Photo taken on July 15, 2017 shows Ayamar Bagon (L), 20, and Hasamithaya (R), 18, who claim they were raped by soldiers during a clearance operation in December last year, holding their children while standing near a field in Kyar Gaung Taung village in Maungdaw, Myanmar. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday condemned the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war and any act of sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls.

"The international community must promote the peaceful resolution of armed conflict to root out the breeding ground for such violence," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at a UN Security Council open debate on preventing sexual violence in conflict.

The current international security situation "remained challenging" and vulnerable groups such as women and girls were bearing the brunt, he said, adding that all Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security "must be implemented earnestly."

Support was also needed to help countries to build capacities and promote equality through development, he said.

"Member states must actively provide those countries with assistance to fully realize women's empowerment," he added, noting that there was also a need to crack down on terrorism and transnational crime while scaling up border control.

More broadly, the Security Council must fulfil its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security and coordinate with other UN bodies to address issues of women, peace and security within the purview of each entity's respective expertise, the Chinese envoy added.

For its part, "China would work to contribute to the early elimination of sexual violence in conflict," he said.

Also on Monday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the debate that "this year, in Myanmar and many other conflict situations, the widespread threat and use of sexual violence has, once again, been used as a tactic to advance military, economic and ideological objectives."

A decade ago, the UN Security Council adopted the groundbreaking resolution 1820, which elevated the issue of conflict-related sexual violence onto its agenda, as a threat to security and impediment to peace.

It seeks to "debunk the myths that fuel sexual violence," and rejects the notion of rape as an "inevitable byproduct of war" or mere "collateral damage." Since then, the issue has been systematically included in peacekeeping missions.