To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, June 19, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to the women, girls, men and boys who have suffered sexual violence in conflict, and reaffirmed the UN's "global commitment to eliminate this scourge." "Rape and sexual violence in conflict are tactics of terrorism and war, used strategically to humiliate, degrade and destroy, and often to pursue a campaign of ethnic cleansing," Guterres said in his message.