The history of violence against women and girls during and after armed conflicts seems to be as old as armed conflict itself. Following the horrors of World War II in all its facets, the Geneva Convention (1949) states in Chapter IV, Article 27: “Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.” Building upon the Geneva Convention, United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), commonly referred to as the Resolution on “Women, Peace and Security,” also stresses the role of women in conflict prevention and the peacebuilding process. If we look at conflicts in recent years, the situation has changed dramatically. Armed conflicts are no longer a battle between just national armed forces, but are often supported or initiated by militias, groups of mercenary soldiers, rebels in the name of ethnic or religious groups or even well-organized terrorists fighting for their so-called “right belief.” These groups in most cases do not respect UN conventions like those mentioned above. Read more |ZontaInternationalStatementonWomensRightsinArmedConflictsandPostConflictSettings|