A Delegate's Guide to Sexual Reproductive Health in Conflicts

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When the foundations of a society are torn apart by war, the casualties we don't always see are the ones whose most basic needs are erased in an instant. Sexual and reproductive health in conflicts isn't just a niche healthcare topic; it's a direct measure of human security, dignity, and survival. It’s a set of fundamental rights that are systematically dismantled, turning life-sustaining care into a life-or-death struggle for millions.

The Hidden Casualties of War

Think of a city's power grid. In a stable country, it reliably powers everything—hospitals, homes, communication. Conflict acts like a catastrophic blackout. It doesn't just make the lights flicker; it severs every connection, plunging the entire system into darkness. This is a powerful analogy for what happens to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services when war breaks out.

The entire infrastructure that supports safe childbirth, provides contraception, and treats sexually transmitted infections simply collapses. Clinics are bombed, supply chains are severed, and doctors and nurses are forced to flee for their own lives.

For women and girls, this blackout means giving birth in crowded, unsanitary shelters without any medical help. It means losing access to family planning and facing the devastating reality of sexual violence with nowhere to turn for support. It's no surprise that in crisis zones, a staggering 60% of all preventable maternal deaths occur—a statistic that underscores just how lethal this service disruption is.

More Than a Medical Issue

To really grasp the scope of sexual and reproductive health in conflicts, we have to see it as more than just a list of medical services. It's a lens through which we can witness the true, human cost of war. SRH is deeply tangled up with fundamental human rights, gender equality, and even the potential for long-term peace.

When these services vanish, the impact ripples through communities for generations to come.

To better understand this complex issue, let's break down the primary ways the SRH crisis unfolds on the ground. The table below summarizes the key dimensions where sexual and reproductive health is most critically impacted.

Key Dimensions of the SRH Crisis in Conflict Zones

Dimension of SRH	Impact in Conflict	Immediate Consequence for Individuals
Gender-Based Violence (GBV)	Sexual violence is often used as a deliberate tactic of war and terror.	Unintended pregnancies, spread of HIV/STIs, severe psychological trauma.
Maternal & Newborn Health	Health facilities are destroyed; skilled birth attendants are unavailable.	A dramatic spike in preventable deaths of mothers and babies during childbirth.
Access to Contraception	Supply chains for family planning methods are completely disrupted.	Loss of bodily autonomy, increased unintended pregnancies in unsafe conditions.
Safe Abortion Care	Legal and safe services become non-existent, even where previously available.	Women are forced to resort to unsafe methods, leading to injury, infection, and death.
STI/HIV Prevention & Treatment	Prevention programs halt, and access to testing and life-saving medication is cut off.	Increased transmission rates and interruptions in treatment for those living with HIV.

These pillars of the SRH crisis—from gender-based violence to the collapse of maternal care—represent a profound failure to protect the most vulnerable. Addressing these issues isn't a secondary concern to be dealt with after the fighting stops.

As we've seen in protracted crises, like the experience of Rohingya refugees, integrating SRH services from the very beginning of an emergency is absolutely essential for survival and recovery. Protecting sexual and reproductive health in conflicts is a core component of humanitarian action and a precondition for any chance at sustainable peace.

When Systems Collapse: The Devastating Impact on Maternal Health

When a country's infrastructure crumbles under the weight of conflict, the effect on pregnant women is both immediate and catastrophic. Hospitals are bombed. Supply chains for life-saving medicine are severed. Skilled doctors and nurses are killed or forced to flee, leaving a lethal vacuum.

In this chaos, childbirth is transformed from a manageable medical event into a high-stakes gamble with a mother's life.

This isn't a theoretical problem. A shocking 60% of all preventable maternal deaths happen in countries grappling with conflict or disaster. In places like South Sudan or Gaza, mortality rates can easily double compared to stable regions. The research behind these staggering maternal mortality figures paints a clear picture: conflict is a powerful multiplier of risk, leaving millions of women and girls without hope or help.

The diagram below shows just how quickly a stable situation can spiral into a full-blown crisis, taking all essential services down with it.

This journey from a state of 'Stability' to 'Crisis' isn't just a flowchart; it represents the rapid stripping away of safety and healthcare that puts women’s lives directly in peril.

The Three Delays: A Framework for Failure

To understand why so many mothers die in these settings, humanitarian experts often point to the "three delays" model. Think of it as a deadly chain reaction, where conflict acts as a powerful catalyst at every single step.

Delay 1: Seeking Care The first barrier is fear. Women might be too afraid to leave their homes because of active fighting, the threat of sexual violence at checkpoints, or the sheer terror of navigating a warzone. This hesitation means that critical warning signs during pregnancy are often ignored until it's far too late.

