Some $660 million are needed this year to fund programmes combating sexual violence, according to UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark LowcockOSLO - The international community on Friday pledged $363 million (324 million euros) to combat sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian crises, a worldwide scourge affecting millions. Some $660 million are needed this year to fund programmes combating sexual violence, according to UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock. "Sexual and gender-based violence destroys people, it destroys local communities and it is extremely difficult to mend the damage," Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said. "When I was first working on humanitarian crises around the world more 35 years ago, nobody talked about sexual and gender-based violence," said Lowcock. In late April, the UN Security Council approved a resolution supporting victims of sexual violence, but it was largely devoided of substance by the United States, Russia and China.

Source: Bangkok Post May 24, 2019 17:37 UTC