Urges States: (a) to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, in particular rape and other forms of sexual violence; (b) to end impunity by ensuring that all rape victims, particularly women and girls, have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice and by investigating, prosecuting and punishing any person responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence, whether or not committed by State or non-State actors in the course of achieving political or military objectives, wherever they occur, whether or not in the course of an international or non-international armed conflict, including in detention and in jails, and regardless of the sex or age of the victim; calls upon States and the UN system to support all efforts to address rape, including through the regular collection, analysis and dissemination of data, to facilitate such efforts and, in particular, to work towards overcoming the difficulties and challenges of capacity-building and collecting information on the practice; urges States, in cooperation with the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors, as appropriate to conduct public education and awareness campaigns at the national and grass-roots levels in order to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Adopted without vote, 76th plenary meeting

5 p.

Issued in GAOR, 62nd sess., Suppl. no. 49.