Delay 2: Reaching Care Even if a woman decides she has to get help, the journey itself can be a death sentence. Roads are bombed out, blocked by military forces, or just impassable. A trip that once took a few minutes could now take hours—or even days—turning a treatable complication into a fatal emergency.

Delay 3: Receiving Quality Care Finally, imagine a woman survives the first two delays. She might arrive at a clinic only to find it's no longer functional. Without electricity, clean water, anesthesia, or blood supplies, even the most dedicated doctors are powerless to perform a life-saving C-section or stop a hemorrhage.

Real-World Consequences in Conflict Zones

These delays aren't abstract concepts. They are the daily reality for millions of people. In Gaza, for instance, reports have documented a terrifying 300% increase in miscarriages since the conflict escalated. Women are giving birth in unsanitary shelters and traumatic conditions.

The targeted destruction of key facilities like al-Shifa Hospital and al-Emirati Maternity Hospital has effectively wiped out access to obstetric care for hundreds of thousands of people.

This systematic collapse forces impossible choices. We hear stories of medical staff performing C-sections without anesthesia and being unable to save premature infants because there's no fuel to run the incubators.

This destruction isn't just a tragedy; it's a direct violation of international humanitarian law. It highlights the urgent, non-negotiable need for protected humanitarian corridors and the prioritization of obstetric care, even in the middle of a war.

It's crucial to understand that this collapse happens alongside the breakdown of other public health systems. The same factors that cripple maternal care also create the perfect breeding ground for disease outbreaks, compounding the crisis. To dig deeper, you can learn more about the challenges of crafting infectious diseases response strategies in these volatile environments.

For delegates, advocating for the specific protection of maternal health services isn’t just a humanitarian plea. It's a demand for adherence to the fundamental laws of war and a vital step toward safeguarding the next generation.

Gender-Based Violence: A Weapon of War with Lasting Scars

When healthcare systems crumble in a conflict zone, a far more sinister and deliberate threat to sexual and reproductive health emerges. We have to be clear: gender-based violence (GBV), especially sexual violence, isn't just a tragic consequence of war. It's often a calculated military strategy.

Armed groups intentionally use rape, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy as weapons. Their goal is to terrorize populations, humiliate their enemies, and systematically unravel the very fabric of communities. This is a brutal tactic that leaves devastating physical and psychological scars, representing both a direct assault on an individual's autonomy and a profound public health crisis.

The Strategic Use of Sexual Violence

To craft an effective response, we first have to understand why armed groups resort to sexual violence. It's a low-cost, high-impact weapon that serves several strategic purposes.

Terror and Displacement: Widespread rape can create such profound fear that entire communities flee their homes, clearing territory for an advancing force.

Ethnic Cleansing: Forced impregnation is a horrific tool used to alter the ethnic makeup of a population, ensuring trauma is passed down through generations.

Community Destruction: In many cultures, the stigma surrounding sexual assault isolates survivors, breaking down family ties and social bonds from the inside out.

Humiliation and Demoralization: Targeting the women and girls of an opposing group is a calculated act meant to dishonor and demoralize male fighters and leaders.

These acts are a grave breach of international humanitarian law. And yet, this is hardly a new phenomenon. Globally, nearly 1 in 3 women have faced physical or sexual violence. This crisis explodes in conflict zones where impunity is the norm. Humanitarian emergencies only amplify these risks, and tragically, we've seen minimal progress in preventing this violence over the last two decades. The data from the World Health Organization paints a devastating picture of these global trends.

The Lifelong Health Consequences

The impact of conflict-related sexual violence on a person’s health is catastrophic. Survivors are left to grapple with a wide spectrum of immediate and long-term consequences, all requiring urgent and specialized medical care—the very care that has often vanished in a war zone.

Immediate needs include treating severe physical injuries, but the invisible damage runs just as deep. Unintended pregnancies resulting from rape force survivors to make impossible choices, especially where safe abortion is illegal or simply unavailable.

Beyond this, the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, is incredibly high. Accessing post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits, which can prevent HIV if taken within 72 hours of exposure, becomes a race against time that is almost impossible to win amidst the chaos.

Barriers to Essential Post-Rape Care

For a survivor, just trying to find help is an odyssey filled with danger and stigma. The essential services they need are often the first to disappear when conflict breaks out.

Key Barriers Include:

Lack of Medical Supplies: Post-rape care kits—containing emergency contraception, antibiotics for STIs, and PEP for HIV—are frequently out of stock due to shattered supply chains.

