Last week, the U.N. held a press conference to introduce the newly appointed Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström. Wallström – a wildly well-qualified and highly competent choice – will have been at work for just over a month when we, with organizations and individuals around the globe, mark International Women’s Day on March 8.
It is a tough time for Darfur advocates – as the situation in Sudan has become increasingly complex and layered, international approaches to ending it have been stale, tired and painfully one-dimensional. But Wallström’s appointment is indicative of one area in which both the U.N. and State Department have made significant progress in the past year – putting women’s issues on the agenda. The U.S.-led U.N. Security Council Resolution 1888, passed last fall, created this position. President Obama’s April appointment of Melanne Verveer as the first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and Secretary Clinton’s creation of a new GWI office at the State Department shows an invigorated national commitment. Both U.S. and international commitments to women’s issues are critical to ending the scourge of sexual violence in Sudan – and beyond its borders in refugee camps.
Upon her appointment, Wallström said that “violence against women is the most common but least punished crime in the world. It continues in every continent, country and culture and the results are devastating on women’s lives as well as on their families and on the fabric of society as a whole. In recent years it has been sickening to see sexual violence become a tool of modern warfare. In far too many parts of the world women are excluded from the decision-making process and from conflict resolution and peacekeeping. This absolutely has to change and I am determined to play my part in making that change happen.” That’s something that every Darfur activist can not only be inspired by, but a place where we can play a part.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Hillary Clinton, Margot Wallström, President Obama, United Nations, Violence Against Women
