Newspaper Article

Rape as an Act of War: An Issue for the UN

Letter to the Editor, The New York Times

By Inés Alberdi, Executive Director, UNIFEM

Date: 19 June 2008

Source: The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “The Weapon of Rape,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, June 15):

On June 19, the Security Council will debate whether sexual violence is linked with the maintenance of international peace and security.

Long seen as the collateral damage of conflict, systematic rape has become a means of achieving military ends. Rape under orders is not merely an aggressive manifestation of sexuality, but a sexual manifestation of aggression.

To recognize it as a security issue is to justify a security response. As Mr. Kristof shows, sexual violence is a tactic of choice in Darfur and Congo. The effect is to force populations to flee, punish civilians seen as partisan, reward irregularly paid arms bearers, secure resources and shatter community cohesion. It is cheaper and more destructive than other methods of fighting, and easier to get away with until now.

A resolution is set to address this challenge. Often called “a war within the war,” sexual violence occurs in private spaces rarely patrolled by police or peacekeepers, often at times when security actors are scarce.

We cannot stop sexual violence without empowering women. During the Security Council’s mission to Africa this month, Unifem arranged for women’s civil society groups to speak directly with Council members.

As one activist said, sexual violence did not abate after the January peace talks in Goma, Congo. Why not? It was simply never discussed. Such silence advertises that rape can be perpetrated with impunity.

Inés Alberdi
Executive Director
United Nations Development Fund for Women
New York, June 17, 2008

Letter to the Editor in response to “The Weapon of Rape,” an Op-Ed column by Nicholas D. Kristoff (15 June 2008). Reprinted from The New York Times.