1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based Violence as a Tool in Conflict Act of 2019 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The United States, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, voted in favor of Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000); 1820 (2008); 1888 (2009); 1960 (2010); 2106 (2013); 2242 (2015), and 2331 (2016), which state that acts of sexual violence and human trafficking threaten international peace and security and can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide, and terrorism. (2) The United States is a signatory to the G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, done in London April 11, 2013, and sponsored by the United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. The United States and its allies declared that concerns related to sexual violence in armed conflict must be part of peace and security efforts, post-conflict transition and reform measures, and accountability processes. (3) Despite these advances in normative frameworks, sexual and gender-based violence continues to be pervasive, and the responses from governments and the international community range from insufficient and inadequate to negligent and complicit, as documented in United Nations’ reports. (4) Gender-based violence, including sexual violence— (A) is a global pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women during their lifetimes; and (B) occurs at higher rates in conflict-affected areas. (5) Incidences of domestic violence, child, early, or forced marriages, human trafficking, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence within displaced or conflict-affected communities— (A) increase during conflict due to exacerbated social tensions and underlying gender inequalities that existed in communities prior to such conflict