Top UN official warns "that politically-motivated rape is a disturbing trend"

United Nations, New York, 27 April 2010 - Margot Wallström, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the Security Council on her efforts to press the case to give sexual violence continuous consideration and to make prevention top priority. She warned that politically-motivated rape is a disturbing trend, witnessed in the wake of Kenya's contested elections, and more recently, in broad daylight on the streets of Guinea. Such crimes, she said, present a security crisis that demands a security response. Wallström welcomed the expansion of the list of shame on groups that recruit child soldiers to include groups credibly suspected of patterns of sexual violence. And she detailed her recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she noted the efforts of the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to use market-route patrols to protect women. She said that the improved sense of safety from such patrols led to improved trade, which has contributed to economic development.