On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2467 on Sexual Violence in Conflict with 13 votes, including the United States, unfortunately deciding that survivors of violence are not entitled to sexual and reproductive health and rights. This final resolution will undoubtedly impact young people across the world, and in particular adolescent girls. The following is the statement of Preston Mitchum, Senior Legal and International Policy Analyst at Advocates for Youth, regarding the passage of this resolution:

“Advocates for Youth is troubled by the adoption of Resolution 2467, which removed reference to sexual and reproductive health and rights from the resolution for survivors in conflict settings. Survivors in-and-out of conflict settings may need essential health services, including abortion, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, emergency contraception, and antenatal care, among other services. Instead, the U.S. used its threat of veto power on the UN Security Council to demand significant changes to the resolution that will negatively impact access to sexual and reproductive health care needs of survivors in conflict settings.

It is not surprising that this Administration has adopted yet another position that will systematically harm young people domestically and globally, but it is disappointing that it won’t listen to survivors. The rates of sexual assault increase during times of war and in conflict settings. As such, the need for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services expands greatly during these times and in these zones. Adopting Resolution 2467 means nothing without simultaneous support for to meet the needs of survivors. Survivors, including youth survivors in conflict settings need access to sexual and reproductive health care and the U.S., along with other countries, just pushed these services out of reach for already marginalized populations.

While Tuesday’s vote was a gross departure from previous Security Council resolutions, the shift was business as usual for the Trump Administration who has been working overtime to remove references of “sexual and reproductive health and rights” and “gender” from UN documents. With this vote, the U.S. has once again chosen ideology over the health and rights of women and young people, including girls; and we will not allow that to happen.”