Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the following remarks at the Female Heads of State and Foreign Ministers Luncheon this afternoon:
…Next week at the Security Council, we’re going to be taking steps to improve the United Nations’ response to sexual violence committed during armed conflict. I will be speaking next Wednesday on behalf of a U.S.-sponsored resolution to better implement the commitment that we should have to the role that women and girls should play in their lives, in their communities, and their countries, and in particular, to appoint a special representative of the Secretary General to lead, coordinate, and advocate for efforts to end sexual violence in armed conflict. I think we have to elevate that no matter what country we’re from. Those of us who have traveled, as I think all of us here have done, have seen the consequences, and some of you have lived the consequences and your families have suffered the consequences as well.
So we intend to make this a centerpiece of my term as Secretary of State. There are people who say, well, women’s issues is an important issue, but it doesn’t rank up there with the Middle East or Iran’s nuclear threat or Afghanistan and Pakistan. I could not disagree more. I think women are key to our being able to resolve all of those difficult conflicts, as well as provide for a better future.
This resolution and appointment have real potential to both increase education about the pervasive role of sexual violence in armed conflict, and to provide much needed support and services to women living in conflict zones like Darfur and South Sudan. Secretary Clinton’s leadership in working to ending the scourge of sexual violence in armed conflict and increase opportunities for women and girls is, and has been throughout the course of her tenure, extraordinarily impressive. Her strong rhetoric on this issue has been matched by decisive action, both on a legislative and diplomatic level. I look forward to following this resolution as it comes before the Security Council.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Darfur, Hillary Clinton, Security Council, United Nations, Violence Against Women
