there is nothing worse
than when someone in uniform is harming
the very civilians they are sent to
protect no perpetrator is above the law
and no Survivor is beneath it
thank you
ah your excellencies ministers ladies
and gentlemen it is an honor to be here
I would like to acknowledge the
ancestral lands of the First Nations
the hundred and ten thousand men and
women currently deployed on U.N
peacekeeping operations
and the families of all of those
peacekeepers who have been killed in the
line of duty
and I thank the Canadian government for
hosting this event and for their
leadership on women peace and security
we meet at a time when peace is in short
supply
with armed conflict in Myanmar Syria
Iraq and Yemen to name but a few of the
worst examples
with over 65 million refugees and
displaced people worldwide
and U.N peacekeepers deployed on an
unprecedented 15 operations
the protection of civilians has been at
the heart of laws of warfare since the
Geneva conventions which state that in
any conflict the civilian population
shall not be the object of attack
yet women and children make up the vast
majority of all casualties in armed
conflict today
laws prohibiting attacks on schools and
hospitals are routinely breached for
instance in Syria
laws
prohibiting the excuse me
laws prohibiting the denial of Aid
relief to civilians are repeatedly
ignored
whether in rakhine state or in Myanmar
today
or in Yemen
in Yemen
where millions of people are facing
death from starvation
and despite being prohibited by law
sexual violence continues to be employed
as a tactic of war in 19 countries
it includes Mass rape gang rape sexual
slavery and rape as a form of torture
ethnic cleansing and terrorism
it has been 68 years since the Geneva
Convention fourth protocol which said
women shall be especially protected
against any attack on their honor in
particular against rape enforced
prostitution or any form of indecent
assault
it has been 21 years since the UN first
promised to address sexual abuse by U.N
peacekeepers and to increase the number
of women deployed in operations
yes the exploitation of defenseless
civilians still takes place
and still less than four percent of all
peacekeepers are women
it has been 19 years since the Rome
statute of the international criminal
court stating that mass atrocities
including rape and sexual slavery would
not go unpunished and yet Justice for
survivors of rape is still the exception
it has been 17 years since the U.N
security Council resolution
1325 called for an end to the exclusion
of women from peace negotiations
for special protection for women and
girls against sexual violence
and for an end to impunity
so we have to ask
how is it
after all these years all these laws and
all these resolutions and all the
endured
women still have to ask for this most
basic of all entitlements
the right to a life free from violence
sexual violence is everywhere
in the industry where I work
in businesses in universities in
policies politicians
military across the world
it affects men
as well as women
however
it is recognized
by the U.N
as one of the Prime reasons why women
remain in a subordinate position in
relation to men in parts of the world
and as a critical obstacle to achieving
women's equality and our full human
rights
ending gender-based violence is
therefore a vital issue of social
justice in All Nations
and confronting its use
in its most extreme form as a weapon of
War
is essential for future peace and
security
I want to address three myths
that I believe go to the heart of why
these crimes still occur
and what we have to overcome together
the first myth
is that this behavior is sexual
all too often these kinds of crimes
against women are laughed off and
depicted as a minor offense by someone
who cannot control themselves
as an illness or some kind of
exaggerated sexual need
a man who mistreats women
is abusive
only last week
a trial opened in the Democratic
Republic of Congo
for 46 alleged cases of rape of children
by militia Fighters
who had been told that the blood of
virgins would grant them Supernatural
protection
some of the victims
were 18 months old
according to the U.N
almost every female rohingya Refugee in
the camps in Bangladesh is either a
survivor of sexual violence
or a witness to multiple instances of
sexual assault rape or gang rape
mff said that half
half of the patients it has treated for
rape are under 18 years old
and one was just nine years old
this is rape
and assault designed to torture to
terrorize and to force people to flee
it has nothing to do with sex
it has everything to do with abuse of
power it is Criminal Behavior
the second myth
is that even when conflict-related
sexual violence is clearly understood as
a crime
it is treated as a lesser crime
an inevitable aspect of the breakdown of
social order
not a central issue for peace
negotiations or agreements and not grave
enough to mount prosecutions and
imprison those responsible
but sexual web violence is a weapon
used to deliberate effect to achieve
military or political objectives
it is cheaper than a bullet
it has long lasting consequences that
unfold with sickening predictability
and that is what makes it so cruelly
effective
I would like to ask everyone here to
take a moment to consider
the following scenario
imagine your hometown
the street where you live
a conflict has broken out in your
country
one night
trucks roll in
and your street is surrounded and
blocked off
men with guns pour out of those trucks
and start breaking down doors
they go from house to house in your
street
and in the course of one night
they rape every woman or girl they find
and they do so in front of their
families
now think how you and your family would
be affected
that night that day
for the months and years to come
that impact on all of you the emotional
pain and Trauma
stigma the shame the physical and mental
illness
how broken you would feel that you were
unable to stop this from happening to
your family members
and how bitter you would feel at being
told months or years later that you have
to move on
and forget
because there is now a peace agreement
and justice for your families is less
important
this is the reality
for millions of families today
it is happening today day in day out and
more often than not we know about it
it's on our television screens and our
newspapers
why then
why then does nothing really change
and this brings me to my third myth
which is that even if we accept that
sexual violence has nothing to do with
sex
and understand that it is a crime
that it is used as a weapon
with many people
it will still believe that it's just
simply not possumen that's how it goes
how could we possibly prevent sexual
violence in the extreme conditions of
War
it is hard yes but it is not impossible
we have the laws
the institutions the expertise in
gathering evidence
we are able to identify perpetrators and
those responsible
what is missing
the political will
this brings me to the role of the
military
there is nothing worse
than when someone in uniform is harming
the very civilians they are sent to
protect
and I like to believe that no one is
angrier than you when one of your own
betrays their uniform and your values in
that way
in the last few years I have seen a
dramatic change in the willingness of
military leaders to address the taboos
around these issues and to take action
in Kenya earlier this year I met
peacekeepers from around the world
receiving training
many of them for the first time in how
to identify and respond to sexual
violence and to interact appropriately
with survivors on U.N peacekeeping
missions
Canada the UK
and Bangladesh
have announced today
the senior military Chiefs Network
promising to work with other senior
Military Officers to increase the number
of women in their militaries
to change training to include gender and
women peace and security
to deploy more women in operational
roles
and to appoint full-time
gender advisors
and many of the countries represented at
this conference have also made new and
very important pledges
so I thank them I thank you
for these commitments
I hope they will be just the beginning
in this work
we've not only strengthen
our societies and improve peacekeeping
but you will Play Your Part in showing
that no perpetrator is above the law
and no Survivor is beneath it
and I am here
determined to do anything I can
to work alongside all of you
thank you for all you've done today
thank you for your efforts and I look
forward to our work
[Applause]
thank you
[Music]
thank you
[Music]