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UN to label rape a 'war tactic' UN classifies rape a 'war tactic'
(about 5 hours later)
The UN Security Council is debating a resolution which would declare rape a tactic of war. The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.
There are also expected to be calls for a report on how widespread it is and what should be done to tackle sexual violence in conflict zones. The document describes the deliberate use of rape as a tactic in war and a threat to international security.
Behind the scenes Russia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia have expressed concern over whether rape is really a matter for the UN Security Council. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said violence against women had reached "unspeakable proportions" in some societies recovering from conflict.
But diplomats expect the resolution, sponsored by the US, to be passed. "Responding to this silent war against women and girls requires leadership at the national level," Mr Ban said.
In conflict zones around the world rape is a weapon of war. "National authorities need to take the initiative to build comprehensive strategies while the UN needs to help build capacity and support national authorities and civil societies," he added.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, some 40 women are raped each day. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the world now recognised that sexual violence profoundly affected not only the health and safety of women, but the economic and social stability of their nations.
The UN Security Council is going to recognise that sexual violence is a tactic in war and can be a threat to international peace and security. Other speakers in the debate at the 15-member Council identified the former Yugoslavia, Sudan's Darfur region, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Liberia as regions where deliberate sexual violence had occurred on a mass scale.
There will be a call for a report detailing how widespread rape is in conflict zones, and what can be done to tackle it. In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, some 40 women are raped every day, the BBC's Laura Trevelyan says.
Diplomats predict all 15 members of the council will vote for this resolution. The UN is also setting up an inquiry to report next June on how widespread the practice is, and to make recommendations on how to tackle it.