Remarks by the Head of the UN in Ukraine, Denise Brown

*As delivered

Thank you very much. 

And like the previous speakers, I have to start by recognizing the presence of the survivors who stood up this morning. One of the major issues we have had here in Ukraine, but also in other contexts, is that it is so difficult for survivors to step forward. And who are stepping forward will help others. So, thank you very much. And I also want to recognize the presence of those I've met in Kherson and other places who also work on gender-based violence. I am so glad that we are all together today. 

But first, I wanted to start with a quote from a colleague who said this to me years ago. When I was thinking back through my experience in conflict-related sexual violence, and I thought I could share it with you. It is very brief, but I think quite important: sexual violence during conflict has proven highly effective in breaking morale, particularly where women are raped in public or where relatives are coerced into participating. Widespread and systematic sexual violence hampers sustainable post-conflict recovery. 

That's a very powerful statement. But it's a very big problem. 

Conflict-related sexual violence is not new. It goes on – and we heard earlier, not only in Ukraine but right now in the Sudan in huge numbers and in the Middle East – but going back decades and decades, rape used as a weapon of war. About 20 years ago, there was a major incident of conflict-related sexual violence in Guinea, in Africa. During civic demonstrations, that were then repressed, there were hundreds of rape. That led to two Security Council resolutions being passed: 1820 and 1888. And that's when the Office of the Secretary-General announced a Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. You saw Pramila Patten a few minutes ago, and she heads that office right now. But that was a signal that this is a huge problem that was not being spoken about, was not being addressed.

So Resolution 1820 calls for the protection of civilians from sexual violence, the enforcement of military discipline and the prosecution of perpetrators. Now, why is the Security Council resolution or General Assembly resolution important? Because that's the documents that all member states agree on and say “I will not do this. I will do that”. 

Most Member States respect those resolutions. Most of them abide by those resolutions. 

But we know that in the context of Ukraine, the Russian Federation violated the UN Charter. They have violated international humanitarian law. And they are violating these Security Council resolutions as well. And that is absolutely critical from an accountability point of view for the political and military leadership that is making those decisions. So that is the first point I wanted to make on the contribution of the UN.

 The second is very much what we do here in Ukraine with the Office of the Vice Prime Minister [Olha Stefanishyna], with civil society, with so many organizations. We are very pleased that we've been able to, with the Office of the Vice Prime Minister, established 11 Survivor Centres since June 2022.

Not enough. Totally not enough. 

I remember sitting a year ago in the Vice Prime Minister's Office [for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine] and with the Commissioner [for Gender Policy], who is here today, looking at the numbers of people coming to those centres and we scratched our head and said “People are not coming. They are not coming to the centres. We have a problem, we have the issue of communication.” That was subsequently resolved.

So, since those 11 centres were created – they were established over time, not all at the same time, but the first one was, if I am not mistaken, in June 2022 in Zaporizhzhia – over 32,000 people have gone to those centres. Now, this is not just conflict-related sexual violence, but also gender-based violence. But in those centres, people can find psychological support, medical support, social support and legal guidance. So, all of those services came in one place. 

But what we also know is that the majority of people going to these centres are women and girls. The overwhelming majority. And want to come to it in a moment on the issue of the gender dimension of conflict-related sexual violence. So the centres exist. They are functioning. There may need to be more. 

Listening to the conversations today, the question I ask myself is the legal advice that is given in those centres, how do we then connect to the Office of the Prosecutor General? We do have in the UN the High Commissioner for Human Rights that works with us in Ukraine. They work with the dedicated team that the Prosecutor General's Office has on conflict-related sexual violence. 

But there are so many cases, there are so many violations, not just conflict-related sexual violence, but international humanitarian law, over 100,000. So how do we then prioritize these cases of conflict-related sexual violence and better connect with the centres? I think that is something we can reflect on more. 

Within the programme that we carry out here, with really great support from the European Union is also training and capacity support for the first-line responders. In particular, we have been focusing on medical professionals, psychologists, counsellors and also the media - and I will say more about that. 

When people come forward, they need to be well received. They need to be received in a way that is supportive, confidential and reassuring. So, we have been working very closely with the Vice Prime Minister's Office in order to ensure that those first-line responders have the necessary understanding and information to do that work. 

But the media, the media plays a huge role. I think one of you mentioned it earlier. We have in other contexts, huge stigmatization around conflict-related sexual violence, particularly around men and boys. And absolutely shocking, horrendous accusations made afterwards in the media about what did and did not happen. So, we have really also been focusing on the media, more needs to be done, but that has started. 

What we will also start in 2024 with the UN and the Office of the Prosecutor General is training these prosecutors in the regions, so that what we've been doing here in Kyiv is also decentralized. And I think that is a hugely important point in Ukraine. 

And of course, the documentation of the cases, not just in the vast territory controlled by Ukraine, but also in those temporarily occupied areas by the Russian Federation. And we do have a report coming out in a couple of weeks on violations across the board in those territories, which we spoke about last week in the “United for Justice” conference of the Prosecutor General.

But we have to remember, and we will continue to look at the services that are provided, that the consequences go beyond survivors. First, it has the potential to disrupt  and destroy families and entire communities. It is typically not one person who is violated but many. Second, the fear of sexual violence that restrains women's mobility, limiting their participation in the economic centre, and of girls going to school. And thirdly, when a perpetrator of sexual violence goes unpunished, then the relationship between the individual and the state's ability to protect its citizens is questioned. These are all things we need to keep in mind moving forward. 

Just before I finish, I wanted to touch on the gender dimension. 

As difficult as it is for women and girls to step forward, and in every other country we work in we know it, is just even so much more difficult for men and boys to step forward. There is a gap of knowledge as to how to adapt the services for men and boys, and often, I think, an issue of communication. How do we build that trust together for them also to step forward? Given what I said earlier, we have seen in other countries, the stigmatization is horrendous and why would you put yourself in that situation?

So, this is really something we have been discussing. There's a sub-working group that has been established at a technical level to think through this. And of course, we work very closely with civil society and the survivors’ network. So, we take that important information and adapt what needs to be adapted. 

I just want to finish by saying conflict-related sexual violence is combustible and brings together a complicated mix of shame, guilt and fear for the survivor, for the family and for the community.

And so, we are dealing with different layers here. And in the UN, we no longer say victim. It is only survivor because that way you shift the balance of power from the perpetrator and you give the power to the survivor. And we think this is incredibly important. 

Thank you so much for inviting us and allowing us to contribute to this very, very important conversation.

Thank you.

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Media contacts:

Saviano Abreu, UN Ukraine Spokesperson: +380 50 4223943, deabreuisidoro@un.org