New York, April 16 -- "Prevention is the best and only cure" to stem the multiple, devastating and enduring consequences faced by survivors of sexual violence in conflict, especially as a brutal tactic of war, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday.

"We meet at a moment when this crime, which should have been consigned to a closed chapter of history, is once again in the headlines", said Pramila Patten, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, affirming that now was the time to "take stock of both the persistent and entrenched, as well as new and emerging, challenges.to eradicate the scourge".

'Chasm between resolutions and reality'

The UN envoy highlighted the Tigray region of Ethiopia where women an...