On September 30, 2009, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that addresses the need to end sexual violence against women in conflict-affected countries. Introduced by the US government, at a session chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the resolution builds on Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, both of which were instrumental in raising the issue of sexual violence on the Security Council’s agenda. In her address to the council, Clinton affirmed that “today, the United States joins with the international community in sending a simple and unequivocal message: violence against women and children will not be tolerated and must be stopped.”

Strengthening the commitments made in SCR 1820 which clearly links the prevention of sexual violence with the maintenance of peace and security, the new resolution, SCR 1888, asks for:

• The immediate appointment of a Special Representative to provide leadership, work effectively to strengthen existing UN coordination mechanisms and advocate on ending sexual violence against women with governments, military, judicial representatives and parties to armed conflict;
• The creation of a team of experts, comprising specialists on rule of law, civilian and military judicial systems, mediation, criminal investigation, security sector reform, witness protection, fair trial standards, and public outreach. This team will assist governments, UN missions on the ground and peacekeeping forces to cope with sexual violence in armed conflict, enhance national capacity and to strengthen rule of law and state authority to prevent impunity;
• The appointment of women’s protection advisors in peacekeeping missions;
• The provision of data and information about the prevalence of sexual violence in reports made by peacekeeping missions to the Security Council;
• An annual reporting on the progress made on implementing SCR 1820 and this new resolution

France and other UN member states expressed concern about the recent violence in Guinea Conakry. They cited this as an example of a situation where women and other marginalized groups can become more vulnerable and international instruments like Resolutions 1820 and 1888 would be very much needed. The importance of Resolution 1325 as the foundation document that recognizes women’s role in peace building and conflict resolution was also highlighted by Vietnam and other Security Council members. The United Kingdom, Mexico and a number of other Security Council members also welcomed the creation of the new women’s entity in the UN system. The Security Council also received endorsements and statements from 40 other Member States but they were not read in today’s meeting.

A draft copy of the resolution, SCR 1888, can be found at: http://www.iwtc.org/1888.html

The 68 countries that sponsored the resolution, include:
Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, and United States of America.