Security Council Resolution 2467 (2019) [on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict]

S/RES/2467(2019)View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A document of the Security Council, under agenda item XWomen and peace and security, published in 2019.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

3 entities

A dot marks an entity citing this document in its “Mandates and background” narrative rather than only its Legislative mandates list. Many do both.

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Crime Victims Gender-Based Violence Sex Crimes Women in Armed Conflicts

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

8 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2020–2026.

Reports

Span

2020–2026

7 years

2026S/2026/321Conflict-related sexual violence report of the Secretary-General
2025S/2025/389Conflict-related sexual violence report of the Secretary-General
2024S/2024/292Conflict-related sexual violence report of the Secretary-General
2023S/2023/413Conflict-related sexual violence report of the Secretary-General
2022S/2022/272Conflict-related sexual violence report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

37 operative paragraphs

Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation with immediate effect by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence and its call for these parties to make and implement specific time-bound commitments to combat sexual violence, which should include, inter alia, issuance of clear orders through chains of command and development of codes of conduct prohibiting sexual violence and establishment of related enforcement procedures to ensure accountability for breaching these orders, commitments by individual commanders, investigation of all credible allegations including on the basis of information reported by relevant UN entities and accountability for those responsible, unimpeded access for monitoring and provision of services and humanitarian assistance in areas under their control;

Welcomes the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General, his Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, Women Protection Advisers, and other relevant United Nations entities in seeking time-bound commitments and implementation plans by all parties to conflict to prevent and address all acts and forms of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, encourages designation of high-level civilian, military and police focal points, as appropriate, who will be responsible for the implementation of such commitments, notes further that the Secretary-General should give due consideration to the ongoing implementation of commitments as outlined above in its annual report on sexual violence in conflict, encourages a more systematic approach and the acceleration of such efforts and welcomes the regular briefings to the Security Council by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in this regard;

Encourages national authorities in this context to strengthen legislation to foster accountability for sexual violence, stresses the critical role of the domestic investigation and judicial systems of member states to prevent and eliminate sexual violence in conflict and to ensure accountability for those responsible, and requests relevant United Nations entities including the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence established pursuant to resolution 1888 to support national authorities in their efforts in this regard;

Recognizes the work of the of the Informal Experts Group on Women, Peace and Security, as expressed in resolution 2242, and expresses its intention to consider its information, analysis, and recommendations, acknowledging UN Women’s important role in this regard, and emphasizes that sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and all other aspects of the Women, Peace and Security agenda should continue to be addressed in this forum;

Reiterating deep concern that despite its repeated condemnation of violence, including sexual violence, against women and children in situations of armed conflict, and despite its calls addressed to all parties to armed conflict for the cessation of such acts with immediate effect, such acts continue to occur, often with impunity, and in some situations have become systematic and widespread, reaching appalling levels of brutality, and in this respect; requests the Secretary-General, in his next annual report to the Council on the implementation of Resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and the present resolution, to include a gap assessment and recommendations, within existing resources and in close consultation, with all applicable UN entities, as well as Member States, and other relevant experts, on how the Security Council can strengthen and monitor implementation of relevant commitments by parties to conflict as well as on how the UN can better support local, national, and regional efforts to address the needs of survivors of sexual violence in conflict;

Requests the Secretary-General and relevant UN entities to further strengthen, the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence established pursuant to resolution 1960 (2010), including rape in situations of armed conflict, post-conflict and other situations relevant to the implementation of resolution 1888 (2009), and to consider ensuring, as appropriate, that these arrangements address sexual violence used as a tactic of war and as a tactic of terrorism, with a view to providing, within existing resources, information on the implementation of paragraph 1 of this resolution by parties to conflict;

Reiterates that the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements need to respect fully the integrity and specificity of the monitoring and reporting mechanism implemented under Security Council resolutions on children and armed conflict and reiterates its request to the Secretary General to continue to ensure full transparency, cooperation and coordination of efforts between the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and armed conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in conflict;

