UN PUT A CURB ON 'RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR'

BAN KI-MOON HORRIFIED BY THE USE OF
"RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR" IN AFRICA

ADDIS ABABA (BBC) - UN Secretary General announced measures to fight the use of rape as a weapon of war in Africa. Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called on the support of African leaders to give new impetus to his campaign to halt violence against women on the continent. Attending an African Union summit in Ethiopia, Mr Ban told leaders he would be appointing a special representative to help stop sexual violence against women in conflict zones. Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said he intended to make Sweden's Margot Wallstrom his special representative tasked with combating sexual violence against women and children in conflicts. During a speech at the opening of the African Union's 14th summit in Addis Ababa, Ban announced he wanted to appoint Margot Wallstrom the 55-year-old outgoing vice-president of the European Commission as his special representative to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children in conflict situations. "We will continue efforts to end the conflicts in the east (of the Democratic Republic of Congo), restore state authority, facilitate the return of refugees, and protect civilians against all forms of violence including sexual violence," Ban said. "I'm horrified and outraged by the use of rape as a weapon of war," he said. "We must spare no effort to end this once and for all. In this regard, I have informed the Security Council of my intention to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children."

Margot Wallstrom, said Sunday she would lobby for sexual violence in war to be recognised as a war crime, attacking what she said was a tendency to explain the abuse of women as "cultural." "I say this is not cultural. It is a crime under international law and it is also a war crime," she told Swedish radio. The long-running conflicts in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - where abuses against women and children are rife - are expected to top the agenda of the AU summit, which winds up on Tuesday. The UN denounced the systematic rape by warring parties in the DRC, where some 5,000 conflict-linked rapes were reported during the first half of 2009.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

“The brāhmanas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own body.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.16.10) - The defenseless creatures, according to Brahma-samhitā, are the cows, brāhmanas, women, children and old men. ... Just as children are taken care of by the parents, women as a class should be taken care of by the father, husband or grown-up son. Those who are helpless must be taken care of by their respective guardians, otherwise the guardians will be subjected to the punishment of Yamarāja, who is appointed by the Lord to supervise the activities of sinful living creatures.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 3 - Chapter 16 - Verse 10.