Security Council resolution 1960 (2010) [on sexual violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict]
Symbol: S/RES/1960(2010)
Date: 2010-12-16
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/65 [189] CIVILIAN PERSONS--ARMED CONFLICTS
S/65 [201] WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICTS
S/65 [187] CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS
Subjects: UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict|UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict|UN. Security Council (63rd year : 2008) > Resolutions and decisions|UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict|WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICTS|GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|SEX CRIMES|CODES OF CONDUCT|RAPE|TRAINING PROGRAMMES|COOPERATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS|REPORT PREPARATION|FOCAL POINTS|CAPACITY BUILDING|HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS|COUNTRY TEAMS
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: AUSTRIA
vote: yes
country: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GABON
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: LEBANON
vote: yes
country: MEXICO
vote: yes
country: NIGERIA
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: TURKEY
vote: yes
country: UGANDA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                    S/RES/1960 (2010)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                16 December 2010




               Resolution 1960 (2010)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 6453rd meeting, on
               16 December 2010

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming its commitment to the continuing and full implementation, in a
               mutually reinforcing manner, of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1612 (2005), 1674 (2006),
               1820 (2008), 1882 (2009), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1894 (2009), and all
               relevant statements of its President,
                     Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of 24 November 2010
               (S/2010/604), but remaining deeply concerned over the slow progress on the issue
               of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict in particular against women and
               children, and noting as documented in the Secretary-General’s report that sexual
               violence occurs in armed conflicts throughout the world,
                    Reiterating deep concern that despite its repeated condemnation of violence
               against women and children in situations of armed conflict, including sexual
               violence 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, and in some situations have become systematic and widespread,
               reaching appalling levels of brutality,
                    Reiterating the necessity for all States and non-State parties to conflicts to
               comply fully with their obligations under applicable international law, including the
               prohibition on all forms of sexual violence,
                     Reiterating the need for civilian and military leaders, consistent with the
               principle of command responsibility, to demonstrate commitment and political will
               to prevent sexual violence and to combat impunity and enforce accountability, and
               that inaction can send a message that the incidence of sexual violence in conflicts is
               tolerated,
                     Recalling the responsibilities of States to end impunity and to prosecute those
               responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other egregious
               crimes perpetrated against civilians and, in this regard, noting with concern that
               only limited numbers of perpetrators of sexual violence have been brought to
               justice, while recognizing that in conflict and in post-conflict situations national
               justice systems may be significantly weakened,


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                     Welcoming the progress made in rendering operational the team of experts to
               assist national authorities to strengthen the rule of law in accordance with resolution
               1888 (2009); reaffirming the importance of deploying it rapidly to situations of
               particular concern with respect to sexual violence in armed conflict, working
               through the United Nations presence on the ground and with the consent of the host
               government and in this regard, appreciating the voluntary contributions to support
               its work,
                     Recognizing that States bear the primary responsibility to respect and ensure
               the human rights of all persons within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction
               as provided for by international law,
                     Reaffirming that parties to armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to
               take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians,
                    Recalling that international humanitarian law affords general protection to
               women and children as part of the civilian population during armed conflicts and
               special protection due to the fact that they can be placed particularly at risk,
                     Reaffirming that ending impunity is essential if a society in conflict or
               recovering from conflict is to come to terms with past abuses committed against
               civilians affected by armed conflict and to prevent future such abuses, drawing
               attention to the full range of justice and reconciliation mechanisms to be considered,
               including national, international and “mixed” criminal courts and tribunals and truth
               and reconciliation commissions, and noting that such mechanisms can promote not
               only individual responsibility for serious crimes, but also peace, truth, reconciliation
               and the rights of the victims,
                     Recalling the inclusion of a range of sexual violence offences in the Rome
               Statute of the International Criminal Court and the statutes of the ad hoc
               international criminal tribunals,
                     Reaffirming the importance for States, with the support of the international
               community, to increase access to health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance,
               and socio-economic reintegration services for victims of sexual violence, in
               particular in rural areas, and taking into account the specific needs of persons with
               disabilities,
                    Welcoming the proposals, conclusions and recommendations included in the
               report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A/64/19) on the need
               for adequate capabilities and clear and appropriate guidelines to enable
               peacekeeping missions to carry out all their mandated tasks, including prevention of
               and response to sexual violence; stressing the importance of ensuring engagement
               by senior mission leadership on protection of civilians, including the prevention of
               and response to instances of sexual violence in armed conflict, with a view to
               ensuring that all mission components and all levels of the chain of command are
               properly informed of and involved in the mission’s mandate and their relevant
               responsibilities; welcoming progress made by the Secretary-General in developing
               operational tools for the implementation of protection of civilians mandates; and
               encouraging troop- and police-contributing countries to make full use of and
               provide feedback on these important materials,
                    Recognizing the efforts of the Secretary-General to address the
               underrepresentation of women in formal peace processes, the lack of mediators and



