that the elimination of sexual violence in armed conflict is non-negotiable. “It is a prerequisite for peace and substantive equality,” she concludes.