We can’t escape the daily reports of widespread violence throughout our world. And it has been especially shocking to hear recently about chemical weapons being used on innocent civilians in Syria. As we mark International Peace Day, it’s important that we stand in solidarity with people caught in conflicts.
We are faced today with many unsolved conflicts and a record and growing number of refugees and displaced persons. 2 million refugees are due to the Syrian conflict alone. The UK has committed £400 million to provide support including food, medical care and relief items for over a million people in Syria and the region. However, we believe that much more needs to be done to tackle the increasing sexual violence happening in Syria.
The UN have demonstrated that rape is being used as a weapon to intimidate civilians and humiliate victims of interrogation. Foreign Secretary William Hague and UNCHR special envoy Angelina Jolie are focusing on the prevalence of sexual violence in conflict through the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI).
This initiative was launched to stop the culture of impunity for sexual violence. Sexual violence can have an appalling impact on individuals, families and communities and undermine peace-building and stabilisation efforts in conflicts. The UK Government wants to galvanise the international community to make dealing with this a top priority.
An online campaign has started to encourage more countries to sign the PSVI Declaration which will be launched on 24 September at the UN General Assembly. The Declaration entails a commitment by all UN member countries to end sexual violence in conflict. I encourage everyone to take part in this campaign to demonstrate that it is #TimeToAct. This will help send a strong message to world leaders that it’s time to deal with sexual violence in conflict.
It most certainly is time to act. Always good to read that the UK is doing good work, but more us often better.