Encourages relevant United Nations mandating bodies, as appropriate, in the establishment inter alia of commissions of inquiry and independent investigative entities to ensure that considerations to address sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations are included in their mandates and terms of reference, where relevant, and the Secretary-General to ensure that they are established and operationalized with the capacity and relevant expertise to address such considerations, and in this regard encourages the use of existing rosters of investigators with relevant expertise; emphasizes further that all efforts to document and investigate sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations should take into account the specific needs of survivors, be well-coordinated, and respect safety, confidentiality and informed consent of survivors as well as independence and impartiality, and that monitoring and investigation strategies are connected to specialized multi-sectoral referral pathways to services for survivors;

Encourages the continued strengthening of efforts to monitor and document sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and, as an integral part of these efforts, calls for a more systematic, reliable and rigorous approach to gathering accurate, reliable timely and sex-disaggregated information on sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, in such a way that will not put at risk survivors;

Urges existing Sanctions Committees, where within the scope of the relevant criteria for designation, and consistent with the present and other relevant resolutions to apply targeted sanctions against those who perpetrate and direct sexual violence in conflict; and reiterates its intention, when adopting or renewing targeted sanctions in situations of armed conflict, to consider including designation criteria pertaining to acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence;

Encourages the Secretary General to ensure that expert groups and monitoring teams and panels for sanctions committees include members with dedicated sexual violence and gender expertise, and include information on incidents, patterns, trends and perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations in their reports and recommendations to committees, where mandated;

Calls upon all peacekeeping and other relevant United Nations missions and United Nations entities, in particular the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to share with relevant United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committees, including through their monitoring groups and groups of experts, all pertinent information about sexual violence, and further calls upon them to strengthen their cooperation and exchange of information in this regard;

Recognizes the need to integrate the prevention, response and elimination of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations and addressing its root causes in all relevant resolutions, including in relevant authorizations and renewals of the mandates of peace missions through the inclusion of operational provisions,; expresses its intention to make better usage of periodical field visits to conflict areas, through the organization of interactive meetings with the local women and women’s organizations in the field about the concerns and needs of women in areas of armed conflict;, and to engage with national authorities, as appropriate, on the prevention and response to sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations and engage with victims, affected communities and civil society, including women’s organizations;

Calls upon Member States in the context of justice sector reform efforts, to strengthen legislation and enhance investigation and prosecution of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations consistent with fair trial guarantees under international law, which could include enacting, if not yet established, victim and witness protection laws and providing, where appropriate, legal aid for survivors, and establishing, where appropriate, specialized police units and courts to address such crimes, removing procedural impediments to justice for victims such as restrictive limitation periods for filing claims, corroboration requirements that discriminate against victims as witnesses and complainants, exclusion or discrediting of victims’ testimony by law enforcement officials and within judicial and other proceedings, and lack of facilities for closed hearings; and encourages concerned Member States to draw upon the expertise of the United Nations Team of Experts established pursuant to resolution 1888 (2009) under the strategic leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General o Sexual Violence in Conflict as appropriate to strengthen the rule of law and the capacity of civilian and military justice systems to address sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations as part of broader efforts to strengthen institutional safeguards against impunity;

Urges Member States to strengthen access to justice for victims of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, including women and girls, who are particularly targeted, including through the prompt investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as reparations for victims as appropriate, acknowledges the inclusion of sexual and gender-related crimes among the most serious crimes of international concern in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which entered into force on 1 July 2002, notes that the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern committed against women and girls has been strengthened through the work of international and mixed tribunals, as well as specialized chambers in national tribunals and reiterates its intention to continue forcefully to fight impunity and uphold accountability with appropriate means;

Encourages Member States to adopt a survivor-centered approach in preventing and responding to sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, ensuring that prevention and response are non-discriminatory and specific, and respect the rights and prioritize needs of survivors, including groups that are particularly vulnerable or may be specifically targeted, and notably in the context of their health, education, and participation, and in this regard the Council:

a. Calls upon all Member States to ensure that survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict in the respective countries receive the care required by their specific needs and without any discrimination;

b. Notes the link between sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and HIV infection, and the disproportionate burden of HIV and AIDS on women and girls as a persistent obstacle and challenge to gender equality;

c. Encourages leaders at the national and local level, including community, religious and traditional leaders, as appropriate and where they exist, to play a more active role in advocating within communities against sexual violence in conflict to avoid marginalization and stigmatization of survivors and their families, as well as, to assist with their social and economic reintegration and that of their children, and to address impunity for these crimes;

d. Encourages concerned Member States to ensure the opportunity for the full and meaningful participation of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence at all stages of transitional justice processes, including in decision-making roles, recognizes that women’s leadership and participation will increase the likelihood that transitional justice outcomes will constitute effective redress as defined by victims and will respond to important contextual factors;

