Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /  Photo of art work by  Noorulhuda Nadheer  Al-Mudhafar, 21-years-old artist in Basrah, Iraq at the  Sexual Violence In Conflict Youth Speak Out Through The Arts Exhibit at the United Nations in New York.

By Gary Raynaldo  /     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –  NEW  YORK –   The United Nations last week marked the 10 year anniversary of the Mandate on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Established in 2009, the UN Security Council mandate is dedicated to preventing and addressing conflict-related sexual violence, which it recognized as a threat to security and an impediment to sustainable and inclusive peace. 

“Sexual violence in conflict has been called history’s greatest silence: the least reported, the least condemned.  The creation of this mandate a decade ago reflected the UN’s commitment to highlight, prevent and seek justice for this crime.”

-Deputy Secretary–General of the United Nations,  Amina Jane Mohammed

The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict also organize  the Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters in New York.  It is a powerful,  moving exhibit that casts a spotlight on the plight of victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, as seen from the perspective of young, emerging artists from diverse backgrounds working in New York, as well as two young artists working in Iraq, a country torn by war.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters in New York visitor’s lobby runs through Nov. 19, 2019.

Photo of art work by 15-year-old artist Younez Morales from the Frank Sinatra School  of the Arts in New York as part of the Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters in New York visitor’s lobby.

Photo of art work by young artist from the Frank Sinatra School  of the Arts in New York as part of the Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters in New York visitor’s lobby.

Art work by Grace Palacios, 15, student at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Grace Palacios, 15, student at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts poses in front of her painting at Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /  Grace Palacios, 15, student at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts  explains her inspirations for her  painting at the  Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /    Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo   /  Young artist/student  from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts  with  her  painting at the  Sexual Violence in Conflict: Youth Speak Out through the Arts  Exhibit at UN world headquarters.