Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls are the 'collateral damage' in 36 conflicts around the world, said Amnesty International today (Wednesday 8 December), as it released a new report on the effects of war on the human rights of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights around the world.

The report, Lives blown apart: crimes against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights in times of conflict, released ahead of International Human Rights Day on 10 December, calls for global action on the issue, including early prosecutions by the new International Criminal Court (ICC).

Four years ago the UN Security Council passed a resolution (Resolution 1325) committing itself to tackling violations of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s rights, yet less than 20% of its resolution since then have even addressed Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights or gender.

'Lives blown apart' lays out the global picture, showing a systematic pattern of abuse of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s and girls' rights in conflicts all over the world, including Colombia, Iraq, Sudan, Chechnya, Nepal and Afghanistan. An estimated 32 million Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and Children's rights have been forced to flee their homes because of violence and human rights violations, including 1.4 million in Sudan, 2.7 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a quarter of a million in Colombia.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

'From Sudan to Congo and from Colombia to Chechnya, Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are the 'collateral damage' of war, suffering rape, slavery, mutilation and death.

'In conflict after conflict Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights in war are being targeted by male combatants precisely to spread terror across entire communities.

'Ahead of international human rights day, we are calling for decisive global action to Women's rights's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights in war and we particularly call on the International Criminal Court to make a point of tackling this issue in one of its early prosecutions.

'A strong global message must be sent that violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights will be vigorously pursued. Firm action by the ICC will help shame countries into promoting action through their national courts.'

In June and July this year the ICC began investigations into systematic human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, a signal that conflicts involving mass sexual crimes were going to be targeted by the new world court.

Amnesty International is calling for greater international support for the ICC, pressing international institutions like the UN and governments to improve assistance the court receives during investigations, the sharing of evidence and the protection of at-risk witnesses.

Amnesty International's report features testimonies from numerous survivors of serious sexual crimes in conflict, including the following:

'In the community, they made such fun of me that I had to leave the village and live in the forest ... I am hungry, I have no clothes and no soap. I don’t have any money to pay for medical care. It would be better if I died with the baby in my womb,' - Sanguina, who was raped twice during the DRC conflict. Amnesty International’s report is calling for:

• The ICC to be allowed to act effectively and deliver justice to Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls, including through strong governmental support
• Governments to publicly condemn violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls in any circumstances, issuing clear warnings or instructions to their forces that violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights will not be tolerated
• All governments, the UN and international bodies to ensure that Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights play a key role in the design and implementation of all peace-building initiatives
• Immediate and effective assistance to survivors of violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, including emergency health care programmes and rehabilitation

In March this year Amnesty International launched a major global campaign to 'Women's rights's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights'

The report can be read at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT770752004 /b>