UN Security Council Resolution 2106 on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
UNSCR 2106 was the implementation resolution — adding operational detail to four years of CRSV resolutions and, for the first time, explicitly recognising men and boys as survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
By 2013, the CRSV resolution sequence (1820, 1888, 1960) had established strong normative and institutional frameworks, but operational implementation remained weak. Peacekeeping mandates included CRSV language but often without operational detail on implementation. Security sector reform programmes lacked specific guidance on vetting and training.
UNSCR 2106 was designed as the implementation resolution — providing the operational specificity that earlier resolutions had left to interpretation. It was also the first WPS resolution to explicitly recognise that men and boys are survivors of CRSV, responding to evidence from conflicts in northern Uganda, the DRC, and elsewhere.
UNSCR 2106 broke new ground by explicitly recognising men and boys as survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. This was a significant shift from the exclusively female-focused framing of earlier WPS resolutions and reflected growing evidence — much of it from African conflicts — that sexual violence in war does not discriminate by gender.
The resolution also introduced unprecedented operational detail on security sector reform, including specific language on vetting security personnel for past sexual violence — a provision directly responsive to scandals involving UN peacekeepers.