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           ceasefire monitors with proper training in dealing with sexual violence, and the lack
           of women as Chief or Lead peace mediators in United Nations-sponsored peace
           talks; and encouraging further such efforts,
                 Welcoming the inclusion of women in peacekeeping missions in civil, military
           and police functions, recognizing that their presence may encourage women from
           local communities to report acts of sexual violence,
                 Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 24 November 2010
           (S/2010/604) and stressing that the present resolution does not seek to make any
           legal determination as to whether situations that are referred to in the Secretary-General’s report are or are not armed conflicts within the context of the Geneva
           Conventions and the Additional Protocols thereto, nor does it prejudge the legal
           status of non-State parties involved in these situations,
                 1.    Reaffirms that sexual violence, when used or commissioned as a tactic of
           war or as a part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian populations,
           can significantly exacerbate and prolong situations of armed conflict and may
           impede the restoration of international peace and security; affirms in this regard that
           effective steps to prevent and respond to such acts of sexual violence can
           significantly contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security; and
           expresses its readiness, when considering situations on the agenda of the Council, to
           take, where necessary, appropriate steps to address widespread or systematic sexual
           violence in situations of armed conflict;
                 2.    Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation with immediate effect
           by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence;
                 3.   Encourages the Secretary-General to include in his annual reports
           submitted pursuant to resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009) detailed information
           on parties to armed conflict that are credibly suspected of committing or being
           responsible for acts of rape or other forms of sexual violence, and to list in an annex
           to these annual reports the parties that are credibly suspected of committing or being
           responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence in situations of
           armed conflict on the Security Council agenda; expresses its intention to use this list
           as a basis for more focused United Nations engagement with those parties,
           including, as appropriate, measures in accordance with the procedures of the
           relevant sanctions committees;
                 4.    Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with the present resolution
           and taking into account its specificity, to apply the listing and de-listing criteria for
           parties listed in his annual report on sexual violence in armed conflict consistent
           with paragraphs 175, 176, 178, and 180 of his report A/64/742-S/2010/181;
                 5.   Calls upon parties to armed conflict to make and implement specific and
           time-bound commitments to combat sexual violence, which should include, inter
           alia, issuance of clear orders through chains of command prohibiting sexual
           violence and the prohibition of sexual violence in Codes of Conduct, military field
           manuals, or equivalent; and further calls upon those parties to make and implement
           specific commitments on timely investigation of alleged abuses in order to hold
           perpetrators accountable;
                6.  Requests the Secretary-General to track and monitor implementation of
           these commitments by parties to armed conflict on the Security Council’s agenda



