A/65/219 population settings, and when they are directly associated with armed forces and groups. Child survivors of sexual violence suffer both physical and psychological consequences, which are often debilitating. This is particularly true for girls who have been raped or forced to “marry” combatants, as well as for their children born of rape. 21. Girls remain the main victims of sexual violence in armed conflict. However, there are increasing reports of sexual abuse committed against boys. This phenomenon is still not adequately understood, and is yet to be comprehensively addressed in advocacy, monitoring, reporting and response. Knowledge about sexual violence against boys continues to be thin, in part because boys are more reluctant to speak out about sexual violence and there is inherently a bias against questioning boys about such abuse. 22. Another aspect that tends to be underestimated is the trauma boys face as perpetrators or witnesses of sexual violence. They may be forced to commit rapes either directly by their commander or indirectly through peer pressure. Many may be forced to witness sexual violence perpetrated by others. It should be noted that through the jurisprudence of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1998, Furundzija case), forcing an individual to witness acts of rapes and other sexual violence is considered as sexual torture under international law. 23. The previous reports of the Special Representative to the General Assembly emphasized the challenges of collecting data and reporting on sexual violence against children in armed conflict. Part of the problem lies in the fact that these acts are considered in many contexts as strong taboos, and as such survivors and communities are not encouraged to speak out. The lack of trust in judicial process and the fear of reprisals accentuate the culture of silence. Yet, more precise and comprehensive information, including details of incidents and the identity of perpetrators is a prerequisite to combating impunity and for more effective response programming. Monitoring, reporting and response to sexual violence requires both new perspectives and new methodologies, as well as more extensive partnerships across the United Nations system and beyond. For example, in the context of United Nations peacekeeping, collaboration between civilian components and United Nations military and police components may entail the matching of information on sexual violence with intelligence gathered on movements of armed parties, as a contribution to the identification of perpetrators, particularly in remote areas where humanitarian presence is thin. At the same time, more precise incident-related information must be complemented by macro-level information as it relates to the scope and trends of sexual violence. More timely and effective programming and dedication of sufficient resources depends on the deepening of all aspects of the information base on sexual violence. 24. In this regard, Security Council resolutions 1882 (2009) and 1888 (2009) challenge United Nations actors to put in place more rigorous monitoring and reporting mechanisms on sexual violence. Resolution 1882 (2009) advances monitoring practice by requiring the Secretary-General to list in his annual report on children and armed conflict parties who commit patterns of rape and other grave acts of sexual violence against children in contravention of international law. The Office of the Special Representative is in the process of developing templates, with the assistance of an international legal expert and former prosecutor of gender cases in the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International 10-47421 7

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