Statement by H.E. Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on “Identifying innovative strategies to ensure access to life-saving services and protection for survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones”
New York, 19 August 2025
I sincerely thank Panama its leadership and for convening this debate, and I thank the briefers, UN SRSG on CRSV, Ms Pramila Patten and Ms Ikhlass Ahmed for their meaningful and impactful contributions. Latvia aligns itself with the EU and the Group of Friends on WPS.
Mr. President,
The Secretary-General’s report documents at least a 25% rise in CRSV cases from 2023. Behind these numbers are countless survivors who remain unseen, unheard, and uncounted. When a conflict begins, systems designed to protect survivors can vanish overnight, but their need for safety and care cannot wait for peace - they need it immediately. We have witnessed this in Afghanistan, the DRC, Sudan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Yemen, and elsewhere around the world.
Latvia has been deeply engaged in supporting survivors of CRSV. Over the past years, our focus has been on Ukraine, where we facilitated the opening of three support centres, run by local Ukrainian NGOs, in cooperation with our own. There, survivors and their families can receive psychological, legal, social and humanitarian assistance. This experience has taught us several valuable lessons on delivering multi-sectoral services to survivors during armed conflict.
First, partnerships with local organizations are key. They know which communities trust outsiders and which do not. They understand cultural barriers and their networks extend into remote villages, where external stakeholders alone would operate less effectively.
Second, CRSV response is different from disaster relief. International attention spikes when a conflict begins, then gradually fades as the conflict fatigue sets in. What is needed is a long-term commitment. Apart from funding, it is important to strengthen the local capacity and to integrate CRSV response within peacebuilding efforts after the cessation of hostilities. The trauma leaves long lasting scars not only on survivors, but on whole communities, survivors’ families and especially children. They need support well beyond the end of an armed conflict - healing does not follow ceasefire timelines.
Third, accountability is vital. Trauma-informed evidence gathering is essential to secure justice for survivors and to hold perpetrators accountable. The UN agencies and humanitarian assistance providers play a crucial role in establishing facts and ensuring impartial documentation of CRSV. In addition, Member States and civil society can supplement these efforts, like we have supported mobile teams documenting war crimes across Ukraine.
Mr. President,
To conclude: as long as conflicts and wars exist, use of sexual violence as a weapon of war remains a tragic reality. We can and must act against this perpetual fatalism.
The Council has outlined what needs to be done - resolutions on CRSV, the WPS agenda, and UN peace operation mandates speak volumes. What matters is their meaningful implementation. Latvia remains firmly committed to this cause - through strong partnerships, long-term engagement, and the pursuit of justice. We owe it to the survivors - women and girls, boys and men - whose lives have been torn apart by violence.