Original in German | Source in English

Plassnik: Stop the violence against women in the Middle East! Special Envoy on the latest form of violence against women in Libya, Egypt and Iran

Vienna, 9 June 2011 – As far as the public at the international level is concerned, there has been great progress and a profound paradigm shift in recent years with regard to the topic of violence against women in conflict situations. A statute of the International Criminal Court, for instance, condemns the systematic deployment of rape and sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law. “With this in mind, the latest cases of structural violence against women in our southern neighbourhood and in the Middle East are even more upsetting,” said Ursula Plassnik, Special Envoy for International Women’s Issues at the Foreign Ministry, at a press conference today. “The murder of Haleh Sahabi, a women’s rights activist in Iran, the “virginity tests” that have just become known on women demonstrators arrested in Egypt and the concrete suspicion of the use of mass rape as a weapon of war by Muammar Gaddafi must be a wake-up call for the international community to ensure that women’s rights and human rights are asserted in the region,” demanded Plassnik. “It is imperative that the UN, the EU and the Arab League raise their voices. The “Arab Spring” must not be tarnished by violation of fundamental human rights and women’s rights,” said Plassnik. “According to the report submitted to the UN by the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, there is substantial evidence that the Libyan army is committing mass rapes. Exercising incredible cruelty, Gaddafi specifically uses rape as a weapon of war to demoralise his opponents. The international community must ensure that Gaddafi and any others involved are called to account for these as well as other war crimes,” said Plassnik. “The time of impunity for such crimes is over, as was already demonstrated by the arrest and extradition of a high-ranking Congolese officer to UN troops in October 2010,” concluded the Special Envoy. For more information, contact: Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs Press Department Tel.: +43(0)501150-3262, 4549, 4550 Fax: +43(0)501159-213 Email: abti3(at)bmeia.gv.at

Original in German | Source in English

Plassnik: Stop the violence against women in the Middle East! Special Envoy on the latest form of violence against women in Libya, Egypt and Iran

Vienna, 9 June 2011 – As far as the public at the international level is concerned, there has been great progress and a profound paradigm shift in recent years with regard to the topic of violence against women in conflict situations. A statute of the International Criminal Court, for instance, condemns the systematic deployment of rape and sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.  “With this in mind, the latest cases of structural violence against women in our southern neighbourhood and in the Middle East are even more upsetting,” said Ursula Plassnik, Special Envoy for International Women’s Issues at the Foreign Ministry, at a press conference today. “The murder of Haleh Sahabi, a women’s rights activist in Iran, the “virginity tests” that have just become known on women demonstrators arrested in Egypt and the concrete suspicion of the use of mass rape as a weapon of war by Muammar Gaddafi must be a wake-up call for the international community to ensure that women’s rights and human rights are asserted in the region,” demanded Plassnik. “It is imperative that the UN, the EU and the Arab League raise their voices. The “Arab Spring” must not be tarnished by violation of fundamental human rights and women’s rights,” said Plassnik. “According to the report submitted to the UN by the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, there is substantial evidence that the Libyan army is committing mass rapes. Exercising incredible cruelty, Gaddafi specifically uses rape as a weapon of war to demoralise his opponents. The international community must ensure that Gaddafi and any others involved are called to account for these as well as other war crimes,” said Plassnik. “The time of impunity for such crimes is over, as was already demonstrated by the arrest and extradition of a high-ranking Congolese officer to UN troops in October 2010,” concluded the Special Envoy. For more information, contact: Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs Press Department Tel.: +43(0)501150-3262, 4549, 4550 Fax: +43(0)501159-213 Email: abti3(at)bmeia.gv.at