Fight against sexual violence – Mme Catherine Colonna’s meeting with Ms Nadia Murad (11 November 2022)

Mme Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, had a meeting yesterday with Ms Nadia Murad, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Minister paid tribute to Ms Murad’s fight against ethnic and religious violence and her efforts to help women victims of sexual violence.

The Minister recalled France’s support for the Global Fund for Survivors of Conflict-related Sexual Violence, co-founded by Ms Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege. The Minister and Nadia Murad officially launched a new project yesterday which is managed by the Fund and financed by France to meet the needs of victims of sexual violence committed as part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, Ukrainian women and girls are increasingly vulnerable, especially as displaced people or refugees. These actions will make it possible, first, to increase and optimize the care offered in several Ukrainian hospitals, and second, to compensate women survivors through the creation of a dedicated emergency programme.

France will continue to fight against sexual violence and for the implementation of the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security agenda, in all its dimensions.

Moreover, in accordance with President Macron’s commitment, France will continue to participate in 2023 in the reconstruction of Iraq’s Sinjar District, where most of the Yazidi community – who were the subject of appalling crimes committed by Daesh – lives, among other things through the building of a hospital, which has enjoyed exceptional financial support from France, in partnership with Nadia Murad’s foundation. France stands with the victims of ethnic and religious persecution in the Middle East, and raises €5 million every year through a dedicated fund.