UN Women Highlights Peacekeepers’ Lifesaving Role Amid Gender-Based Violence Crisis

“In this fragile environment, withdrawal of resources and capacity is imprudent at best, catastrophic at worst,” UN Women chief Sima Sami Bahous told the Security Council, stressing that South Sudan’s gender-based violence crisis - threatening 2.7 million people -makes continued peacekeeping support essential. Bahous said UN Mission in South Sudan documented 260 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2024, including “rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced abortion and forced marriage, with the highest number recorded in Western Equatoria State.” She described a recent incident in Warrap State in which armed youth surrounded a girls’ boarding school seeking revenge for a cattle raid. “100 schoolgirls were trapped inside. They feared abduction or worse,” she said. “Fortunately, UN peacekeepers intervened. They de-escalated the situation. They freed the girls.” “For those 100 girls, those peacekeepers could not have been more essential, nor their courage and skill more life changing,” she added, cautioning that any reduction of mandates or resources would be “imprudent at best, catastrophic at worst.” Secretary-General António Guterres said, “The world must not turn its back on Africa, home to nearly one-fifth of humanity. The stakes are too high. And the potential is too great.” The Secretary-General and Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the African Union Commission Chairperson, spoke to reporters following the annual African Union United Nations Conference. Guterres reiterated that the cooperation between the two organizations has never been stronger — or more necessary. The UN chief highlighted that Africa’s history is as old as humanity. Its resources are vast – and have driven the growth of many economies. However, its progress is held back by an outdated and unfair global financial system. Guterres said, “The time has come to reform this financial architecture – so it reflects the world of today and better serves the needs of developing countries, particularly in Africa.” The Secretary-General reiterated, “It must become more inclusive, representative, equitable and effective,” explaining that it means “giving developing countries more meaningful participation in global financial institutions. Tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks. And easing debt burdens with new instruments that reduce the cost of capital, lower borrowing costs, extend maturity, align debt service to the ability to pay, and speed up sovereign debt resolution for countries facing debt distress.” The UN chief also reaffirmed his full support for the AU’s Silencing the Guns initiative. In Sudan, Guterres is “gravely” concern by recent reports of mass atrocities and gross human rights violations in El Fasher and worsening violence in the Kordofans. He said, “The flow of weapons and fighters from external parties must be cut off. The flow of humanitarian aid must be able to quickly reach civilians in need. The hostilities must stop.” The Secretary-General called on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to engage with his Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and “take swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement.” In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guterres noted that decades of conflict have created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions – with 5.7 million people displaced and 21 million in need of lifesaving aid. Services are collapsing. Cholera on the rise. Hope is on the run. The UN chief said, “Donors must step up – with meaningful support for the vastly underfunded Humanitarian Response Plan. Combatants must stand down – so peace agreements can be implemented without delay. Parties must honour their commitments under the Washington Peace Agreement and Doha Declaration of Principles, and comply fully with Security Council resolution 2773.” “The DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. And the root causes of the instability and violence in eastern DRC must be addressed,” Guterres added. For his part, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said that the AU is committed to work with all parties and stakeholders at the United Nations to “achieve a transparent, equitable, unjust reform of the UN Security Council.” “These reforms are indeed of paramount importance and would ultimately consolidate the multilateral system,” Youssouf said. He also highlighted that the two organizations are faced with financial strains. “We need to adapt our actions and programs to the new realities,” the Chairperson said, adding that “it is critical to continue to support peace operations, the fight against terrorism, conflict prevention and resolution, and also focus most of our efforts on humanitarian affairs.” Asked about the decision from the United States to not attend the upcoming G20 in South Africa, the AU chairperson ...