In his message regarding the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the head of the organization assured that this crime continues around the world despite widespread awareness and condemnation.
Last year there were harrowing reports of sexual violence from Sudan to Haiti to Israel, Guterres recalled, adding that too often, perpetrators go free while survivors spend their entire lives recovering.
This year, the international date focuses its attention on the need to protect health care in conflict situations.
“Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must be beacons of safety and healing for all those injured in conflict, including survivors of sexual violence. These are fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” the head of the UN stressed in this regard.
Attacks against health and care facilities as well as health workers can severely limit access to medical care and psychosocial support for survivors, he said.
The Secretary General urged to eliminate this scourge while the planet is experiencing the greatest number of conflicts since the Second World War.
At the same time, he called for solidarity with survivors and a greater commitment to protecting hospitals and health care facilities during conflicts.
The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict was proclaimed in June 2015 by the General Assembly with the aim of raising awareness of the need to end it, honoring victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world.
The date also pays tribute to all those who have dedicated their lives to the fight to eradicate these crimes and their victims.
The commemoration coincides with the approval of Security Council resolution 1820, which condemns sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to the consolidation of peace.
