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US successfully removes 'sexual health' references from UN resolution on sexual violence

"Now you know how women feel when a bunch of old men think they should interfere with a woman’s right to choose."

By Michelle Kosinski and Eli Watkins, CNN

Updated 3:09 PM ET, Tue April 23, 2019



(CNN) -- The US successfully used the threat of its veto power on the UN Security Council to demand significant changes to a resolution on sexual violence.

The altered resolution passed on Tuesday following major changes granted by Germany in the face of demands from the US, sources told CNN.

CNN previously reported .. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/politics/us-united-nations-sexual-violence-resolution/index.html .. on the threat of a US veto over simple references to "health services" and "sexual and reproductive health" in a UN Security Council resolution targeting rape as a weapon of war and reaffirming the UN's opposition to sexual violence.

CNN obtained a draft of the resolution ahead of the vote that showed potential changes marked in the margins by a member of the German delegation to satisfy what multiple sources said were US issues with the language of the proposal.

While a source told CNN ahead of the vote that the hope was the changes, including making a reference to a past resolution that did mention reproductive health, would be enough to solidify support, the later iteration of the resolution obtained by CNN saw Germany ceding further ground to the US demands on the issue.

The final draft obtained by CNN contained no reference to sexual or reproductive health. The changes from the previous draft indicated the US had successfully forced changes to sexual health language, the training of journalists on the issue of sexual violence and struck the suggested reference to a prior resolution that mentioned sexual and reproductive health.

Language chipped away through drafts

The Trump administration has taken measures to avoid supporting efforts and organizations that provide abortion services to women, including victims of rape, and sources say such language is now viewed by the US as a veiled reference to that.

As an example, the original draft contained this paragraph: "Recognizing the importance of providing timely assistance to survivors of sexual violence, urges United Nations entities and donors to provide non-discriminatory and comprehensive health services, including sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, legal, and livelihood support and other multi-sectoral services for survivors of sexual violence, taking into account the specific needs of persons with disabilities."

On Monday, a compromise version from the German UN delegation offered this instead: "Recognizing the importance of providing timely assistance to survivors of sexual violence, urges United Nations entities and donors to provide non-discriminatory and comprehensive health services, in line with Resolution 2106."

But on Tuesday, in the final copy, the US demanded that paragraph be eliminated entirely.

Although the vote passed with 13 nations in favor and two, Russia and China, abstaining, several traditional US allies on the top UN panel voiced major dissatisfaction with the changes, including France, Belgium and the United Kingdom, whose representatives all made reference to the behind-the-scenes talks.

French ambassador to the UN François Delattre noted after the vote that previous resolutions had indicated support for sexual and reproductive health and the move otherwise on Tuesday undermined the dignity of women, according to a translation of Delattre's remarks at the UN.

Despite the changes, the German mission to the UN touted the passage of its resolution and called it "a resounding expression of our will to strengthen the international response to sexual violence."

More - https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/23/politics/un-security-council-sexual-violence/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Most+Recent%29