Recalls the applicable provisions of international law on the right to an effective remedy for violations of human rights, calls upon Member States to make such effective remedy and assistance available to victims of sexual violence in conflict, and post-conflict situations, and encourages Member States and other relevant actors to give due consideration to the establishment of a survivors’ fund;

Recognizes that women and girls who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence in armed conflict, including those who choose to become mothers, may have different and specific needs, and noting the connected, distinct, sometimes life threatening and enduring risks and harms often faced by those women, girls and their children born as result of sexual violence in conflict, including economic and social marginalization, physical and psychological injury, statelessness, discrimination and lack of access to reparations; and urging states to recognize the equal rights of all individuals affected by sexual violence in armed conflict, including women, girls and children born of sexual violence in armed conflict, in national legislation, consistent with their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as applicable, further requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on these issues within two years and no later than the end of 2021 and requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict to cooperate with the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and other relevant UN entities on that matter;

Recognizes the importance of supporting, and promoting civil society, especially local, grassroots, women-led organizations, and religious and community leaders, girls- and youth-led organizations, for all prevention and response efforts; while supporting community mobilization campaigns to help shift the stigma of sexual violence from the victims to the perpetrators, and to promote cohesion among community members where state security presence is weak;

Encourages concerned Member States and relevant United Nations entities to support capacity building for women-led and survivor-led organizations and build the capacity of civil society groups to enhance informal community-level protection mechanisms against sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, to increase their support of women’s active and meaningful engagement in peace processes to strengthen gender equality, women’s empowerment and protection as a means of conflict prevention;

Welcomes the regular briefings by women from civil society, particularly in country-specific meetings, which has enlightened the Council on conditions in conflict countries including in relation to sexual violence, and calls upon States to condemn acts of discrimination, harassment and violence against civil society, and journalists who report on sexual violence in conflict and who are important to changing norms on roots causes, namely structural gender inequality and discrimination, and develop and put in place measures to protect them and enable them to do their work;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the timely deployment of Women Protection Advisers to relevant UN peace operations particularly at a senior level, ensuring that they have direct access to senior leadership of such peace operations, and offices of UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators in all relevant situations of concern, to advise UN senior leadership on the implementation of the operational provisions of this resolution and other Security Council resolutions on sexual violence in conflict, including engagement with parties to conflict for time-bound commitments and establishment and functioning of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence, and takes note with appreciation of the Secretary-General’s gender parity strategy;

Reiterates its intention when establishing and renewing the mandates of United Nations missions, to include provisions on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women in conflict and post-conflict situations, including through the appointment of gender advisers as appropriate, and further expresses its intention to include provisions to facilitate women’s full and effective participation and protection in: election preparation and political processes, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs, security sector and judicial reforms, and wider post-conflict reconstruction processes where these are mandated tasks within the mission;

Recognizes the role of United Nations peacekeeping contingents in preventing sexual violence, and, in this respect, calls for pre-deployment and in-mission training of troop- and police-contributing country contingents to include training on sexual and gender-based violence and encourages integration of this competence into the performance and operational readiness standards against which troops and police are assessed;

Welcomes the Secretary-General’s decision that all state actors repeatedly listed in the annexes of his reports on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Children and Armed Conflict are prohibited from participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and urges those troop- and police-contributing countries that are currently listed to cease such violations and abuses, and expeditiously implement action plans in accordance with paragraph 1 of this resolution, thereby avoiding suspension from peace operations;

