WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is strengthening US policy to stop sexual violence in war conflict zones, elevating the problem, increasingly documented in Ukraine and elsewhere, to the level of potential abuse. serious human rights violation that triggers sanctions and other actions against foreign perpetrators.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is strengthening US policy to stop sexual violence in war conflict zones, elevating the problem, increasingly documented in Ukraine and elsewhere, to the level of potential abuse. serious human rights violation that triggers sanctions and other actions against foreign perpetrators.
Biden signed a presidential memorandum Monday that seeks to combat the use of rape by foreign governments and individuals as a weapon of war.
The memorandum directs for the first time that the State and Treasury departments and other agencies give the same consideration to acts of sexual violence as to other serious human rights abuses when applying sanctions and other punishments against foreign actors.
Currently, US policy allows for the imposition of sanctions for conflict-related sexual violence, but it is not commonly used.
Biden’s move comes as the United Nations warned that sexual violence in Ukraine, especially against women and girls, remains prevalent and unreported. US Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield has previously cited “a mountain of credible reports of atrocities committed by Russian forces against civilians,” including “horrifying accounts of sexual violence.”
The Biden administration pointed to a proliferation of cases of sexual violence in Ukraine, Ethiopia and elsewhere on Monday. He cited a UN report that found 3,293 verified cases of sexual violence in 2021 in 18 countries, an increase of around 800 compared to the previous year. The UN has estimated that for every rape reported in connection with a conflict, between 10 and 20 cases go undocumented.
The administration had previously pledged $400,000 in addition to its $1.75 million annual contribution to the Office of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The State Department plans an additional investment of $5.5 million over the next two years for civil society projects and survivor groups seeking accountability for sexual violence and will expand programs to help survivors and investigate and document acts of such violence. .
