Meg's update: Women's Int. Forum; June 29th, 2011

The theme of today's presentation was: "Combating Sexual Violence: Prevention, Protection and Services for Survivors". Two outstanding speakers spoke to this issue. Mrs. Margo Wallstrom, special representative on Armed Confict outlined her mandate: end impunity, empower women, mobilize political leadership, increase recognition of sexual violence as a tactic of war, ensure a more coherent response from the UN system. The root causes continue to be lack of police security, undisciplined army, impunity at the highest levels. Mrs. Wallstrom covers seven countries, and works tirelessly with governments to protect women and children, and punish perpetrators. Dr. Mukwege, director of Panzi Hospital, Bukavu, DRC, spoke of the torture suffered by thousands of women and children in this war-torn region; rape, torture and mutilation are common tactics. At Panzi, the primary objective is to help women regain the will to live; treatment of their physical and emotional injuries is combined with socio-economic rehabilitation to re-integrate them into society, help them recover physically and mentally, and regain a certain measure of dignity. He calls upon African nations to end this shame.