Fear and Stigma: Survivors often fear retaliation from their attackers or being ostracized by their own families and communities if they report the assault.

Destroyed Infrastructure: The very clinics and hospitals that could offer help are often damaged, destroyed, or overwhelmed with treating combat injuries.

Restrictive Laws: In many places, restrictive abortion laws mean that even if a survivor reaches a clinic, she cannot access safe services to end a pregnancy from rape.

The severe physical trauma from sexual assault can also lead to conditions like obstetric fistula, a devastating injury that results in chronic incontinence and often leads to complete social isolation. Horrifying reports from Sudan show girls as young as 14 needing fistula repair surgery after being subjected to brutal sexual violence.

For MUN delegates, framing GBV not just as a human rights issue, but as a public health catastrophe and a threat to international security, is essential for driving action. Learning more about effective gender-based violence prevention is a critical next step.

Navigating International Law and Humanitarian Frameworks

While the challenges facing sexual and reproductive health in conflict zones can feel overwhelming, these issues don't exist in a legal black hole. There's a powerful, if not always perfectly enforced, web of international laws and humanitarian standards that provides a real foundation for action.

For anyone involved in diplomacy, especially Model UN delegates, getting a firm grip on these frameworks is non-negotiable. They are the tools you'll use to build credible arguments, draft impactful resolutions, and hold states and armed groups accountable. These aren't just abstract treaties; they establish clear obligations for everyone involved in a conflict, turning SRH from a "nice-to-have" into a legal requirement.

The Bedrock of Protection: International Humanitarian Law

The absolute foundation for all of this is International Humanitarian Law (IHL), often called the laws of war. Its entire purpose is to put limits on the brutality of armed conflict. The cornerstones of IHL are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which lay down the rules for protecting civilians, medics, and healthcare facilities.

Think of IHL as the universal rulebook for wartime conduct. It explicitly demands the protection of hospitals and medical units—and that absolutely includes those providing maternal and newborn care. An attack on a clearly marked maternity ward isn't just a tragedy; it's a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions.

This legal framework also means that all parties to a conflict must allow and help speed along the delivery of humanitarian aid. That aid includes essential reproductive health supplies. So, when a checkpoint blocks access to anesthetics, blood supplies for transfusions, or emergency contraception, it's a direct violation of these foundational laws. To dig deeper into this, check out our guide on the principles of humanitarian intervention.

Key International Frameworks for SRH in Conflicts

As a delegate, knowing the key international agreements that protect SRH in conflict settings can give your arguments real teeth. The Geneva Conventions are the starting point, but several other critical frameworks and resolutions specifically address these issues. Referencing them in debate adds significant weight to your position and shows you’ve done your homework.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most important ones you can cite in your speeches and resolutions.

Framework / Resolution	Core Mandate	Relevance for MUN Debates
UNSC Resolution 1325	The landmark resolution that first recognized the unique impact of war on women and insisted on their crucial role in peacebuilding.	Argue that SRH isn't just a health issue but a core component of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda.
Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP)	A standardized set of life-saving SRH activities that must be implemented at the very start of any humanitarian crisis.	Demand the immediate and full funding of the MISP to prevent maternal deaths and respond effectively to sexual violence from day one.
International Criminal Court (ICC)	The Rome Statute, the ICC's founding document, classifies sexual violence—including rape and forced pregnancy—as war crimes and crimes against humanity.	Call for investigations and strong accountability mechanisms to prosecute perpetrators and finally end the culture of impunity.

The Humanitarian Response and Key Actors

While international law tells us what needs to be done, humanitarian agencies are the ones figuring out how to do it on the ground. Organizations like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are the lead agencies tasked with putting SRH services into action in the toughest places on earth.

For instance, UNFPA is often on the front lines distributing life-saving reproductive health kits and setting up safe spaces for women and girls. At the same time, WHO provides technical guidance and works to rebuild shattered health systems. It's a massive undertaking, and these agencies face incredible hurdles—chronic underfunding, huge security risks, and the logistical nightmare of coordinating with countless local and international NGOs.

This is where your work as a delegate becomes critical. Your resolutions shouldn't just call for countries to follow the law; they should propose practical, real-world solutions. You can make a real difference by suggesting clauses that fully fund UNFPA's emergency appeals or that establish better coordination mechanisms between UN agencies and local health providers. This shows you understand how to turn legal principles into life-saving action.

Crafting Your Strategy: MUN Talking Points and Resolutions

This is where the rubber meets the road. In any Model UN committee, the real challenge is turning complex humanitarian principles into powerful diplomatic action. When you're tackling an issue as vital as sexual and reproductive health in conflict, your ability to make clear, persuasive points and write sharp resolution clauses will define your success. Let's break down how to move from theory to practice with the language you need to lead the debate.

