In a joint statement published by the UK Government and delivered to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Norway spoke on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Norway to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on 19 June. The text was framed both as a tribute to survivors and as a warning that verified cases are rising, with increasing brutality recorded in recent United Nations reporting. The statement places conflict-related sexual violence within the main security discussion rather than treating it as a secondary humanitarian issue. It says such abuse is used deliberately as a tactic of war, terror and repression, with effects that reach beyond individual survivors to communities and long-term stability.
The six participating States describe the wider international picture as deeply concerning. Their statement points to a sharp rise in verified cases, shrinking humanitarian access, reduced funding for survivor services and persistent stigma that still prevents reporting and blocks access to justice. That combination has direct policy consequences. When access is restricted and services are underfunded, survivors are less likely to receive protection, healthcare and psychosocial support, while authorities and international bodies face greater difficulty in documenting abuse and building cases for prosecution.
On Ukraine, the statement is unusually direct. It cites United Nations reporting, successive Moscow Mechanism reports, ODIHR interim reports and other independent monitoring which, it says, continue to document conflict-related sexual violence linked to Russia's ongoing aggression. The text gives particular attention to detention settings, where the reported abuse is described as a form of torture and ill-treatment. It says survivors include women, men and detainees, and that sexual violence has been used to intimidate, punish and extract information. In policy terms, that wording matters because it connects the issue to repeated monitoring findings rather than to a single allegation.
The statement treats conflict-related sexual violence as a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as a threat to international peace and security. Its position is that the issue cannot be separated from accountability: without investigations, prosecutions and redress, deterrence remains weak and cycles of violence continue. That emphasis places pressure on both national and international systems. The six States call for stronger mechanisms to investigate and prosecute these crimes and for survivors to have access to remedies and reparations, signalling that justice is being presented as both a legal duty and a prevention measure.
A substantial part of the statement is devoted to how response systems should be designed. The six States back a survivor-centred approach, defined through protection of survivors' safety, dignity, rights and needs, together with access to justice, protection and essential services including psychosocial care. The text also makes clear that children require a distinct response. It refers not only to child survivors, but also to children born of such violence and children affected indirectly. It argues that responses should be child-sensitive, survivor-centred and integrated into existing systems, reflecting the view that temporary or fragmented arrangements are unlikely to meet need in prolonged conflicts.
The OSCE is assigned a specific institutional role. According to the statement, the organisation's comprehensive approach to security, its field operations and its autonomous institutions all contribute to prevention, monitoring and accountability efforts. The six States add that the OSCE's work on gender equality and on combating sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflict should continue to be prioritised. In policy terms, this is an attempt to keep conflict-related sexual violence within the OSCE's regular security work rather than confining it to a narrower human rights track. Monitoring, institutional reporting and survivor support are presented as connected parts of a single multilateral response.
The closing section links the issue to the wider Women, Peace and Security agenda. The statement argues that efforts to address conflict-related sexual violence must also tackle gender inequality and discrimination and support the meaningful participation of women in peace processes and decision-making at every level. Taken together, the document reads less as a commemorative intervention and more as a coordinated policy position. Its central message is that multilateral cooperation must now move beyond recognition of the crime itself towards sustained action on prevention, survivor support and accountability, with Ukraine cited as an immediate test of that approach.