By Robin Hindery
10/28/2005

Below is an excerpt of an article from The Associated Press : http://www.ap.org/ 

Five years after a landmark UN resolution committed governments to protect women from the abuses of war, the Security Council condemned the continuing sexual exploitation and violence against women.

...

Women remain a largely untapped resource when it comes to peace-building, and sexual exploitation continues to occur at ``shameful'' levels.

...

A report released October 18 by Refugees International accused UN peacekeepers of engaging in sexual misconduct despite the global body's zero tolerance policy, and of erecting a ``wall of silence'' to protect themselves from outside criticism.

...

The council statement reiterated its strong condemnation of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers and condemned ``sexual and other forms of violence against women, including trafficking.''

...

In order to implement the resolution ... the UN has developed a two-year plan of action for the period from 2005 to 2007 to advance the role of women. It will focus both on the efforts of individual UN member states and also on practices within the UN itself.