Calls upon Member States and the United Nations to support affected countries to address sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations in the context of security sector reform processes including to enhance the capacity of military structures to address and prevent sexual violence related crimes, and put in place safeguards through vetting to prevent individuals credibly suspected of committing sexual violence related crimes from being recruited, retained or promoted within the security forces; encourages Member States to promote the equal opportunity of women at all levels of national police service positions and other security positions; encourage UN entities where mandated to address security sector reform to include sexual violence expertise in their field operations and ensure that these considerations are reflected in operational guidance and resourcing of their programmatic activities;

Encourages Member States, with the assistance of the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations entities, to ensure the integration of gender analysis and training into national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes, including ensuring that women formerly associated with armed groups, as well as ex-combatants, are able to access trauma services, resocialization and reintegration initiatives; reiterates in this regard the need to establish protection mechanisms for women in cantonment sites, as well as for civilians in close proximity of cantonment sites and in communities of return;

Stresses that acts of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict can be part of the strategic objectives and ideology of, and used as a tactic by certain parties to armed conflict, including non-state armed groups, designated as terrorist groups and therefore affirms that victims of sexual violence, committed by certain parties to armed conflict, including non-state armed groups designated as terrorist groups, should have access to national relief and reparations programmes, as well as health care, psychosocial care, safe shelter, livelihood support and legal aid and that services should include provisions for women with children born as a result of sexual violence in conflict, as well as men and boys who may have been victims of sexual violence in conflict including in detention settings; contribute to lifting the sociocultural stigma attached to this category of crime and facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration efforts;

Requests the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), within its existing mandate, under the policy guidance of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), and in close cooperation with UNODC, the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, UN Women in line with resolution 2242 (2015), and other relevant entities, to continue to include in CTED’s country assessments, as appropriate, information regarding Member States efforts to address the issue of trafficking in persons and its link with sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations committed by terrorist groups as part of their strategic objectives and ideology, and used as a tactic by certain parties to armed conflict, including non-state armed groups designated as terrorist groups;

Calls upon parties to conflict to ensure that ceasefire and peace agreements contain provisions that stipulate sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations as a prohibited act, particularly in provisions relating to disengagement, ensure further that women are present and meaningfully participate in political pre-negotiation and negotiation processes; and stresses the need for the exclusion of sexual violence crimes from amnesty and immunity provisions in the context of conflict resolution processes;

Recognizes that displaced persons face specific, heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual violence in armed conflict, as well as barriers to support services, and in accordance with international refugee law and international human rights law, as applicable, sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations may constitute a gender related form of persecution for the purposes of determining eligibility asylum or refugee status; encourages Member States to consider resettlement or local integration support for survivors, to adopt measures to mitigate the risk of sexual violence, to make services available to survivors, and to provide the option of documenting their cases for future accountability processes;

Notes that sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations disproportionately affects woman and girls, recognizes also that men and boys are also targets of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, including in the context of detention settings and those associated with armed groups; urges Member States to protect victims who are men and boys through the strengthening of policies that offer appropriate responses to male survivors and challenge cultural assumptions about male invulnerability to such violence; requests further that the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence focus more consistently on the gender specific nature of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations against all affected populations in all situations of concern, including men and boys;

Welcomes the efforts of regional and sub-regional organizations to address and eliminate sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings and to support Member States in this regard, and encourages them to continue those efforts;

Recognizes the role of United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict as the interagency coordination forum chaired by the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to address this problem, and encourages the revision and continued development of innovative operational tools and guidance by United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict;

Calls upon Member States, United Nations entities, and civil society actors to make commitments in order to implement the Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security ahead of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325, and to ensure that such commitments make a meaningful impact to implement the women, peace and security agenda and allow for a strengthened follow-up of its implementation, in addition, encourages Member States to adopt, and regularly refresh, fully funded national action plans to progress the Women, Peace and Security agenda;

Requests that the Secretary-General continue to submit annual reports to the Council on the implementation of Resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and the present resolution, further requests the Secretary-General, as mandated, to include gender-sensitive analysis in his conflict analysis and to continue to include information and related recommendations on issues of relevance to women, peace and security, including on sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations in his reports to the Council;

Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

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