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| Plan to tackle sexual violence during wars 'at risk without William Hague' | Plan to tackle sexual violence during wars 'at risk without William Hague' |
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| A UK-led campaign against sexual violence in war risks collapsing without the personal leadership of the former foreign secretary William Hague, a parliamentary report has found. | A UK-led campaign against sexual violence in war risks collapsing without the personal leadership of the former foreign secretary William Hague, a parliamentary report has found. |
| Hague, in conjunction with the Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, made the issue of combating sexual violence in conflict his surprise personal priority as foreign secretary. The pair highlighted the issue at the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in London. | Hague, in conjunction with the Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, made the issue of combating sexual violence in conflict his surprise personal priority as foreign secretary. The pair highlighted the issue at the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in London. |
| Hague was in part influenced by his special adviser Arminka Helić, who played a key role in establishing the special Lords select committee inquiry into the Foreign Office’s continued approach to the issue which delivered its report on Tuesday. | Hague was in part influenced by his special adviser Arminka Helić, who played a key role in establishing the special Lords select committee inquiry into the Foreign Office’s continued approach to the issue which delivered its report on Tuesday. |
| The comprehensive study found the government has no five-year plan to implement its sexual violence in conflict initiative, and no adequate means for diplomats to measure whether pledges made on sexual violence at international summits are being implemented. | The comprehensive study found the government has no five-year plan to implement its sexual violence in conflict initiative, and no adequate means for diplomats to measure whether pledges made on sexual violence at international summits are being implemented. |
| Whitehall also has no coherent list of the countries in which it is prioritising its work. | Whitehall also has no coherent list of the countries in which it is prioritising its work. |
| The inquiry recommends that the Foreign Office produce an annual report to parliament setting out the progress that has been made. It also criticises the slow pace with which the Home Office is reforming its treatment of asylum seekers who claim to be victims of sexual violence. | The inquiry recommends that the Foreign Office produce an annual report to parliament setting out the progress that has been made. It also criticises the slow pace with which the Home Office is reforming its treatment of asylum seekers who claim to be victims of sexual violence. |
| It says that efforts by the United Nations to crack down on sexual violence committed by its own peacekeepers remain woefully inadequate, and says the issue must be at the top of the agenda for the next UN secretary general. | |
| The select committee includes Baroness Warsi, the former Conservative chairwoman, Baroness Kinnock and Lord Hannay, the former UK permanent representative to the UN. | The select committee includes Baroness Warsi, the former Conservative chairwoman, Baroness Kinnock and Lord Hannay, the former UK permanent representative to the UN. |
| The report finds the Foreign Office’s sexual violence in conflict initiative has no strategic plan and concludes it is not embedded in the work of either the Department for International Development or the Ministry of Defence. | |
| The report concludes: “The UK policy goals in this area must be ambitious, transparent and deliverable and the strategic goals for the initiative clearly articulated.” | The report concludes: “The UK policy goals in this area must be ambitious, transparent and deliverable and the strategic goals for the initiative clearly articulated.” |
| The chair of the select committee, Baroness Nicholson, said the government had made a good start on a horrific issue, but “if that good start is not to be squandered it is time for a clear strategic plan on how to take forward the battle against sexual violence in conflict”. | |
| Hague, appearing on the BBC Today programme, accepted the government needed to redouble its efforts, adding that the new UN secretary general would have to provide global leadership on the issue, and not leave it to nation states. “The issue is getting worse around the world,” he said. | |
| The committee says a strategic plan and a five-year road map to support delivery of the initiative’s goals should be published, adding that the government must heed its own evidence that combating sexual violence is a long-term endeavour, requiring long-term funding. | |
| Commenting on the report, Sonya Sceats, policy director at Freedom from Torture, said: “This initiative is arguably the most dynamic human rights diplomacy in British history, but as values are increasingly sacrificed in the pursuit of trade at any cost, Baroness Anelay, the UK’s special representative on sexual violence, has been left to bear this torch alone at a critical moment. The glitz of this campaign on sexual violence needs high-level political support and resourcing to deliver on the promises secured by Mr Hague and Ms Jolie Pitt.” | Commenting on the report, Sonya Sceats, policy director at Freedom from Torture, said: “This initiative is arguably the most dynamic human rights diplomacy in British history, but as values are increasingly sacrificed in the pursuit of trade at any cost, Baroness Anelay, the UK’s special representative on sexual violence, has been left to bear this torch alone at a critical moment. The glitz of this campaign on sexual violence needs high-level political support and resourcing to deliver on the promises secured by Mr Hague and Ms Jolie Pitt.” |
| Citing evidence from Human Rights Watch and others that momentum on the initiative has been lost since last year’s general election, the committee cites the lack of a clear UK agenda for the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul next month. It also reports that a number of witnesses thought that although Hague’s initiative “had raised awareness and changed international political discourse, there had been little tangible effect on the ground”. | Citing evidence from Human Rights Watch and others that momentum on the initiative has been lost since last year’s general election, the committee cites the lack of a clear UK agenda for the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul next month. It also reports that a number of witnesses thought that although Hague’s initiative “had raised awareness and changed international political discourse, there had been little tangible effect on the ground”. |
| The report also found that the commitments made by countries in G8 and UN general assembly declarations, as well as at the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, were not being implemented. At present, it adds “there is no formal monitoring mechanism, although the Foreign Office said that its embassies informally monitored states’ progress”. | The report also found that the commitments made by countries in G8 and UN general assembly declarations, as well as at the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, were not being implemented. At present, it adds “there is no formal monitoring mechanism, although the Foreign Office said that its embassies informally monitored states’ progress”. |
| The committee also describes lost opportunities surrounding the team of experts appointed by the Foreign Office to help advise governments on how to deal with sexual violence in war. The 73-strong team suffers from short-term funding, lack of co-ordination and zero input into future policy, says the committee. | The committee also describes lost opportunities surrounding the team of experts appointed by the Foreign Office to help advise governments on how to deal with sexual violence in war. The 73-strong team suffers from short-term funding, lack of co-ordination and zero input into future policy, says the committee. |
| It also urges the government to resist any Syrian peace settlement that sanctions or approves the use of amnesties for sexual violence in conflict, and ensure that there is an accountability mechanism to bring to justice those that have perpetrated sexual violence in Syria. | |
| Hague agreed, saying those guilty of sexual violence must be accountable at some point even if they are party to the Syrian peace negotiations. At present nether Syria or Iraq are party to international agreements on sexual violence in conflict. “A peace with such an amnesty would be deeply flawed and doomed,” Hague said. “In any international agreement it is very important that such crimes can be prosecuted even if it happens many years to the future.” | |
| Women who had been captured by Islamic State would not be safe from so-called honour killings post-conflict, the committee was told. Safe zones for women in the cities liberated from Isis may needed to be supervised by aid workers “who know how to keep women in dignity and safety”. | |
| The committee calls for a regular global conference on sexual violence in war, a tribunal to make UN peacekeepers accountable for acts of violence in war and the naming and shaming of states that fail to investigate allegations of sexual violence by its peacekeepers. |