Geneva , 6 April
2007
-- The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights today
released reports documenting incidents of widespread sexual violence
during attacks by Sudanese Government forces and allied militia last
December and the disappearance last September of at least 19 men allegedly
at the hands of the former insurgent forces headed by Minni Arkoy Minnawi.
High Commissioner Louise Arbour is calling for prompt and impartial
investigations into the reported human rights violations.
The first report documents attacks
in mid and late December 2006 in Deribat and eight other villages along
the road from Kutur to Deribat in eastern Jebel Marra, Darfur . At least
15 cases of sexual assault, including rape, had occurred, according to the
report. Victims were as young as 13 years old and at least two pregnant
women were targeted in the violence. While some women were raped in the
villages, others were abducted, taken away, raped, and later released. The
attackers wore military uniforms and were described by the victims as
soldiers. Based on testimony gathered, it appears that rape during the
December 2006 attacks was used as a weapon of war to cause humiliation and
instill fear into the local population. The attacks were indiscriminately
aimed at a population of the same ethnicity as some rebel groups and also
resulted in civilian death and displacement.
Along with other recommendations,
the High Commissioner is calling on Government authorities to c onduct an
impartial, timely, and transparent investigation into the attacks , with
particular focus on the allegations of rape and other gross violations of
international human rights law. " The investigation should aim to collect
evidence to identify and prosecute those who planned, orchestrated, and/or
conducted the attacks", the High Commissioner said following the release
of the reports. " The results of the investigation should be made public,
legal action should be taken against those found to be responsible and the
victims of the attacks should be compensated" .
A second report concerns the
enforced disappearance of at least 19 Massalit men arrested by SLA-Minnawi
soldiers in Gereida in South Darfur on 29 September 2006 . The High
Commissioner is calling on the head of the group, Special Presidential
Assistant Minni Arkoy Minnawi, who is also Chairman of the Transitional
Darfur Regional Authority, to immediately disclose the fate and
whereabouts of these men. According to reports, several of the men have
been found dead. On 22 January 2007 , relatives identified the corpses of
eight men as being among those arrested on 29 September 2006 . Other
information tells of these men having been beaten at an SLA-Minnawi base
where leaders were present.
"If the detainees are alive", the High Commissioner said,
"their physical integrity must be assured and they should be brought
before a judicial authority. The Human Rights Unit of the UN Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS) should be provided access to all the detainees".
"If the captured
persons are dead, there must be an independent, transparent, and timely
inquiry to identify those responsible and hold them accountable for crimes
that may have been committed", she concluded
The information contained in the
two reports was shared with the authorities prior to their public release.
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