On 25 June 2026, the European Union issued a statement at the OSCE Permanent Council No. 1569 condemning the worsening global crisis of conflict-related sexual violence and specifically citing Russian armed and security forces among parties credibly suspected of committing such crimes in Ukraine. The statement, delivered on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, notes that verified cases have more than doubled from the previous year to nearly 10,000, with widespread underreporting suggesting the true number is far higher. Women and girls remain the primary victims, but the statement highlights a clear rise in sexual violence against men and boys, particularly in detention settings.
The EU statement draws on the UN Secretary-General's annual report on conflict-related sexual violence, which describes a worsening crisis with increasing scale and brutality while international capacity to prevent and respond declines. It aligns with evidence from the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, ODIHR interim reports, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, all documenting Russia's systematic and widespread human rights violations. The EU strongly condemns all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and calls on participating States to conduct effective investigations, bring perpetrators to justice, and provide survivors with access to justice, redress, and reparations. It also commends civil society and human rights defenders for their efforts.
The statement underlines the urgent need to strengthen implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). It welcomes the OSCE-wide Roadmap on WPS launched last year and calls on all participating States to fully implement OSCE commitments related to the WPS agenda. The EU calls on the international community to redouble efforts to eliminate all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, emphasizing that preventing and eradicating conflict-related sexual violence is a moral imperative and a clear obligation under international law. Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, and Ukraine align themselves with the statement.