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STORY: UN / CONFLICT RELATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE
TRT: 04:22
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 AUGUST 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN headquarters
19 AUGUST 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict:
“I wish I could say that today’s debate will demonstrate to survivors the depth of our collective concern and the extent of our political courage. Yet, even as needs are mounting, humanitarian assistance is being slashed. Women’s frontline organizations are going from underfunded to unfunded. We are told there is no money for lifesaving aid, even as military expenditure soars, and the world spends more in 24 hours on arms than it does in a year on addressing gender-based violence in conflict.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict:
“In the course of 2024, more than 4,600 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including as a tactic of war, torture, terror and political repression, were documented, marking a staggering 25 percent increase from 2023, which was itself a 50 percent increase from the previous year.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict:
“Every year, we note the disproportionate impact on women and girls, who consistently account for over 90 percent of verified cases (92 percent this year). The report records violations against victims ranging in age from just one to 75 years, as well as against persons with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities, racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities. Sexual violence against children increased by a shocking 35 percent over the past year, with incidents of gang-rape rising dramatically, inflicting enduring, generational harm.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ikhlass Ahmed, Founder and Coordinator, Darfur Advocacy Group:
“Hardly a day goes by without a new report of rape of a woman or girl. As I address this Council, more than 30 women and girls are still being detained by the RSF inside a former medical supply building east of El Fasher, some for more than 7 months. We have no knowledge of their fate. These stories and these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, as survivors often remain silent due to stigma and fear of retaliation.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ikhlass Ahmed, Founder and Coordinator, Darfur Advocacy Group:
“Since the start of the war, there have been at least 174 separate attacks on health providers and facilities, including clinics providing reproductive health care and emergency response to survivors. Warring parties have also deliberately obstructed humanitarian access, including by looting supplies and restricting freedom of movement. Community-led mutual aid groups are also at risk: in April, the RSF burned down a women-led community kitchen in Zamzam Camp, deliberately killing volunteers Hasanat Musa, who was pregnant, and Nana Bahar Idris.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. Wide shot, ambassadors at the stakeout area
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Panama:
“We call for an end to impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and demand accountability as the norm for these crimes. Accountability shifts shame from victims to perpetrators and helps break cycles of violence. We stress the urgent need for sustained, flexible and predictable funding for victims and survivor-centered responses, including through a multi-partner Trust Fund on CRSV.”
15. Wide shot, ambassadors leaving the stakeout area
“In the course of 2024, more than 4,600 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including as a tactic of war, torture, terror and political repression, were documented, marking a staggering 25 percent increase from 2023, which was itself a 50 percent increase from the previous year,” the UN’s envoy on sexual violence in conflict told the Security Council.
Briefing the Council today (Aug 19), Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, warned that even as needs rise, funding for women’s frontline organizations is collapsing. “We are told there is no money for lifesaving aid, even as military expenditure soars, and the world spends more in 24 hours on arms than it does in a year on addressing gender-based violence in conflict,” she said.
Patten’s remarks drew on the Secretary-General’s latest annual report on conflict-related sexual violence, published on 14 August and covering the period from January to December 2024.
She noted that women and girls accounted for 92 percent of verified cases last year, with victims ranging in age from one to 75 years old. “Sexual violence against children increased by a shocking 35 percent over the past year, with incidents of gang-rape rising dramatically, inflicting enduring, generational harm,” she said.
From Darfur, Ikhlass Ahmed of the Darfur Advocacy Group described how sexual violence remains widespread. “Hardly a day goes by without a new report of rape of a woman or girl,” she told the Council, adding that more than 30 women and girls have been detained by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher for over seven months. “These stories and these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, as survivors often remain silent due to stigma and fear of retaliation,” she said.
Ahmed also reported at least 174 attacks on health providers and facilities since the conflict began, including clinics serving survivors of sexual violence. “In April, the RSF burned down a women-led community kitchen in Zamzam Camp, deliberately killing volunteers Hasanat Musa, who was pregnant, and Nana Bahar Idris,” she added.
Before the debate, the signatories to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security - Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the UK, and the US - delivered a joint statement on conflict-related sexual violence, at a stakeout ahead of the meeting.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Panama’s ambassador to the UN, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, called for accountability and greater support for survivors. “We call for an end to impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and demand accountability as the norm for these crimes,” he said. “We stress the urgent need for sustained, flexible and predictable funding for victims and survivor-centered responses, including through a multi-partner Trust Fund on CRSV.”