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               that engage in patterns of rape and other sexual violence, and regularly update the
               Council in relevant reports and briefings;
                     7.    Reiterates its intention, when adopting or renewing targeted sanctions in
               situations of armed conflict, to consider including, where appropriate, designation
               criteria pertaining to acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence; and 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 relevant United Nations Security Council Sanction
               Committees’ monitoring groups and groups of experts, all pertinent information
               about sexual violence;
                     8.    Requests the Secretary General to establish monitoring, analysis and
               reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence, including rape in
               situations of armed conflict and post-conflict and other situations relevant to the
               implementation of resolution 1888 (2009), as appropriate, and taking into account
               the specificity of each country, that ensure a coherent and coordinated approach at
               the field-level, and encourages the Secretary-General to engage with United Nations
               actors, national institutions, civil society organizations, health-care service
               providers, and women’s groups to enhance data collection and analysis of incidents,
               trends, and patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence to assist the
               Council’s consideration of appropriate actions, including targeted and graduated
               measures, while respecting fully the integrity and specificity of the monitoring and
               reporting mechanism implemented under Security Council resolutions 1612 (2005)
               and 1882 (2009) on children and armed conflict;
                     9.   Requests 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;
                     10. Welcomes the work of gender advisers; looks forward to the appointment
               of more women protection advisers to peacekeeping missions, in accordance with
               resolution 1888 (2009); notes their potential contribution in the framework of the
               monitoring, analysis, and reporting arrangements to be established pursuant to OP8
               of the present resolution;
                     11. Welcomes the elaboration by the Secretary-General of scenario-based
               training materials on combating sexual violence for peacekeepers and encourages
               Member States to use them as a reference for the preparation and deployment of
               United Nations peacekeeping operations;
                   12. Underlines that, in order to carry out their mandate, missions must
               communicate effectively with local communities; and encourages the Secretary-General to improve their capacity to do so;
                    13. Expresses its intention to give due consideration to sexual violence in
               mandate authorizations and renewals and to request the Secretary-General to
               include, as appropriate, gender expertise in technical assessment missions;




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                 14. Encourages the entities comprising United Nations Action Against
           Sexual Violence in Conflict, as well as other relevant parts of the United Nations
           system, to continue to support the work of the aforementioned Special
           Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and to
           enhance cooperation and information-sharing among all relevant stakeholders in
           order to reinforce coordination and avoid overlap at the headquarters and country
           levels and improve system-wide response;
                 15. Encourages Member States to deploy greater numbers of female military
           and police personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations, and to provide all
           military and police personnel with adequate training on sexual and gender-based
           violence, inter alia, to carry out their responsibilities;
                 16. Requests the Secretary-General to continue and strengthen efforts to
           implement the policy of zero tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse by United
           Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel, and further requests the
           Secretary-General to continue to provide and deploy guidance on addressing sexual
           violence for predeployment and inductive training of military and police personnel,
           and to assist missions in developing situation-specific procedures to address sexual
           violence at the field level and to ensure that technical support is provided to troop
           and police contributing countries in order to include guidance for military and
           police personnel on addressing sexual violence in predeployment and induction
           training;
                17. Invites the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to
           continue to provide briefings on sexual violence, in accordance with resolution 1888
           (2009);
                18. Requests that the Secretary-General continue to submit annual reports to
           the Council on the implementation of Resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009) and
           to submit his next report by December 2011 on the implementation of Resolutions
           1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009) and the present resolution to include, inter alia:
                 (a) a detailed coordination and strategy plan on the timely and ethical
           collection of information;
                (b) information on progress made in the implementation of the monitoring,
           analysis, and reporting arrangements mentioned in paragraph 8;
                (c) detailed information on parties to armed conflict that are credibly
           suspected of committing or being responsible for acts of rape or other forms of
           sexual violence, and an annex with a list of parties that are credibly suspected of
           committing or being responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual
           violence in situations of armed conflict on the Security Council agenda;
                (d) updates on efforts by United Nations Mission focal points on sexual
           violence to work closely with Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator
           (RC/HC), the United Nations Country Team, and, where appropriate, 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
           and/or the Team of Experts, to address sexual violence;
                19.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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