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Security Council Resolution A United Nations Security Council resolution is a United Nations resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council (UNSC); the United Nations (UN) body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peac ...

1960, adopted unanimously on December 16, 2010, after recalling resolutions

1325 Year 1325 ( MCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 7 – Afonso IV becomes King of Portugal. * February – Muhammad bin ...

(2000),

1612 Events January–June * January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of governme ...

(2005),

1674 Events January–March * January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years. * January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes c ...

(2006),

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). * January 8 – General Maritime ...

(2008), 1882 (2009),

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(2009),

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in th ...

(2009) and

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

(2009), the Council requested information on parties suspected of patterns of

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., Worl ...

during armed conflict to be made available to it. The resolution was sponsored by 60 countries. Its adoption was praised by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

, which called it "a tremendous step toward ending this horrendous practice".

Observations

In the preamble of the resolution, the Council expressed concern at the slow progress on the issue of sexual violence in

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

, particularly against women and children. Moreover, despite calls to all parties involved in conflict and condemnation, such acts continued to occur. It reminded all states to comply with

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

and for leaders to demonstrate commitment to prevent sexual violence, combat

impunity Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a ...

and uphold accountability, as inaction would send the wrong message. Perpetrators of war crimes and

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

had to prosecuted, emphasising the primary responsibility of states to respect and ensure

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

of people within their territory. The resolution noted that ending impunity was essential if a society was to recover from conflict, and in this regard, there needed to be better access to health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and the needs of persons with disabilities. The Council recalled the number of sexual offences in the

Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...

of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individua ...

. It welcomed attempts to address the issue in

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

missions, including tackling sexual violence and promoting the role of women in civil and military functions.

Acts

The Council condemned the widespread and systematic use of sexual abuse against the civilian population in situations of armed conflict, and that taking steps to combat it would contribute towards the maintenance of international peace and security. It called for an end to all acts of sexual violence. The

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...

was asked to include information on parties suspected to be responsible for acts of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

or other acts of sexual violence, which the Council would use to engage with the parties or take action against them. The list would be made public. The resolution asked parties to armed conflict to make commitments against the use of sexual violence and investigations into alleged abuses, which the Secretary-General was asked to monitor. The Council stated its intention to designate criteria pertaining to acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence when reviewing or adopting sanctions. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General was instructed to devise monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence, while ensuring full transparency. The Security Council praised the work of gender advisers and looked forward to the appointment of women protection advisers in peacekeeping missions. States were encouraged to use scenario-based training materials provided by the Secretary-General before the deployment of peacekeeping operations, with the Council pledging to pay attention to sexual violence in

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

renewals and authorisations. Furthermore, states were asked deploy greater numbers of female police and military personnel in peacekeeping operations. Finally, the Secretary-General was asked to strengthen the policy of zero tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations personnel, and report regularly to the Council on progress in implementing the current resolution.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2010 1960 Women's rights instruments 2010 in women's history December 2010 events

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links