By Emma Black

In a compelling address on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at the High-Level Event on Pregnancy, Children Born, and Sexual Violence in Conflict in New York, USA, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio passionately called for urgent international action to protect survivors and their children.

President Bio praised the efforts of Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Madam Fatima Maada Bio, and UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, for organizing the dialogue. He described it as a critical confrontation of  a painful reality the plight of women and girls who become pregnant due to sexual violence in conflict, and the stigma faced by children born from such atrocities. Drawing from Sierra Leone’s own history, he recalled the devastating impact of the decade-long civil war, where an estimated 20,000 children were born of rape, with girls as young as 12 subjected to sexual slavery, These memories drive us to act, he asserted.

Highlighting national efforts, President Bio outlined Sierra Leone’s robust response, including declaring sexual and gender-based violence a national emergency, establishing a dedicated Sexual Offences Court, expanding One-Stop Centres, protecting against early marriage, and implementing the flagship free quality education program. On the global stage, Sierra Leone has been a leader in the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, recognizing sexual violence in conflict as both a severe human rights violation and a threat to peace. In 2022, the country partnered with Japan to spearhead the first UN resolution on remedies for victims, ensuring their rights to justice, reparations, and rehabilitation.

President Bio urged the international community to transition from acknowledgment to action, endorsing the Secretary-General’s recommendations, these include providing survivor-centered services, securing nationality and rights for children born of rape, integrating survivors into peacebuilding efforts, and securing adequate funding for reparations and reintegration. Above all, he emphasized the need to amplify survivors’ voices in shaping solutions, our shared humanity demands action now. Let this event mark a turning point where our commitments translate into concrete action, building a world where no woman’s body is a battlefield, and every child enjoys dignity, rights, and hope,” he concluded.

The event also featured inspiring contributions from Madam Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of the Democratic Republic of Congo Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, and Pramila Patten. UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Madam Isha Sesay, who moderated the event, presented a summary of the GLOBAL DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES ON THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN BORN OF CONFLICT-RELATED RAPE, reinforcing the call for global solidarity.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 1st October 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)