Powerful Talking Points for Committee

Your speeches and unmoderated caucuses need to be punchy, evidence-based, and memorable. Here are some angles you can adapt, depending on which room you're in.

For the Security Council or DISEC: You have to frame this as a core issue of international peace and security. Make it clear that denying SRH services or using sexual violence isn't just a tragedy—it's a calculated weapon of war. These tactics are designed to terrorize communities and destabilize entire regions for generations to come.

For the WHO or ECOSOC: This is a public health catastrophe, plain and simple. Hammer home the fact that a staggering 60% of preventable maternal deaths happen in conflict zones. When healthcare systems collapse, it creates a perfect storm for STIs and disease outbreaks. Argue that funding SRH isn't just aid; it's a strategic investment in building resilient societies from the ground up.

For the Human Rights Council (HRC): Your arguments must be grounded in fundamental rights and state obligations. Access to SRH is not a privilege; it's a non-negotiable human right under international law. Remind the committee that states have a clear duty to protect this right, even—and especially—when conflict breaks out.

For delegates who really want to ground their country's position in solid evidence, knowing how to analyze primary sources is a superpower. It helps you build an unshakeable foundation for your arguments.

Drafting Impactful Resolution Clauses

A resolution is meant to create real, actionable solutions. The operative clauses are the engine of your document, so they need to be incredibly clear and specific. Vague platitudes won't get the job done. Your clauses must tell countries and organizations exactly what to do.

Here are some sample operative clauses to get you started. And if you need a refresher on the mechanics of writing, check out our guide on the difference between a https://blog.modeldiplomat.com/working-paper-vs-draft-resolution.

Sample Operative Clauses:

Urges all parties to armed conflict to immediately cease all attacks on medical facilities and personnel, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, with special protections for maternal and newborn health units;

Calls upon member states and international donors to fully fund the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health at the onset of all humanitarian emergencies to prevent maternal deaths and respond to gender-based violence;

Requests the Secretary-General to integrate comprehensive SRH indicators, including access to contraception and post-rape care, into all peacekeeping mission mandates and subsequent progress reports;

Demands unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access for the delivery of essential SRH supplies, including reproductive health kits, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits, and safe blood for transfusions;

Encourages the development of survivor-centered accountability mechanisms to investigate and prosecute all instances of conflict-related sexual violence as a war crime under the Rome Statute.

Frequently Asked Questions for MUN Delegates

When you're in the thick of committee, navigating the complexities of sexual and reproductive health in conflict zones can be daunting. Questions will come flying, and you need to be ready. Here are some clear, actionable answers to common queries that will help you build a solid foundation for debate and diplomacy.

What Is the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP)?

Think of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) as the essential "first aid kit" for reproductive health that gets deployed at the very start of a humanitarian crisis. It’s not a long-term plan; it’s a standardized set of immediate, life-saving activities designed for the chaos of the first few days and weeks.

The core goals are to prevent sexual violence, slash HIV transmission rates, and stop mothers and newborns from dying from preventable causes.

For you as a delegate, the MISP is a powerful tool. Instead of making vague calls for "better healthcare," you can demand the full funding and immediate implementation of the MISP. It’s a specific, actionable, and internationally recognized standard of care that adds real weight to your arguments.

How Can We Address SRH with Cultural Sensitivity?

This is where true diplomacy comes in. The most effective way to navigate this is by framing sexual and reproductive health as both a fundamental human right and a non-negotiable public health necessity.

Instead of getting bogged down in divisive debates, focus on outcomes that everyone can agree on, like saving a mother's life during childbirth or protecting a community from the trauma of sexual violence. These are universal values.

In your speeches, emphasize the need to work with local community leaders and women’s groups. This ensures that any aid or program is respectful of local culture and is actually effective on the ground. You can champion the universal responsibility of states to protect their citizens while still acknowledging national sovereignty and the importance of local partnership.

What Is the Link Between SRH and Long-Term Peace?

You can't build a lasting peace on a foundation of suffering. It's that simple. A society struggling with high maternal mortality, widespread trauma from sexual violence, and zero access to family planning is a society that cannot effectively recover or rebuild.

Addressing SRH isn't a "side issue"—it's a cornerstone of peacebuilding.

When women are healthy, safe, and empowered to make their own choices, they become powerful drivers of economic recovery and social healing. For delegates in committees like the Security Council or a post-conflict reconstruction body, this is a game-changing argument. Frame your points this way: an investment in SRH is a direct investment in long-term stability and security.