Overview
- The Secretary-General’s report presented at the July 8–9 Security Council debate documented 9,788 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, more than double the number recorded in 2024.
- The United Kingdom announced a package of more than $26 million for medical and psychosocial services for survivors and urged investigations into systematic abuses in Sudan, Ukraine and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
- The United States criticized the UN report as lacking actionable measures, said it stopped participating in the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict earlier this year, and highlighted recent U.S. Treasury sanctions on RSF, M23 and FDLR commanders.
- UN Special Representative Pramila Patten warned that verified figures understate the true scale of the problem, estimating that for every case reaching a clinic 10 to 20 go unreported and unaddressed.
- Delegations split over the UN’s role in turning documentation into prosecutions, which could increase reliance on national probes, targeted sanctions and pressure for humanitarian access and survivor‑centred justice; the next steps to watch are new investigations, prosecutions and access for aid and forensic evidence collection.