Brussels, 21-23 June 2006: Last week the European Commission, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and the Belgian government jointly organised an international
symposium on “Sexual Violence in Conflicts and Beyond”.
On the final day of the symposium the participant stakeholders drafted a declaration which calls on government, international organisations and civil society to prioritise the issue of sexual
violence in all humanitarian, peace building and development efforts in countries affected by conflict. The symposium highlighted the importance of including strategies on how to prevent gender-based violence in national action plans and that this inclusion would be considered as an indicator of good governance.