The U.K. Government To Lead The Efforts To Engage Faith And Belief Leaders In Ending Sexual Violence In Conflict

The logo for the Coalition for Genocide Response. Photo from Twitter.

(OPINION) On August 21, 2020, Lord Alton of Liverpool, peer at the U.K. House of Lords, and the Coalition for Genocide Response hosted an event to mark the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (August 22).

The panel of speakers included Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, U.K. Minister of State and Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ambassador Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Prof. Ahmed Shaheed, Essex Law School, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Prof. Mariz Tadros, Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID), Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, and Nadine Maenza, Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. They discussed some of the recent most egregious atrocities based on religion or belief and consider the needed responses.

Among others, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon affirmed the U.K. Government’s commitment to launch the “Declaration of Humanity by Leaders of Faith and Leaders of Belief”, a document taking a clear stance against sexual violence in conflict. The signatories of the declaration will pledge to play an active role in the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence and to protect those who are vulnerable to such acts. 

The declaration condemns “all acts of conflict-related sexual violence towards any person, at any time, and in any circumstance, and will encourage those under our care and others in the community to do the same.” This is a message that should not have to be committed to paper. Yet the events of recent years have shown that the acts of sexual violence in conflict continue to cause concern. Ask Yazidi and Christian women abducted and abused by Daesh. Ask the Rohingya women abused by the Burmese military in Myanmar. Ask countless other women and girls who not only become the inevitable spoils of an invading army, but often become the intentional targets in conflict. Rape and sexual violence are weapons of war. 

The declaration further affirms that “all survivors of sexual violence in conflict, and children born of conflict-related rape are innocent, are of equal worth and value to all people. They are to be fully accepted, respected, and honored.” The message aligns with the work and messages of the U.K. Government that the shame associated with sexual violence should be aimed at the perpetrators and never at the victims. 

The declaration correctly identifies that those belonging to faith or belief minority groups are often more vulnerable simply because they belong to a minority groups. This recognition is often neglected and hence, any response to the atrocities is inadequate if it does not consider the issue. 

The declaration further recognizes that we need a change of culture. Without such a change, any attempts to address the ever-growing issue of sexual violence in conflict will remain a lost cause. Hence, the signatories will pledge to “utilize media, religious discussions, educational materials, texts and all other platforms of our faith or belief community to empower survivors, recognizing the resources of our community and that faith or belief can be a source of strength for survivors.” 

The signatories will further undertake to “work to dismantle harmful interpretations of faith or belief and harmful cultural norms that may be used to condone or commit acts of sexual violence.” This is an important pledge as too often sexual violence in conflict is being justified by harmful (and often misguided) interpretations. Lastly, the signatories will promise to empower the survivors by supporting their voices, standing for justice, speaking out to defend the survivors and ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice. 

The declaration is an important step towards broadening the scope of the work being done to address sexual violence in conflict. States and international actors that ordinarily engage in such pledges are a crucial component of any action. However, without engaging faith and belief leaders, without engaging the wider society, the issue will remain unanswered. The declaration recognizes the important role faith and belief leaders are playing to shape society and identifies the crucial role they play in attempts to end sexual violence in conflict. I can only hope that once launched, the declaration will gain support from faith and belief leaders from around the world and engage all levels of society.

Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher and human rights advocate, PhD candidate and author of the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 UN reports. She works on the topic of persecution of minorities around the world. This piece was re-published from Forbes with permission.